VegBranch Loading Tables Overview -- Plot Data (C)
Navigation between loading tables:
Party Information | Species List | Plot Data | Plot Normalized | Presence Data | Strata Cover Data | Stem Data | Stem Classes | Soil Data | Disturbance Data | Community Concept | Plot Communities | User Defined Metadata
Jump to a different part of this page: Field Descriptions | Example Data
| Summary: | Data that are consistent across a plot. For example, elevation, plot name, plot location, etc. |
| Description: | Defines each plot, which are linked from other loading tables with the authorPlotCode. Stratum Definitions may also be provided here, or in Normalized Plot Data. |
| Required in VegBranch: | REQUIRED. You must have plot data to submit a plot. If you don't have this data in digital format, you will need to enter your plot data manually in a form. |
| Represents VegBank Tables: | plot, observation, stratum (9), observationContributor (5), place (5) |
| VegBranch can generate for you: | no |
| Questions: | Where are the plots? When were they observed? What are their environments? What was the methodology? |
| Expertise Level: | basic |
Fields (Columns) in this table:
| » Required fields; you should always fill in values for these: | ||
| authorPlotCode text (100) |
Author's Plot number/code, or the original plot number if taken from literature. This number/code will be used to link other loading table records to this plot. Each plot should have its own unique code. If authorPlotCode fields in other tables have values not found in Plot Data, the Data Check form will report an error. | |
| realLatitude Double |
Latitude of the plot origin in degrees and decimals, datum =WGS84 | |
| realLongitude Double |
Longitude of the plot origin in degrees and decimals, datum = WGS84 | |
| confidentialityStatus text (50) |
Are the data to be considered confidential? If so, location coordinates can be "fuzzed" so that the exact location of the plot is not public knowledge, but approximate location is. Location and the plot can also be completely embargoed. See the closed list for details on valid values for this field. | |
| confidentialityReason text (200) |
The reason for confidentiality. This field is not be open to public view once plots are in VegBank. Reasons might include specific rare species, ownership, prepublication embargo, or many other reasons. | |
| » Best Practice fields: | ||
| area Double |
Total area of the plot in m2. If many subplots, this area includes the subplots and the intersticial space. | |
| permanence text (50) |
Is the plot monumented so as to assure permanence? If so, this should be described in the layoutNarrative | |
| obsStartDate Date/Time |
The date of the observation, or the first day if the observation spanned more than one day. | |
| taxonObservationArea Double |
The total surface area (in m2) 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 intersticial space. | |
| Contrib1 text (150) |
Contributor to the plot, in role indicated in Role1. The field should match a party code in your party data. VegBank can generate that table from values in this and similar fields. | |
| Role1 text (50) |
Role code for the contributor to this observation that is listed in Contrib1. Role Codes will be translated in the Translate Data Form. Examples: Plot Leader, Plot Assistant, Taxonomic Advisor | |
| » Commonly used fields: | ||
| locationAccuracy Double |
Estimated accuracy of the location of the plot. Plot origin has a 95% or greater probability of being within this many meters of the reported location. | |
| authorE text (20) |
Original E-W coordinate as recorded by the author | |
| authorN text (20) |
Original N-S coordinate as recorded by the author | |
| authorZone text (20) |
Original UTM zone reported by the author | |
| authorDatum text (20) |
Original datum reported by the author | |
| authorLocation text (200) |
Original location as described by author (e.g. Town-Range-Section) | |
| locationNarrative Memo |
Text description that provides information useful for plot relocation. | |
| azimuth Double |
This element stores the azimuth of the x-axis used to describe the relative coordinate system for plot shape (dsgpoly) and other spatial information about the plot. Typically the azimuth is parallel to the long axis of the plot (in the case of a rectangle). | |
