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VegBank Data Dictionary: Tables

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DB Table Name observation
Table Observation
Notes This table stores plot observation results that might vary between official observation events.
Description Observation is a child of plot in recognition of the fact that a plot may be re-sampled and that some of the environmental conditions may change between resampling events.
Field DB Field Name Req'd? Data Type Misc Flag List? Definition
OBSERVATION ID OBSERVATION_ID no serial PK no Database generated identifier assigned to each unique plot observation.
Previous Observation PREVIOUSOBS_ID no Integer FK no Link to data from the previous observation of this plot.
Plot PLOT_ID required Integer FK no Link to data and metadata that do not change between observations and which are stored in the plot table.
Project PROJECT_ID no Integer FK no Link between an observation and the project within which the observation was made
Author Observation Code authorObsCode no varchar (30) n/a no This is the code or name that the author uses to identify this plot observation event. Where a plot has only one observation, this will often equal plot.authorPlotCode.
Observation Start Date obsStartDate no Date n/a no The date of the observation, or the first day if the observation spanned more than one day.
Observation End Date obsEndDate no Date n/a no If the observation event spanned more than a single day, this is the last day on which observations were made.
Date Accuracy dateAccuracy no varchar (30) n/a closed Estimated accuracy of the observation date.
Date Entered into VegBank dateEntered no Date n/a no Date that the observation was added to VegBank
Cover Method COVERMETHOD_ID no Integer FK no Link to the scale used to estimate taxon cover. The database stores estimated cover to the nearest percent, but the conversion details are recovered by reference to the specific scale employed.
Cover Dispersion coverDispersion no varchar (30) n/a closed Were cover values for the total taxon list collected from one contiguous area or dispersed subplots?
Overall Taxon Cover Values are Automatically Calculated? autoTaxonCover no Boolean n/a no TRUE indicates that taxonObservation.taxonCover was automatically calculated from the values of all stratumObservation.taxonStratumCover
Stratum Method STRATUMMETHOD_ID no Integer FK no Link to the definitions of strata used in recording taxon-specific values of cover.
Method Narrative methodNarrative no text n/a no Additional metadata helpful for understanding how the data were collected during the observation event.
Taxon Observation Area taxonObservationArea no Float n/a no the total surface area (in m^2) used for cover estimates and for which a complete species list is provided. If subplots were used, this would be the total area of the subplots without interstitial space. RESERVED VALUE: -1 is used to indicate the complete list of species had no known boundaries.
Stem Size Limit stemSizeLimit no Float n/a no Lower diameter limit in centimeters for inclusion of a tree in the stem count (stemCount).
Stem Observation Area stemObservationArea no Float n/a no the total surface area (in m^2) observed for recording woody stem data. RESERVED VALUE: -1 means no known area.
Stem Sample Method stemSampleMethod no varchar (30) n/a closed The method used to obtain basal area or tree stem data (e.g., full census, point quarter, random pairs, Bitterlich, other).
Original Data Location originalData no text n/a no Location where the hard data reside and any access instructions.
Effort Level effortLevel no varchar (30) n/a closed This is the effort spent making the observations as estimated by the party that submitted the data (e.g., Very thorough, Average, Hurried description).
Plot Validation Level plotValidationLevel no Integer n/a closed Quality of plot as determined by an automated filter system, including values such as (1) sufficient for determining type occurrence, (2) sufficient for inclusion in a classification revision, and (3) fully compliant with recommendations.
Floristic Quality floristicQuality no varchar (30) n/a closed Subjective assessment of floristic quality by the party that submitted the plot (e.g., Highest, High, High but incomplete, Moderate, Moderate and incomplete, Low).
Bryophyte Quality bryophyteQuality no varchar (30) n/a closed Subjective assessment of the taxonomic quality of the bryophyte data by the party that submitted the plot (e.g., Highest, High, High but incomplete, Moderate, Moderate and incomplete, Low, Very incomplete, absent).
Lichen Quality lichenQuality no varchar (30) n/a closed Subjective assessment of the taxonomic quality of the lichen data by the party that submitted the plot (e.g., Highest, High, High but incomplete, Moderate, Moderate and incomplete, Low, Very incomplete, absent).
