Multiscale Vegetation Data for the Mountains of Southern California: Spatial and Categorical Resolution

A number of disciplines are now considering ecosystem functioning over large spatial and temporal scales, both in the context of ecosystem management and earth systems science. The authors have developed a stand-based, digital, spatial vegetation database (e.g., a digital vegetation map) for the mountains of southern California, using remote sensing and GIS. A landscape-based digital vegetation map has also been prepared for southern California, at coarser spatial resolution but with greater floristic detail, as one layer in a biogeographic information system for the regional assessment of biological diversity. A stand-based, multi-attribute, digital vegetation map has been developed for the Forest Service lands in the mountains of southern California using high-resolution remotely sensed and digital elevation data. For some management purposes, it would undoubtedly be desirable to have the categorical detail of the Gap map at the spatial resolution of the stand map, and perhaps these two digital vegetation databases can be used together in creative ways to approach this objective.