GRSM VEG SOIL PLOTS VS

The GRSM Vital Signs Vegetation and Soils plot layer consist of 662 points generated through a Generalized Random Tessellation Stratified (GRTS) sampling design in the spsurvey package of R. Point locations are for potential plot locations, though a position must be accepted in the field before a vegetation and soils plot can be established. The general design of the vegetation and soils monitoring program is for plots to be on a 5 year rotation, with the year of initial plot installation being denoted in the "Panel" field as 5-1, 5-2, 5-3, 5-4, 5-5. Currently, there are 120 plot locations designated into one of these year classes. Besides these classes, each strata of the GRTS draw have oversample points denoted as "Oversample" in the Panel field, and plots that have already been rejected are given a panel value of "REJ". The remaining plots are in the panel "secondary", denoting that they fall within a secondary Vital Signs watershed, are not not currently part of the monitoring design, though they can be added at a later date. See the GRSM Vital Signs Vegetation and Soils Monitoring Protocol (in Draft) for more information on site selection and plot locations. The corresponding Integration of Resource Management Applications (IRMA) NPS Data Store reference is Great Smoky Mountains National Park Vegetation and Soil Monitoring Plots for the Vital Signs Program.