FLORIDA GEOGRAPHIC DATA LIBRARY DOCUMENTATION

TITLE: FLORIDA'S STATEWIDE SEAGRASS - 2011

Geodataset Name:       SEAGRS_2011
Geodataset Type:       SHAPEFILE
Geodataset Feature:    Polygon
Feature Count:         27116
GENERAL DESCRIPTION:
This polygon GIS data set represents a compilation of statewide seagrass data from various source agencies and scales. The data were mapped from sources ranging in date from 1987 to 2010. Not all data in this compilation are mapped from photography; some are the results of field measurements. See the "Sources" section for more information. The original source data sets were not all classified in the same manner; some used the Florida Land Use Cover and Forms Classification System (FLUCCS) codes 9113 for discontinuous seagrass and 9116 for continuous seagrass; some defined only presence and absence of seagrass, and some defined varying degrees of seagrass percent cover. In order to merge all of these data sources into one compilation data set, FWRI reclassified the various source data attribute schemes into two categories: "Continuous Seagrass" and "Patchy (Discontinuous) Seagrass". In areas where studies overlap, the most recent study where a given area has been interpreted is represented in this data set. This data set is not comparable to previous statewide data sets for time series studies - not all areas have been updated since the previous statewide compilation and some areas previously not mapped are now included. Please contact GIS Librarian to request the source data if you need to do a time series comparison. This data set has been updated in several areas from the previous compilation, including Indian River Lagoon (2009), Northern Miami-Dade (2009), Biscayne Bay (2005), Dry Tortugas (2006), and Parts of Rookery Bay NERR (2003-2006).
DATA SOURCE(S):                    Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission-Fish and Wildlife Research Institute
SCALE OF ORIGINAL SOURCE MAPS:     Varies
GEODATASET EXTENT:                 State of Florida
PUBLICATION DATE: 201103 TIME PERIOD OF CONTENT: Begin Date: 1987 End Date: 2010 DOWNLOAD LINK: http://www.fgdl.org/metadataexplorer/explorer.jsp

FEATURE ATTRIBUTE TABLES:

Datafile Name: SEAGRS_2011.DBF
ITEM NAME WIDTH TYPE
OBJECTID
4 OID
Shape
4 Geometry
SEAGRASS
20 String
SOURCEDATE
20 String
METADATA
30 String
DESCRIPT
50 String
FGDLAQDATE
36 Date
AUTOID
4 Integer
SHAPE.AREA
0 Double
SHAPE.LEN
0 Double

FEATURE ATTRIBUTE TABLES CODES AND VALUES:

Item
Item Description
OBJECTID Internal feature number.

Shape Feature geometry.

SEAGRASS Description of seagrass density
Discontinuous = Discontinuous seagrass may range from 0 to 90% ground cover. The user should be aware that different sources and scales of seagrass information and classification systems were used to create this dataset

Continuous = Continuous seagrass may range from 85% ground cover to 100%. The user should be aware that different sources and scales of seagrass information and classification systems were used to create this dataset


SOURCEDATE Ground condition date of source data.

METADATA This field will contain a hyperlink to metadata for the source data of each polygon.

DESCRIPT Description of submerged aquatic vegetation.

FGDLAQDATE FGDL added field based on date acquired from source

AUTOID Unique ID added by GeoPlan

SHAPE.AREA Area in meters

SHAPE.LEN Perimeter in meters


USER NOTES:
These data appear logically consistent. Geodatabase topology was run to detect 
overlapping polygons - none are present. Some slivers may be present.
These data are complete as of data available to FWRI in September, 2010. 
The study areas for the source data varied. Offshore data have not been 
mapped to any consistent distance or depth statewide. 

Broward and Collier counties are included; however, these counties were mapped 
using field measurements, rather than complete aerial photography, so additional 
unmapped seagrass may still be present within these counties. Additional data gaps 
may be present. Contact GIS Librarian to request extent of mapping.
GeoPlan relied on the integrity of the attribute information within
the original data.
Prior to July 1, 2004, the Fish and Wildlife Research Institute (FWRI) was 
known as the Florida Marine Research Institute (FMRI). The institute name 
has not been changed in historical data sets or references to work completed 
by the Florida Marine Research Institute. The institute name has been changed 
in references to ongoing research, new research, and contact information. 

These data are for statewide mapping and analysis only. The original regional 
data sets may contain more detailed seagrass attribution schemes. Contact GIS 
Librarian to request the source data sets.

