2023 Little Libby Island Vascular Plant Botanical Inventory

2023 Little Libby Island Vascular Plant Botanical Inventory Machiasport, Maine, United States.Little Libby Island (CIR 79-360) Inventory Conducted: June 19, 20; July 8, 9, 10; August 14, 15, 16; September 5, 6, 7, 2023 Maine Natural History ObservatoryLead Botanist: Glen MittelhauserContact: [e-mail] Sources: Maine Coastal Islands National Wildlife Refuge -----------------------------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. -----------------------------File list and description of each file(See report for more information) 1) Core fileFile Name: LittleLibbyIsland2023_EventCore_GridCells.csv Description: Using GIS software, we built a 25x25 m grid across the island with a total of 239 grid cells that had at least some vascular plants (Figure 1). The grid was oriented following true compass bearings, with the UTM coordinates (NAD83, Zone 19) of the grid extent being 629525, 4936900 and 630075, 4936150 for 30 rows and 22 columns of grid cells, numbered consecutively first in rows from west to east and then from south to north.This file contains coordinates only for the grid cells that contained vascular plants. GRID CELLS2) Extension of Core fileFile Name: LittleLibbyIsland2023_Occurrences_GridCells.csv Connects to: LittleLibbyIsland2023_EventCore_GridCells.csv linked using the gridCell column. Description: On each trip to the island, we visited all grid cells, made a list of vascular plants present within each grid cell, and estimated the categorical abundance of each. 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. By comparing species abundances within grid cells on the various trips, we documented the maximum categorical abundance of each species in each grid cell on the islands. QUADRATS3) Extension of Core fileFile Name: LittleLibbyIsland2023_Quadrats.csv Connects to: LittleLibbyIsland2023_EventCore_GridCells.csv linked using the gridCell column. Description: Within a subset of selected grid cells with vascular plants present, we also estimated cover of each species within 1x1 m quadrats. For measuring the vegetation in the interior of the island (29 grid cells), the location of the 1x1 m quadrats was based off of the center of each selected 25x25 m grid cell (estimated with the GPS unit), with three quadrats placed approximately 2 m from the center of the grid cell (tossed in the correct direction): one quadrat 2 m to the NW, one quadrat 2 m to the NE, and one quadrat 2 m to the S. If trampled vegetation was in the quadrat location, the quadrat was tossed further from the center point of the grid cell. Because many species in the island interior matured earlier in the season, we conducted these surveys during July before most of the interior vegetation dried up.Each 1x1 m vegetation sampling quadrat was sampled non-destructively for visual estimates of cover for each species of vascular plants, with separate categories recorded for rock, dead vegetation, bare soil, and washed up debris near the shore. Plant cover was estimated as accurately as possible, without rounding to categories or even the nearest percent, especially when considering rare species. We used calibration templates showing 1 %, 2.5%, and 5% cover and negative-space templates for 0.5% and 1% cover to help with cover estimates. We also carried transparent templates for fractions of cover from 0.1% to 1% for various size rectangles, ellipses, and circles. When estimating cover, we ignored small gaps between leaflets of compound leaves, but larger and important gaps between leaves were considered. -----------------------------Column Definitions Name: gridCell Type: IntegerDescription: 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: StringDescription: 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: DoubleDescription: UTM X coordinate.Maps to term(s) in Darwin Core: Name: UTMy(Northing) Type: DoubleDescription: UTM Y coordinate.Maps to term(s) in Darwin Core: Name: geodeticDatum Type: StringDescription: 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: StringDescription: Maps to term(s) in Darwin Core: Name: year Type: IntegerDescription: 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: StringDescription: 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: StringDescription: 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: StringDescription: The full scientific name, with authorship and date information if known. All nomenclature follows Haines (2011)Maps to term(s) in Darwin Core: scientificName (http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/scientificName) Name: family Type: StringDescription: The full scientific name of the family in which the Taxon is classified.Maps to term(s) in Darwin Core: family (http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/family) Name: vernacularNameType: StringDescription: A common or vernacular name.Maps to term(s) in Darwin Core: vernacularName (http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/vernacularName) Name: statusInMaineType: StringDescription: Native = Considered native to Maine; Exotic = considered non-native to Maine.Maps to term(s) in Darwin Core: Name: measurementTypeType: StringDescription: 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: measurementValueAbundanceType: StringDescription: 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. Maps to term(s) in Darwin Core: measurementValue (http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/measurementValue) Name: quadratNumberType: StringDescription: Identifier for the 1x1 m quadrats.Maps to term(s) in Darwin Core: eventID (http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/eventID) Name: directionType: StringDescription: Cardinal directions.Maps to term(s) in Darwin Core: Name: eventDateType: DateDescription: The date-time or interval during which a Event occurred.Maps to term(s) in Darwin Core: eventDate (http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/eventDate) Name: measurementValuePercentageType: DecimalDescription: Visual estimates of percentage cover for each species. Maps to term(s) in Darwin Core: measurementValue (http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/measurementValue) -----------------------------File type information .csv files:- linesTerminatedBy: \n- fieldsTerminatedBy: ;- dateFormat: DD-MMM-YY -----------------------------Coordinate System Using GIS software, we built a 25x25 m grid across the island with a total of 239 grid cells that had at least some vascular plants. The grid was oriented following true compass bearings, with the UTM coordinates (NAD83, Zone 19) of the grid extent being 629525, 4936900 and 630075, 4936150 for 30 rows and 22 columns of grid cells, numbered consecutively first in rows from west to east and then from south to north. -----------------------------Citation instructions Author: Glen Mittelhauser, Maine Natural History ObservatoryTitle: 2023 Little Libby Island Vascular Plant Botanical Inventory Year of publication: 2023----------------------------- Licensing: CC-BY