| shape text (50) |
Shape of the plot area. | |
| standSize Text (50) |
The extent of this community occurrence in relation to the plot size: see list of values. | |
| placementMethod text (50) |
Brief description of strategy for determining plot placement within the stand. | |
| layoutNarrative Memo |
Text description of and the rationale for the layout of the plot. | |
| elevation Double |
The elevation of the plot origin in meters above sea level. | |
| slopeAspect Double |
Representative azimuth of slope gradient (0-360 degrees); if too flat to determine = -1; if too irregular to determine = -2. | |
| slopeGradient Double |
Representative inclination of slope in degrees; if too irregular to determine, = -1. | |
| topoPosition text (100) |
Position of the plot on land surface (e.g., Summit, shoulder, upper slope, middle slope, lower slope, toeslope, no slope, channel bed, dune swale, pond). | |
| landform text (50) |
Landform type. | |
| rockType text (90) |
RockType values conform to the lithic types in the FGDC Soil Geographic Data Standards, September 1997. http://www.fgdc.gov/standards/documents/standards/soils/soil997.PDF (pages 56-59). | |
| surficialDeposits text (90) |
Surficial deposits represent the parent material that are the geologic or organic precursors to the soil. They may either have been deposited by geologic (wind, ice, gravity or water) or biologic (organic) activity, or formed in place more-or-less directly from rocks and minerals below. | |
| methodNarrative Memo |
Additional metadata helpful for understanding how the data were collected during the observation event. | |
| coverDispersion text (30) |
Were cover values for the total taxon list collected from one contiguous area or dispersed subplots (e.g., continguous, dispersed-regular, dispered-random)? | |
| originalData Memo |
Location where the hard data reside and any access instructions. | |
| effortLevel text (30) |
This is the effort spent making the observations as estimated by the party that submitted the data (e.g., Very thorough, Average, Hurried description). | |
| floristicQuality text (30) |
Subjective assessment of floristic quality by the party that submitted the plot (e.g., Highest, High, High but incomplete, Moderate, Moderate and incomplete, Low). | |
| bryophyteQuality text (30) |
Subjective assessment of the taxonmic quality of the bryophye data by the party that submitted the plot (e.g., Highest, High, High but incomplete, Moderate, Moderate and incomplete, Low, Very incomplete,absent). | |
| lichenQuality text (30) |
Subjective assessment of the taxonmic 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). | |
| observationNarrative Memo |
Additional unstructured observations useful for understanding the ecological attributes and significance of the plot observations. | |
| landscapeNarrative Memo |
Unstructured observations on the landscape context of the observed plot. | |
| homogeneity Text (50) |
How homogeneous was the community (e.g., homogeneous, compositionial trend across plot, conspicuous inclusions, irregular mosaic or pattern). | |
| phenologicAspect text (30) |
Season expression of the community (e.g., typical growing season, vernal, aestival, wet, autumnal, winter, dry, irregular ephemerals present). | |
| representativeness text (100) |
How representative was the plot of the stand? | |
| hydrologicRegime text (30) |
What is the hydrologic regime, which is a refelction of frequency and duration of flooding)? | |
| soilMoistureRegime text (30) |
How moist was the soil at the sampling event? | |
| soilDrainage text (30) |
How well drained is the site (generally consistent with USDA classes)? | |
| waterSalinity text (30) |
How saline is the water, if a flooded community? | |
| waterDepth Double |
For aquatic or marine vegetation, what was the water depth in m. | |
| shoreDistance Double |
For aquatic or marine vegetation, what was the closest distance to shore in m. | |
| soilDepth Double |
Median depth to bedrockor permafrost in m (usually from averaging multiple probe readings). | |
| organicDepth Double |
Depth of the curficial organic layer, where present, in centimeters. | |
| percentBedRock Double |
