2017 Halifax Island Vascular Plant Botanical Inventory

2017 Halifax Island Vascular Plant Botanical Inventory 

Washington County, Maine, United States.
Halifax Island (CIREG 79-570) is located 2.68 km off of Cow Point, Roque Bluffs and 3.33 km east of Roque Island.

Maine Natural History Observatory
Lead Botanist: Glen Mittelhauser
Contact: info@mainenaturalhistory.org
Funding Sources: Maine Coastal Islands National Wildlife Refuge, Davis Conservation Foundation

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Permissions and Data Use

These data are made publicly available to encourage transparency, long-term preservation, and reuse in ecological research, conservation planning, and education. These inventories represent baseline conditions at the time of survey and should be interpreted with appropriate consideration of survey year, methods, and observer effort. Users are welcome to download, analyze, and incorporate these data into derivative works, including independent analyses and publications. Any use of these data must acknowledge the original source by citing the website where the data are archived and giving credit for the historical data to Glen Mittelhauser, Maine Natural History Observatory. Users are encouraged, though not required, to notify Maine Natural History Observatory of substantial or interpretive uses of the dataset, particularly those leading to publication.

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File list and description of each data file
(See report for more information)

1) Core file
File Name: Halifax2017_EventCore_GridCells.csv
    Description: Lists the names and locations of all 25x25 meter grid cells that were botanically inventoried.  Using GIS software, we built a virtual 25x25 m grid across the island and into the intertidal zone, for a total of 566 grid cells for Halifax Island.  The grid was oriented following true compass bearings, with the UTM coordinates (NAD83, Zone 19) of the grid extent being 4936975, 621850; 4936275, 622750. 

GRID CELLS
2) Extension of Core file
File Name: Halifax2017_Occurrences_GridCells.csv
    Connects to: Halifax2017_EventCore_GridCells.csv linked using the gridCell column.
    Description: Lists species of vascular plants observed with estimates of maximum categorical abundance of each species within each 25x25 m grid cell.  Abundance categories were as follows:  common = species with a wide distribution in the grid cell, occurring in large numbers, typically with over 50% cover; occasional = species with a scattered distribution throughout the grid cell, typically with 25-50% cover; uncommon = species not widely distributed and not often encountered in the grid cell, typically with 5-25% cover; and rare = species usually restricted to small areas, specialized habitats, or consisting of 1 or 2 very small "populations" in the grid cell, typically with less than 5% cover.  

QUADRATS
3) Extension of Core file
File Name: Halifax2017_Quadrats.csv
    Connects to: Halifax2017_EventCore_GridCells.csv linked using the gridCell column.
    Description: Within a subset of 51 grid cells with vascular plants present in the interior of the island, we estimated cover (in percent) of each species within three 1x1 meter quadrats per grid cell. One quadrat was sampled during each of three visits conducted in June, July, and August.  Quadrat locations were determined relative to the estimated center of each 25x25 meter grid cell, as recorded by GPS, with the quadrats placed approximately 2 meters from the center to the north, southeast, and southwest.  

BELT TRANSECTS
4) Extension of Core file
File Name: Halifax2017_BeltTransects.csv
    Connects to: Halifax2017_EventCore_GridCells.csv linked using the gridCell column.
    Description: We selected a subset of 23 coastal grid cells for sampling. For each 25x25 meter grid cell selected for sampling, we set up 2 belt transects, each 9 m long, with 1x1 meter quadrats placed every other meter along the belt transect for a total of five quadrats crossing the shore to interior vegetation gradient.  The belt transects started at the vascular plant closest to the intertidal zone (or the lowest vascular plant species within the intertidal zone for species such as Suaeda maritima but excluding subtidal species such as Zostera marina) and continued toward the center of the island and crossing the shore to interior vegetation gradient as directly as possible.  The UTM coordinates (NAD83, zone 19) at the start of each belt transect (i.e., the vascular plant lowest in elevation near the shore or intertidal zone) were recorded for each belt transect.  One belt transect was located half way between the grid cell center and the northern or eastern side of the grid cell and the other belt transect was located half way between the grid cell center and the southern or western side of the grid cell.   Each belt transect was given a number based on the grid cell number of the start of the belt transect (and this transect number was maintained even if the belt transect crossed into another grid cell) and the quadrats were numbered consecutively from 1 to 5 while progressing towards the island interior.  Each 1x1 meter vegetation sampling quadrat was sampled non-destructively for visual estimates of cover for each species of vascular plants, with separate categories for rock, dead vegetation, bare soil, and washed up debris, as described for the quadrats above.

