{"id":1611,"date":"2025-02-10T16:50:38","date_gmt":"2025-02-10T16:50:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/esa.org\/vegpanel\/?page_id=1611"},"modified":"2025-02-10T16:50:58","modified_gmt":"2025-02-10T16:50:58","slug":"about-the-classification","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/esa.org\/vegpanel\/the-classification\/about-the-classification\/","title":{"rendered":"About the Classification"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"col-xl-7 col-lg-7\">\n<article class=\"page-content\">\n<div class=\"entry-header\">\n<h1 class=\"entry-title\">USNVC<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<p>The\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www1.usgs.gov\/csas\/nvcs\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">US National Vegetation Classification<\/a>\u00a0(USNVC) provides a national, conceptual framework for classifying, inventorying, and studying both cultural and natural vegetation of the U.S. It provides a common language for the effective management and conservation of plant communities.<\/p>\n<p>The USNVC\u00a0federal Standard is a\u00a0<strong>process\u00a0<\/strong>standard. The standard itself does not contain a formal set of classification units but rather outlines the process by which such units are to be described, peer reviewed, and maintained through various data-management and web tools. This means that the classification is <em>dynamic<\/em>, subject to change as vegetation scientists revise or newly describe vegetation types in the United States.<\/p>\n<p>The vision for the Standard was that it would be:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Useful for conservation and resource management<\/li>\n<li>Focused on classifying existing vegetation<\/li>\n<li>Hierarchical, with upper levels based on physiognomy and lower levels based on floristics<\/li>\n<li>Inclusive of both cultural and natural vegetation types<\/li>\n<li>Built from publicly available plot data whenever possible<\/li>\n<li>Revised through a peer review process<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The hierarchy for the cultural types of the standard relies heavily on existing classification systems (FGDC 2008).\u00a0The proposed pilot classification for the upper levels of the cultural hierarchy are based on the National Land Cover Dataset (USGS 2001) classes, while several of the lower levels are based on the Natural Resources Inventory, the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRI 2003).\u00a0The ESA Panel on Vegetation Classification plans to continue to work with the federal agencies to refine the classification of cultural types.<\/p>\n<p>Currently much of the activity of the ESA Panel is focused on implementing a streamlined peer-review process for descriptions at all levels of the hierarchy and developing training and outreach materials for USNVC users.<\/p>\n<p>If you are interested in participating in the review process please\u00a0<a title=\"Contact\" href=\"https:\/\/esa.org\/vegpanel\/contact\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">contact us<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>For more details on these efforts, please see the\u00a0<a title=\"Current Projects\" href=\"https:\/\/esa.org\/vegpanel\/projects\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Projects page<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/esa.org\/vegpanel-preprod\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/88\/2012\/01\/hierarchy-explorer-logo.png\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-417\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-417 alignleft img-fluid img-fluid\" src=\"https:\/\/esa.org\/vegpanel-preprod\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/88\/2012\/01\/hierarchy-explorer-logo.png\" alt=\"hierarchy-explorer-logo\" width=\"100\" height=\"119\"><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><strong>TO\u00a0EXPLORE\u00a0THE\u00a0CURRENT\u00a0CONTENT\u00a0\u2013 VISIT\u00a0THE\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/usnvc.org\/explore-classification\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">NVC Hierarchy Browser<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>FGDC 2008 National Vegetation Classification Standard, Version 2.\u00a0 Federal Geographic Data Committee \u2013 Vegetation Subcommittee.\u00a0 FGDC-STD-005-2008 (Version 2).\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.fgdc.gov\/standards\/projects\/FGDC-standards-projects\/vegetation\/NVCS_V2_FINAL_2008-02.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">http:\/\/www.fgdc.gov\/standards\/projects\/FGDC-standards-projects\/vegetation\/NVCS_V2_FINAL_2008-02.pdf<\/a><\/li>\n<li>National Resources Inventory (NRI). 2003. Handbook of Instruction for Remote Data Collection, Chapter 13.\u00a0 Land Cover \/ Use. Natural Resources Conservation Service. USDA, Washington, DC.<\/li>\n<li>U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). 2001. NLCD Land Cover Class Definitions, USGS EROS Data Center, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, URL:\u00a0\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/landcover.usgs.gov\/natllandcover.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">http:\/\/landcover.usgs.gov\/natllandcover.php<\/a>, last accessed 30 August 2006.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"col-xl-4 col-lg-5\">\u00a0<\/div>\n<div>\n<h2 class=\"has-black-color has-text-color wp-block-heading\">Management and Vision:<\/h2>\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">The USNVC is managed through a formal partnership between federal land management agencies, the Ecological Society of America (ESA), and NatureServe. These groups work jointly under the Vegetation Subcommittee, a part of the Federal Geographic Data Committee. Together, they are committed to supporting the implementation and maintenance of the USNVC.