Percent of surface that is exposed bedrock. | |
| percentRockGravel Double |
Percent of surface that is exposed rock and gravel. | |
| percentWood Double |
Percent of surface that is wood. | |
| percentLitter Double |
Percent of surface that is litter. | |
| percentBareSoil Double |
Percent of surface that is bare soil. | |
| percentWater Double |
Percent of surface that is water. | |
| percentOther Double |
Percent of surface that belong to an additional itemized category | |
| nameOther text (30) |
Name of additional itemized groundcover category (e.g., beer cans). | |
| QuadrangleName text (50) |
Quadrangle in which the plot is located. For plots in the US, it is recommended that you also use the StateProvince field to indicate which state the plot is in. This helps VegBranch match your quadrangle to the correct state. | |
| County text (50) |
County in which the plot is located. For plots in the US, it is recommended that you also use the StateProvince field to indicate which state the plot is in. This helps VegBranch match your county to the correct state. | |
| StateProvince text (50) |
State/Province in which the plot is located. | |
| Country text (50) |
Country in which the plot is located. | |
| Continent text (50) |
Continent in which the plot is located. | |
| » Sometimes used fields: | ||
| dsgpoly Memo |
This field is a text string containing the points circumscribing a plot area. These points are anticipated to have been collected using tapes, GPS, or calculated from the plot shape and area. Points are x-y coordinates in m relative to plot origin. | |
| elevationAccuracy Double |
The accuracy of the elevation in percentage of the elevation reported. | |
| elevationRange Double |
Meters of difference in elevations of the high and low points in the plot. | |
| minSlopeAspect Double |
Minimum azimuth of slope gradient (0-360 degrees), counterclockwise from representative azmuth. | |
| maxSlopeAspect Double |
Maximum azimuth of slope gradient (0-360 degrees), clockwise from representative azmuth | |
| minSlopeGradient Double |
Minimum inclindation of slope in degrees. | |
| maxSlopeGradient Double |
Maximum inclination of slope in degrees. | |
| authorObsCode text (50) |
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. | |
| PrevObsAuthPlotCode text (50) |
Code that refers to the AuthorObsCode of the previous observation, if there is one. | |
| obsEndDate Date/Time |
If the observation event spanned more than a single day, this is the last day on which observations were made. | |
| dateAccuracy text (30) |
Estimated accuracy of the observation date. | |
| stemSizeLimit Double |
Lower diameter limit in centimeters for inclusion of a tree in the stem count (stemCount). | |
| autoTaxonCover text (50) |
TRUE indicates that the overall cover value for a taxon was not observed, but rather calculated from the cover values in one or more strata. | |
| stemObservationArea Double |
The total surface area (in m2) observed for recording woody stem data. | |
| stemSampleMethod text (30) |
The method used to obtain basal area or tree stem data (e.g., full census, point quarter, random pairs, Bitterlich, other). | |
| basalArea Double |
Total basal area of woody stems (in m2/ha). | |
| standMaturity Text (255) |
How mature is the stand. Could be young, mature but even-aged, old-growth, etc. | |
| successionalStatus Memo |
Description of the assumed successional status of the plot. This descriptionis of necessity highly subjective. | |
| treeHt Double |
Height of the tree layer in m. | |
| shrubHt Double |
Height of the shrub layer in m. | |
| fieldHt Double |
Height of the field layer in m. | |
| nonvascularHt Double |
Height of the nonvascular layer in m. | |
| submergedHt Double |
Height of the submerged layer in m. | |
| treeCover Double |
Total cover of the tree layer in percent. | |
| shrubCover Double |
Total cover of the shrub layer in percent. | |
| fieldCover Double |
Total cover of the field layer in percent. | |
| nonvascularCover Double |
Total cover of the nonvascular layer in percent. | |
| floatingCover Double |
Total cover of the floating layer in percent. | |
| submergedCover Double |
Total cover of the submerged layer in percent. | |
| dominantStratum text (40) |
