The forest cover typing scheme is described below. After a review and preliminary classification of the aerial photography, the photo interpreter spent one day in the field at Petit Manan collecting ground truth. The typing scheme described below was applied using a Bausch and Lomb SIS 95 stereoscope. Typing was done on acetates taped to the original color infrared film transparencies.
|
Species |
|
Height Class |
|
Crown Closure |
|
||||||||||||||
|
SF |
Spruce/fir |
|
1 |
0-15 feet |
|
A |
91-100% |
|
||||||||||||
|
SP |
Spruces |
|
2 |
16-35 feet |
|
B |
67-90% |
|
||||||||||||
|
BF |
Balsam Fir |
|
3 |
35-50 feet |
|
C |
46-66% |
|
||||||||||||
|
BS |
Black Spruce |
|
4 |
51-70 feet |
|
D |
26-45% |
|
||||||||||||
|
LA |
Larch |
|
5 |
71+ feet |
|
E |
5-25% |
|
||||||||||||
|
CE |
Cedar |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||
|
PI |
Pine |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||
|
JP |
JackPine |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||
|
RP |
Red (Norway) Pine |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||
|
WP |
White Pine |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||
|
TH |
Tolerant Hardwood |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||
|
IH |
Intolerant Hardwood |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||
|
RM |
Red Maple |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||
|
RO |
Red Oak |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||
|
WB |
White Birch |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||
|
PO |
Poplars |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||
|
MA |
Mountain Ash |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||
|
S |
Softwood |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||
|
H |
Hardwood |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||
Species Composition
In this typing scheme, up to two species composition codes are used for each story in the stand. The first comprises at least 50% of the stand’s crown closure and the second at least 25%. If no second code appears, then the first code is understood to comprise at least 75% of the crown closure. The codes S and H may be used when a stand is young and/or the species are very mixed. Otherwise, one of the other codes will be used. Up to two stories will be interpreted in this way. Individual species codes may be used by the interpreter if an individual species can be positively identified and it makes up an adequate percentage of the stand’s composition according to the percentage rules stated above.
Wetland qualifier – to set the typing scheme up for crosswalk to NVC, a ‘W’ was added at the end of the stand description code to indicate Wetland. The interpreter also added an ‘F’ in stands of height class less than 3 or crown closure in classes C, D, and E which were Forested but in a regenerating or recently harvested state. These codes were used along with the rest of the classification in determining NVC alliance code (a variable in the data base called MOD was populated with F for Forested, D for Woodland, or W for Wetland).
Example Forest Cover Types
SFCE4B: Primarily spruce/fir, with a significant component of cedar, 50+ feet tall, 41-70% crown closure.
THSF3A: Primarily tolerant hardwood (50% or more), with a component of spruce-fir, 31-45 feet tall, 71-100% crown closure.
WP4C/SF1B: Young Spruce-Fir stand 0-15 feet tall, crown closure 41-70%, with significant overstory of White Pine.
Non-Forest and Land Use Codes
The following alliance group codes (bold text)
were used to label non-forest areas.
Unique alphabetic codes for the various alliances under each group are
also shown (normal text):
|
TM |
Tidal Marsh |
8001 |
|
SC |
Saltmarsh cordgrass |
1471 |
|
SG |
Saltmeadow cordgrass |
1481 |
|
CT |
Cattail tidal |
1472 |
|
BD |
Beaked-pitched grass |
1769 |
|
SM |
Shallow Marsh |
8002 |
|
BJ |
Blue Joint |
1400 |
|
TC |
Tussock Sedge |
1397 |
|
OM |
Open Water Marsh |
8003 |
|
BR |
Bay Net Rush |
1430 |
|
HB |
Hardstem Bulrush |
1443 |
|
NB |
Narrow & Broadleaf Clubrush |
1436 |
|
PG |
Pickerelweed – Greenarrow |
1669 |
|
AE |
American Eelgrass |
1757 |
|
RB |
Raised Level Bog |
|
|
LL |
Leatherleaf Saturated |
1092 |
|
CB |
Coastal Shrub Bog |
8005 |
|
BY |
Black Crowberry Saturated |
1095 |
|
DB |
Deer hair Bulrush |
1312 |
|
OF |
Open or Closed Fen |
8006 |
|
WG |
Wire Grass Sedge saturated |
1453 |
|
LW |
Leatherleaf/winegrass saturated |
1557 |
|
TP |
Toothed peatmoss Cladopodiella moss |
3006 |
|
AL |
|
8007 |
|
ST |
Speckled Alder temp flooded |
950 |
|
SS |
Speckled Alder seasonal flooded |
986 |
|
SC |
Speckled Alder cold deciduous |
1026 |
|
SA |
Shrub Marsh |
|
|
SG |
Sweet gale saturated |
1022 |
|
SU |
Shrub Upland |
8009 |
|
BC |
Black Crowberry |
1078 |
|
SL |
Sheep laurel – labrador-tea |
1086 |
|
BB |
Blueberry |
1113 |
|
NB |
Northern Bay Berry |
902 |
|
HU |
Herbaceous Uplands |
8010 |
|
AB |
American Beech grass |
1207 |
|
OP |
open pavement sparse vegetation |
1843 |
|
SR |
Sea rocket |
1861 |
|
AG |
Planted/Cultivated |
8011 |
|
OG |
Orchard grass – Sheep sorrel |
1190 |
|
GP |
Gravel Pit |
8012 |
|
CA |
Camps |
8013 |
|
BD |
Buildings/Developed |
8014 |
WA |
Water |
8015 |
Group codes and additional codes for non-forest vegetation and land use were given an arbitrary alliance code in the range 8001-8015 for purposes of the data base.
=============
Return to GOMP GIS data home page