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Column Definitions

Name: gridCell 
Type: String
Description: Identifier for the 25x25 m grid cells.
Maps to term(s) in Darwin Core: eventID (http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/eventID)

Name: verbatimCoordinateSystem 
Type: String
Description: The coordinate format for the location.
Maps to term(s) in Darwin Core: verbatimCoordinateSystem (http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/verbatimCoordinateSystem)

Name: UTMx(Easting) 
Type: Double
Description: UTM X coordinate.
Maps to term(s) in Darwin Core:
 
Name: UTMy(Northing) 
Type: Double
Description: UTM Y coordinate.
Maps to term(s) in Darwin Core: 

Name: geodeticDatum 
Type: String
Description: The geodetic datum upon which the geographic coordinates given are based.
Maps to term(s) in Darwin Core: geodeticDatum (http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/geodeticDatum)

Name: UTMZone 
Type: String
Description: 
Maps to term(s) in Darwin Core: 

Name: year 
Type: Integer
Description: The four-digit year in which the survey occurred.
Maps to term(s) in Darwin Core: year (http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/year)

Name: samplingProtocol 
Type: String
Description: The names of, references to, or descriptions of the methods or protocols of event.
Maps to term(s) in Darwin Core: samplingProtocol (http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/samplingProtocol)

Name: island 
Type: String
Description: The name of the island on which the location occurs.
Maps to term(s) in Darwin Core: island (http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/island)

Name: scientificName 
Type: String
Description: The full scientific name, with authorship and date information if known.
Maps to term(s) in Darwin Core: scientificName (http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/scientificName)

Name: family 
Type: String
Description: The full scientific name of the family in which the dwc:Taxon is classified.
Maps to term(s) in Darwin Core: family (http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/family)

Name: vernacularName
Type: String
Description: A common or vernacular name.
Maps to term(s) in Darwin Core: vernacularName (http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/vernacularName)

Name: statusInMaine
Type: String
Description: Native = Considered native to Maine; Exotic = considered non-native to Maine.
Maps to term(s) in Darwin Core: 

Name: measurementType
Type: String
Description: The nature of the measurement, fact, characteristic, or assertion.
Maps to term(s) in Darwin Core: measurementType (http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/measurementType)

Name: measurementValueAbundance
Type: String
Description: C = common: species with a wide distribution in the grid cell, occurring in large numbers, typically with over 50% cover; O = occasional: species with a scattered distribution throughout the grid cell, typically with 25-50% cover; U = uncommon: species not widely distributed and not often encountered in the grid cell, typically with 5-25% cover; and R = rare: species usually restricted to small areas, specialized habitats, or consisting of 1 or 2 very small "populations" in the grid cell, typically with less than 5% cover. 
Maps to term(s) in Darwin Core: measurementValue (http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/measurementValue)

Name: quadratNumber
Type: String
Description: Identifier for the 1x1 m quadrats.
Maps to term(s) in Darwin Core: eventID (http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/eventID)

Name: gridCell
Type: String
Description: Identifier for the 25x25 m grid cells.
Maps to term(s) in Darwin Core: eventID (http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/eventID)

Name: direction
Type: String
Description: Cardinal directions.
Maps to term(s) in Darwin Core:

Name: verbatimEventDate
Type: String
Description: The verbatim original representation of the date information.
Maps to term(s) in Darwin Core: verbatimEventDate (http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/verbatimEventDate)

Name: fieldNotes
Type: String
Description: Notes taken in the field.
Maps to term(s) in Darwin Core: fieldNotes (http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/iri/fieldNotes)

Name: measurementValuePercentage
Type: Decimal
Description: Visual estimates of percentage cover for each species, with separate categories recorded for rock, dead vegetation, bare soil, and washed up debris near the shore. 
Maps to term(s) in Darwin Core: measurementValue (http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/measurementValue)

Name: beltQuadratNumber
Type: String
Description: Identifier for the 1x1 m quadrats.
Maps to term(s) in Darwin Core: eventID (http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/eventID)

Name: startingCoordinates
Type: String
Description: UTM location coordinates for start of belt transect (NAD83, Zone 19)
Maps to term(s) in Darwin Core: 
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File type information

.csv files:
- linesTerminatedBy: \n
- fieldsTerminatedBy: ;
- dateFormat: Month DD YYYY

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Coordinate System 

Using GIS software, we built a virtual 25x25 meter grid across the island and into the intertidal zone, for a total of 566 grid cells for Halifax Island.  The grid was oriented following true compass bearings, with the UTM coordinates (NAD83, Zone 19) of the grid extent being 4936975, 621850; 4936275, 622750.  UTM coordinates in each .csv file refer to the center point of each 25x25 m grid cell. Refer to Shape files for more details.

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Citation instructions

Author: Glen Mittelhauser, Maine Natural History Observatory
Title: 2017 Halifax Island Vascular Plant Botanical Inventory 
Year of publication: 2017
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Licensing: CC-BY