Which of the six standard strata is dominant? | |
| growthform1Type text (40) |
The predominant growth form? | |
| growthform2Type text (40) |
The second-most predominant growthform? | |
| growthform3Type text (40) |
The third-most predominant growthform | |
| growthform1Cover Double |
Total cover of the predominant growthform? | |
| growthform2Cover Double |
Total cover of the second-most predominant growthform? | |
| growthform3Cover Double |
Total cover of the third-most predominent growthform? | |
| totalCover Double |
The total cover, in percent, of all vegetation on the plot. | |
| soilTaxon text (255) |
Soil taxon within the USDA classification hierarchy, including Order, Suborder, Greatgroup, Subgroup, Family and Series. If values do not match the list exactly, you will be prompted to translate to list values in the VegBranch translation step. | |
| soilTaxonSrc text (200) |
How was the soil taxon determined (e.g., field observation, map, other sources)? | |
| Contrib2 text (150) |
Contributor to the plot, in role indicated in Role2. The field should match a party code in your party data. VegBank can generate that table from values in this and similar fields. | |
| Role2 text (50) |
Role code for the contributor to this observation that is listed in Contrib2. | |
| Contrib3 text (150) |
Contributor to the plot, in role indicated in Role2. The field should match a party code in your party data. VegBank can generate that table from values in this and similar fields. | |
| Role3 text (50) |
Role code for the contributor to this observation that is listed in Contrib3. | |
| Contrib4 text (150) |
Contributor to the plot, in role indicated in Role4. The field should match a party code in your party data. VegBank can generate that table from values in this and similar fields. | |
| Role4 text (50) |
Role code for the contributor to this observation that is listed in Contrib4. | |
| Contrib5 text (150) |
Contributor to the plot, in role indicated in Role5. The field should match a party code in your party data. VegBank can generate that table from values in this and similar fields. | |
| Role5 text (50) |
Role code for the contributor to this observation that is listed in Contrib5. | |
| StratumIndex1 text (10) |
One stratum index for this plot. This index will be referenced in Presence Data Table (by field:StratumCover[Code]1) or Strata Cover Table (by field:StratumIndex, with same value as listed in this field). All StratumIndexes in this table will be moved to Normalized Plot Data. If you have more than 9 Strata per plot, you should use that table to store stratum information rather than this one. | |
| StratumHeight1 Double |
Average height to the top of the stratum in meters. Applies to Stratum defined in StratumIndex1 | |
| StratumBase1 Double |
Average height of the bottom of the stratum in meters. Applies to Stratum defined in StratumIndex1 | |
| StratumCover1 Double |
Cover of the vegetation within the given stratum in percent. Applies to Stratum defined in StratumIndex1 | |
| StratumIndex2 text (10) |
One stratum index for this plot. This index will be referenced in Presence Data Table (by field:StratumCover[Code]2) or Strata Cover Table (by field:StratumIndex, with same value as listed in this field). | |
| StratumHeight2 Double |
Average height to the top of the stratum in meters. Applies to Stratum defined in StratumIndex2 | |
| StratumBase2 Double |
Average height of the bottom of the stratum in meters. Applies to Stratum defined in StratumIndex2 | |
| StratumCover2 Double |
Cover of the vegetation within the given stratum in percent. Applies to Stratum defined in StratumIndex2 | |
| StratumIndex3 text (10) |
One stratum index for this plot. This index will be referenced in Presence Data Table (by field:StratumCover[Code]3) or Strata Cover Table (by field:StratumIndex, with same value as listed in this field). | |
| StratumHeight3 Double |
Average height to the top of the stratum in meters. Applies to Stratum defined in StratumIndex3 | |
| StratumBase3 Double |
Average height of the bottom of the stratum in meters. Applies to Stratum defined in StratumIndex3 | |
| StratumCover3 Double |
Cover of the vegetation within the given stratum in percent. Applies to Stratum defined in StratumIndex3 | |
