Recommended citation: Faccio, S.D., S.W. MacFaden, J.D. Lambert, J. O’Neil-Dunne, and K.P. McFarland. 2016. The North Atlantic Vernal Pool Data Cooperative: 2016 revision. Final report submitted to the North Atlantic Landscape Conservation Cooperative.
The primary goal of this project was to advance vernal pool conservation by improving, a) knowledge of vernal pool distribution within the North Atlantic Region, and b) capacity to map vernal pool locations using remote-sensing technology. This was achieved by:
- compiling a spatially explicit database (the Vernal Pool Data Cooperative) of vernal pool locations in the NALCC region, including potential and field-verified pools;
- identifying and describing the coordinated mapping efforts within the region; and,
- developing a remote-sensing methodology to identify potential vernal pools using Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) technology and object-based image analysis.
Chapter 1 of this report details the process of developing the Vernal Pool Data Cooperative (VPDC) framework, describes the structure of the database and the data fields, and includes a metadata library which catalogues the data submitted to and included in the VPDC. There is also a section that identifies and describes the coordinated vernal pool mapping efforts across the NALCC region.
Chapter 2 describes the methodology used in developing model rule sets to identify potential vernal pools using Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) technology, multi-spectral imagery, and object-based image analysis. Results of the technique are presented for two pilot study areas located in northern New England (Addison County, Vermont) and the mid-Atlantic coastal plain (Cumberland County, New Jersey).
This project was funded by a Priority Science Grant from the North Atlantic Landscape Conservation Cooperative, and benefitted from the guidance and advice of a steering committee that consisted of the following members:
Rob Baldwin – Clemson University
Aram Calhoun – University of Maine
John Heilferty – New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife
Mary-Beth Kolozsvary – Siena College
David Patrick – The Nature Conservancy
Scott Schwenk – North Atlantic Landscape Conservation Cooperative
Scott Smith – Maryland Department of Natural Resources
Lesley Sneddon – Nature Serve