Observation Narrative observationNarrative no text n/a no Additional unstructured observations useful for understanding the ecological attributes and significance of the plot observations.
Landscape Narrative landscapeNarrative no text n/a no Unstructured observations on the landscape context of the observed plot.
Homogeneity homogeneity no varchar (50) n/a closed How homogeneous was the community (e.g., homogeneous, compositional trend across plot, conspicuous inclusions, irregular mosaic or pattern).
Phenologic Aspect phenologicAspect no varchar (30) n/a closed Season expression of the community (e.g., typical growing season, vernal, aestival, wet, autumnal, winter, dry, irregular ephemerals present).
Representativeness representativeness no varchar (255) n/a no How representative was the plot of the stand?
Stand Maturity standMaturity no varchar (50) n/a closed How mature is the stand. Could be young, mature but even-aged, old-growth, etc.
Successional Status successionalStatus no text n/a no Description of the assumed successional status of the plot. This description is of necessity highly subjective.
Number of Taxa numberOfTaxa no Integer n/a no The number of taxa found on the plot, within the taxonObservationArea. Any species known to be found only outside of the taxonObservationArea would not be included in this number. Use 0 for this field to indicate that no taxa were found within the plot bounds.
Basal Area basalArea no Float n/a no Total basal area of woody stems (in m²/ha). 0 should be used to indicate that plots have no stems.
Hydrologic Regime hydrologicRegime no varchar (30) n/a closed What is the hydrologic regime, which is a reflection of frequency and duration of flooding? List is taken from Cowardin et al. 1979, 1985.
Soil Moisture Regime soilMoistureRegime no varchar (30) n/a closed How moist was the soil at the sampling event?
Soil Drainage soilDrainage no varchar (30) n/a closed Identifies the natural drainage conditions of the soil and refers to the frequency and duration of wet periods. The soil drainage classes are defined in terms of (1) actual moisture content (in excess of field moisture capacity) and (2) the extent of the period during which excess water is present in the plant-root zone. Soil drainage class categories conform to the FGDC Soil Geographic Data Standards, September 1997. (http://www.fgdc.gov/standards/documents/standards/soils/soil997.PDF.) Definitions are derived from Grossman et al. (1998) and Sims et al. (1997).
Water Salinity waterSalinity no varchar (30) n/a closed How saline is the water, if a flooded community?
Water Depth waterDepth no Float n/a no For aquatic or marine vegetation, what was the water depth in m.
Shore Distance shoreDistance no Float n/a no For aquatic or marine vegetation, what was the closest distance to shore in m.
Soil Depth soilDepth no Float n/a no Median depth to bedrock or permafrost in m (usually from averaging multiple probe readings).
Organic Depth organicDepth no Float n/a no Depth of the surficial organic layer, where present, in centimeters.
Soil Taxon SOILTAXON_ID no Integer FK no Foreign key into table of soil taxa within the USDA classification hierarchy, including Order, Suborder, Greatgroup, Subgroup, Family and Series.
Soil Taxon Source soilTaxonSrc no varchar (200) n/a closed How was the soil taxon determined (e.g., field observation, map, other sources)?
Percent Bedrock percentBedRock no Float n/a no Percent of surface that is exposed bedrock.
Percent Rock / Gravel percentRockGravel no Float n/a no Percent of surface that is exposed rock and gravel.
Percent Wood percentWood no Float n/a no Percent of surface that is wood.
Percent Litter percentLitter no Float n/a no Percent of surface that is litter.
Percent Bare Soil percentBareSoil no Float n/a no Percent of surface that is bare soil.
Percent Water percentWater no Float n/a no Percent of surface that is water.
Percent Other percentOther no Float n/a no Percent of surface that belong to an additional itemized category
Name Other nameOther no varchar (30) n/a no Name of additional itemized ground cover category (e.g., beer cans).
Tree Height treeHt no Float n/a no Height of the tree layer in m.
Shrub Height shrubHt no Float n/a no Height of the shrub layer in m.