| StratumIndex4 text (10) |
One stratum index for this plot. This index will be referenced in Presence Data Table (by field:StratumCover[Code]4) or Strata Cover Table (by field:StratumIndex, with same value as listed in this field). | |
| StratumHeight4 Double |
Average height to the top of the stratum in meters. Applies to Stratum defined in StratumIndex4 | |
| StratumBase4 Double |
Average height of the bottom of the stratum in meters. Applies to Stratum defined in StratumIndex4 | |
| StratumCover4 Double |
Cover of the vegetation within the given stratum in percent. Applies to Stratum defined in StratumIndex4 | |
| StratumIndex5 text (10) |
One stratum index for this plot. This index will be referenced in Presence Data Table (by field:StratumCover[Code]5) or Strata Cover Table (by field:StratumIndex, with same value as listed in this field). | |
| StratumHeight5 Double |
Average height to the top of the stratum in meters. Applies to Stratum defined in StratumIndex5 | |
| StratumBase5 Double |
Average height of the bottom of the stratum in meters. Applies to Stratum defined in StratumIndex5 | |
| StratumCover5 Double |
Cover of the vegetation within the given stratum in percent. Applies to Stratum defined in StratumIndex5 | |
| StratumIndex6 text (10) |
One stratum index for this plot. This index will be referenced in Presence Data Table (by field:StratumCover[Code]6) or Strata Cover Table (by field:StratumIndex, with same value as listed in this field). | |
| StratumHeight6 Double |
Average height to the top of the stratum in meters. Applies to Stratum defined in StratumIndex6 | |
| StratumBase6 Double |
Average height of the bottom of the stratum in meters. Applies to Stratum defined in StratumIndex6 | |
| StratumCover6 Double |
Cover of the vegetation within the given stratum in percent. Applies to Stratum defined in StratumIndex6 | |
| StratumIndex7 text (10) |
One stratum index for this plot. This index will be referenced in Presence Data Table (by field:StratumCover[Code]7) or Strata Cover Table (by field:StratumIndex, with same value as listed in this field). | |
| StratumHeight7 Double |
Average height to the top of the stratum in meters. Applies to Stratum defined in StratumIndex7 | |
| StratumBase7 Double |
Average height of the bottom of the stratum in meters. Applies to Stratum defined in StratumIndex7 | |
| StratumCover7 Double |
Cover of the vegetation within the given stratum in percent. Applies to Stratum defined in StratumIndex7 | |
| StratumIndex8 text (10) |
One stratum index for this plot. This index will be referenced in Presence Data Table (by field:StratumCover[Code]8) or Strata Cover Table (by field:StratumIndex, with same value as listed in this field). | |
| StratumHeight8 Double |
Average height to the top of the stratum in meters. Applies to Stratum defined in StratumIndex8 | |
| StratumBase8 Double |
Average height of the bottom of the stratum in meters. Applies to Stratum defined in StratumIndex8 | |
| StratumCover8 Double |
Cover of the vegetation within the given stratum in percent. Applies to Stratum defined in StratumIndex8 | |
| StratumIndex9 text (10) |
One stratum index for this plot. This index will be referenced in Presence Data Table (by field:StratumCover[Code]9) or Strata Cover Table (by field:StratumIndex, with same value as listed in this field). All StratumIndexes in this table will be moved to Normalized Plot Data. If you have more than 9 Strata per plot, you should use that table to store stratum information rather than this one. | |
| StratumHeight9 Double |
Average height to the top of the stratum in meters. Applies to Stratum defined in StratumIndex9 | |
| StratumBase9 Double |
Average height of the bottom of the stratum in meters. Applies to Stratum defined in StratumIndex9 | |
| StratumCover9 Double |
Cover of the vegetation within the given stratum in percent. Applies to Stratum defined in StratumIndex9 | |
| » Fields for expert users: | ||
| ParentAuthPlotCode text (50) |
Code that refers to the AuthorPlotCode of the parent plot (this record's plot is a subplot of this ParentAuthPlotCode). If this plot is not a subplot, this field should be left blank. | |
| reference_ID Long Integer |