<\/p>\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">The USNVC is driven by this<strong>\u00a0vision<\/strong>:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p><em><strong>The Vegetation Classification Standard enables federal agencies to produce uniform statistics about vegetation resources across the nation, facilitates interagency cooperation on vegetation management issues that transcend jurisdictional boundaries, and encourages non-Federal partners to utilize and contribute to a common system when working with their Federal partners.<\/strong><\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h2 class=\"has-black-color has-text-color wp-block-heading\">Structure and Applications<\/h2>\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Land management agencies are actively engaged in inventory and monitoring vegetation resources across the nation.\u00a0 However, while vegetation classification is integral to the successful functioning of a variety of groups across all jurisdictional boundaries, no single agency has been tasked with the sole purpose of mapping or describing vegetation in the United States. As a result, many agencies have created their own protocols, resulting in data that is incompatible across jurisdictional boundaries. The USNVC was created to address this need. Its structure is:\u00a0<\/p>\n<ul class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-list\">\n<li>Focused on classifying existing vegetation<\/li>\n<li>Hierarchical, with upper levels based on physiognomy and lower levels based on floristics<\/li>\n<li>Inclusive of both cultural and natural vegetation types<\/li>\n<li>Built from publicly available plot data whenever possible<\/li>\n<li>Revised through a peer-review process\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">The common language provided by the standard increases the return on those individual investments and allows the development of efficient strategies for guiding future work.\u00a0 Furthermore, it is more about more than just plants.\u00a0 The classification supports wildlife conservation and forest fire management. Some activities supported by the USNVC are:\u00a0<\/p>\n<ul class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-list\">\n<li>Modeling and mapping wildlife habitat<\/li>\n<li>Enhancing natural resource conservation efforts\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>Fire management planning and modeling<\/li>\n<li>Studying patterns of vegetation change over time<\/li>\n<li>Managing invasive species<\/li>\n<li>Land inventory and mapping programs\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>Setting national vegetation policies (e.g., biofuels, carbon markets, ecosystem services)<\/li>\n<li>Developing national cropland statistics<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 class=\"has-black-color has-text-color wp-block-heading\">Standard vs. Classification<\/h2>\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">The USNVC is structured by a\u00a0<strong>data standard\u00a0<\/strong>to create the vegetation hierarchy upon which the\u00a0<strong>classification\u00a0<\/strong>is generated.<\/p>\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">The\u00a0<strong>standard<\/strong>\u00a0is the collective set of rules whose output describes the structure of the vegetation hierarchy. \u00a0The end result of applying the standard is the\u00a0<strong><a title=\"Classification\" href=\"http:\/\/usnvc.org\/explore-classification\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">classification<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>or the fully listed vegetation hierarchy.<\/p>\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">The National Vegetation Classification federal standard is a\u00a0<em>process\u00a0<\/em>standard. The standard itself does not contain a formal set of classification units, but rather outlines the process by which such units are to be described, peer-reviewed, and maintained through various data-management and web tools. This means that the classification is\u00a0<em>dynamic<\/em>, subject to change as vegetation scientists\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/usnvc.org\/revisions\/\">revise<\/a>, or newly describe vegetation types in the United States.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>USNVC The\u00a0US National Vegetation Classification\u00a0(USNVC) provides a national, conceptual framework for classifying, inventorying, and studying both cultural and natural vegetation of the U.S. It provides a common language for the effective management and conservation of plant communities. The USNVC\u00a0federal Standard is a\u00a0process\u00a0standard. The standard itself does not contain a formal set of classification units but rather outlines the process by&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11163,"featured_media":0,"parent":1566,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1611","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/esa.org\/vegpanel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1611","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/esa.org\/vegpanel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/esa.org\/vegpanel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/esa.org\/vegpanel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11163"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/esa.org\/vegpanel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1611"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/esa.org\/vegpanel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1611\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1612,"href":"https:\/\/esa.org\/vegpanel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1611\/revisions\/1612"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/esa.org\/vegpanel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1566"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/esa.org\/vegpanel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1611"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}