Field Height fieldHt no Float n/a no Height of the field layer in m.
Nonvascular Height nonvascularHt no Float n/a no Height of the nonvascular layer in m.
Submerged Height submergedHt no Float n/a no Height of the submerged layer in m.
Tree Cover treeCover no Float n/a no Total cover of the tree layer in percent. Includes tall trees (single-stemmed woody plants, generally more than 5 m in height or greater at maturity under optimal growing conditions). Very tall shrubs with tree-like form may also be included here, as may other life forms, such as lianas and epiphytes.
Shrub Cover shrubCover no Float n/a no Total cover of the shrub layer in percent. Includes shrubs (multiple-stemmed woody plants, generally less than 5 m in height at maturity under optimal growing conditions) and shorter trees (saplings). As with the tree stratum, other life forms present in this stratum may also be included (however, herbaceous life forms should be excluded, as their stems often die back annually and do not have as consistent a height as woody life forms). Where dwarf-shrubs (i.e. shrubs shorter than 0.5 m) form a distinct stratum (either as part of a series of strata, as in a forest, or as the top stratum of more open vegetation, such as tundra or xeric shrublands), they should be treated as a low version of the shrub stratum (or short shrub substratum). In many vegetation types, dwarf-shrubs may simply occur as one life form component of the herb stratum.
Field Cover fieldCover no Float n/a no Total cover of the field layer in percent. Also referred to as Herb stratum. Includes herbs (plants without woody stems and often dying back annually), often in association with low creeping semi-shrubs, dwarf-shrubs, vines, and non-woody brambles (such as raspberries), as well as tree or shrub seedlings.
Nonvascular Cover nonvascularCover no Float n/a no Total cover of the nonvascular layer in percent. Also referred to as moss, bryoid, or ground stratum. Defined entirely by mosses, lichens, liverworts, and alga. Ground-creeping vines, prostrate shrubs and herbs should be treated in the herb stratum. Where herbs are entirely absent, it is still possible to recognize this stratum if other very low woody or semi-woody life forms are present.
Floating Cover floatingCover no Float n/a no Total cover of the floating layer in percent. Includes rooted or drifting plants that float on the water surface (e.g., duckweed, water-lily).
Submerged Cover submergedCover no Float n/a no Total cover of the submerged layer in percent. Includes rooted or drifting plants that by-and-large remain submerged in the water column or on the aquatic bottom (e.g., pondweed). The focus is on the overall strata arrangement of these aquatic plants. Note that emergent plants life forms in a wetland should be placed in above water strata (e.g., cattail or sedges would be placed in the herb stratum, whereas the duckweed would be in the floating aquatic stratum).
Dominant Stratum dominantStratum no varchar (40) n/a closed Which of the six standard strata is dominant?
Growthform1 Type growthform1Type no varchar (40) n/a closed The predominant growth form?
Growthform2 Type growthform2Type no varchar (40) n/a closed The second-most predominant growthform?
Growthform3 Type growthform3Type no varchar (40) n/a closed The third-most predominant growthform
Growthform1 Cover growthform1Cover no Float n/a no Total cover of the predominant growthform?
Growthform2 Cover growthform2Cover no Float n/a no Total cover of the second-most predominant growthform?
Growthform3 Cover growthform3Cover no Float n/a no Total cover of the third-most predominant growthform?
Total Cover totalCover no Float n/a no The total cover, in percent, of all vegetation on the plot.
Observation Accession Code accessionCode no varchar (100) n/a no Code that uniquely references this record, allowing reference to this record for this version of this database. Better than a primary key, which is automatically generated by a database and not globally unique. VegBank Accession codes are only generated by VegBank, and therefore data integrity can be guaranteed, unlike with a primary key (number).
Notes Public notesPublic no Boolean n/a no TRUE indicates that public notes pertaining to this plot exist in "vegPlot.note"
Notes Mgt notesMgt no Boolean n/a no TRUE indicates that nonpublic management notes pertaining to this plot exist in "vegPlot.note"
Revisions revisions no Boolean n/a no TRUE indicates that revisions exist in vegPlot.Revision