Link to the source citation from which this plot record was taken. Advanced field, must refer to primary key in reference table. | |
| project text (80) |
Name of the project that this observation belongs to. Will be translated to an extant project in the VegBranch translation step. If left blank, the project name specified in the metadata step will be used as the project for this plot. | |
| coverMethodName text (80) |
Cover Method used for this observation. If this field is not filled in, values from the metadata form will be used. This field must be used if more than one method is used for one migration process. | |
| stratumMethodName text (80) |
Stratum Method used for this observation. If this field is not filled in, values from the metadata form will be used. This field must be used if more than one method is used for a batch to migrate. | |
| UserDef1 Text (255) |
The value of the user-defined variable, as defined in User Defined Metadata Loading Table. | |
| UserDef2 Text (255) |
The value of the user-defined variable. | |
| UserDef3 Text (255) |
The value of the user-defined variable. | |
| UserDef4 Text (255) |
The value of the user-defined variable. | |
| UserDef5 Text (255) |
The value of the user-defined variable. | |
| UserDef6 Text (255) |
The value of the user-defined variable. | |
| UserDef7 Text (255) |
The value of the user-defined variable. | |
| UserDef8 Text (255) |
The value of the user-defined variable. | |
| UserDef9 Text (255) |
The value of the user-defined variable. | |
| UserDef10 Text (255) |
The value of the user-defined variable. | |
| UserDef11 Text (255) |
The value of the user-defined variable. | |
| UserDef12 Text (255) |
The value of the user-defined variable. | |
| UserDef13 Text (255) |
The value of the user-defined variable. | |
| UserDef14 Text (255) |
The value of the user-defined variable. | |
| UserDef15 Text (255) |
The value of the user-defined variable. | |
| UserDef16 Text (255) |
The value of the user-defined variable. | |
| UserDef17 Text (255) |
The value of the user-defined variable. | |
| UserDef18 Text (255) |
The value of the user-defined variable. | |
| UserDef19 Text (255) |
The value of the user-defined variable. | |
| UserDef20 Text (255) |
The value of the user-defined variable. | |
| UserDef21 Text (255) |
The value of the user-defined variable. | |
| UserDef22 Text (255) |
The value of the user-defined variable. | |
| UserDef23 Text (255) |
The value of the user-defined variable. | |
| UserDef24 Text (255) |
The value of the user-defined variable. | |
| UserDef25 Text (255) |
The value of the user-defined variable. | |
| UserDef26 Text (255) |
The value of the user-defined variable. | |
| UserDef27 Text (255) |
The value of the user-defined variable. | |
| UserDef28 Text (255) |
The value of the user-defined variable. | |
| UserDef29 Text (255) |
The value of the user-defined variable. | |
| UserDef30 Text (255) |
The value of the user-defined variable. | |
| UserDef31 Text (255) |
The value of the user-defined variable. | |
| UserDef32 Text (255) |
The value of the user-defined variable. | |
| UserDef33 Text (255) |
The value of the user-defined variable. | |
| UserDef34 Text (255) |
The value of the user-defined variable. | |
| UserDef35 Text (255) |
The value of the user-defined variable. | |
| » Internal VegBranch fields, please do not edit directly: | ||
| PLOT_ID autoNumber |
Database generated identifier assigned to each unique plot/observation. | |
Examples of this data table:
simple example showing a few fields populated:
| authorPlotCode | realLatitude | realLongitude | area | elevation | slopeAspect | slopeGradient | soilDepth | Contrib1 | Role1 | QuadrangleName | StratumIndex1 | StratumHeight1 | StratumBase1 | StratumCover1 | StratumIndex2 | StratumHeight2 | StratumBase2 | StratumCover2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| plt1 | 45.56 | -135.67 | 100 | 43 | 43 | 15 | 12 | Lee, Michael | primary investigator | herb | 0.5 | 0 | 42 | tree | 3.5 | 0.5 | 76 | |
| plt2 | 54.82 | -145.82 | 200 | 79 | -1 | 0 | 43 | Lee Anne Jacobs | primary investigator | herb | 0.8 | 0 | 31 | tree | 7.5 | 0.8 | 25 | |
| plt3 | 33.21 | -87.21 | 250 | gramling@unc.edu | primary investigator | herb | 1 | 0 | tree | 12 | 1 |
Download this example as a .csv file