This GIS data set was developed to represent the most recent seagrass 
mapping available in Florida for current statewide display and analysis. Not 
all areas have been mapped. This data set includes areas that were not 
previously mapped in other statewide compilations. This data set is not 
appropriate for time series comparisons to previous statewide compilations.

Positional accuracy varies according to source data. No positional alterations 
have been performed for this compilation.

This data is provided 'as is' and its vertical positional accuracy
has not been verified by GeoPlan

Acknowledgment of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission-Fish 
and Wildlife Research Institute as the data source would be appreciated in any 
products developed from these data, and such acknowledgment as is standard 
for citation and legal practices for data source is expected by users of this data.  
Please cite the original metadata when using portions of the record to create a 
similar record of slightly altered data, such as reprojection. If any data are modified 
or adjusted, please share the edited information with FWC. Users should be aware 
that comparison with other data sets for the same area from other time periods may 
be inaccurate due to inconsistencies resulting from changes in mapping conventions, 
data collection, and computer processes over time. FWC shall not be liable for improper 
or incorrect use of this data. These data are not legal documents and are not to be 
used as such.  This is not a survey data set and should not be utilized as such. These 
data are not to be used for navigation.

The Florida Geographic Data Library is a collection of Geospatial Data
compiled by the University of Florida GeoPlan Center with support from
the Florida Department of Transportation. GIS data available in FGDL is
collected from various state, federal, and other agencies (data sources)
who are data stewards, producers, or publishers. The data available in
FGDL may not be the most current version of the data offered by the
data source. University of Florida GeoPlan Center makes no guarantees
about the currentness of the data and suggests that data users check
with the data source to see if more recent versions of the data exist.

Furthermore, the GIS data available in the FGDL are provided 'as is'.
The University of Florida GeoPlan Center makes no warranties, guaranties
or representations as to the truth, accuracy or completeness of the data
provided by the data sources. The University of Florida GeoPlan Center
makes no representations or warranties about the quality or suitability
of the materials, either expressly or implied, including but not limited
to any implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular
purpose, or non-infringement. The University of Florida GeoPlan Center
shall not be liable for any damages suffered as a result of using,
modifying, contributing or distributing the materials.

A note about data scale: 

Scale is an important factor in data usage.  Certain scale datasets
are not suitable for some project, analysis, or modeling purposes.
Please be sure you are using the best available data. 

1:24000 scale datasets are recommended for projects that are at the
county level.
1:24000 data should NOT be used for high accuracy base mapping such
as property parcel boundaries.
1:100000 scale datasets are recommended for projects that are at the
multi-county or regional level.
1:125000 scale datasets are recommended for projects that are at the
regional or state level or larger.

Vector datasets with no defined scale or accuracy should be
considered suspect. Make sure you are familiar with your data
before using it for projects or analysis. Every effort has been
made to supply the user with data documentation. For additional
information, see the References section and the Data Source Contact
section of this documentation. For more information regarding
scale and accuracy, see our webpage at:
http://geoplan.ufl.edu/education.html

REFERENCES:
For more information contact the Florida Fish
and Wildlife Conservation Commission-Fish 
and Wildlife Research Institute,
Division of Marine Fisheries Management (DMFM)
GIS data librarian at gislibrarian@myfwc.com
http://ocean.floridamarine.org/mrgis/Description_Layers_Marine.htm

DATA LINEAGE SUMMARY:
FWRI staff added four attributes to each data set:

SEAGRASS - indicates "continuous" or "discontinuous". If a seagrass data 
set only indicated presence/absence this attribute defaulted to discontinuous.
SOURCEDATE - year(s) of photography. Also indicates if date is unknown or 
if the polygon was not interpreted from photography.
METADATA - the information in this field will be populated with a link to the 
metadata for the source data set that the polygon came from once the source 
metadata is online. Currently it is the source data set name used as a placeholder.
DESCRIPT - standardized name field for labeling maps. Values include 
"Continuous Seagrass", or "Discontinuous Seagrass".

Staff used the most recent information for an area. Staff determined the 
most recent information by creating footprints of all source polygons, minus 
any large land polygons and uninterrupted areas. Staff used these footprints 
with the ArcGIS Toolbox command "erase" to eliminate areas of overlap 
from older source data sets. In some areas the exclusion of shoreline resulted 
in sliver polygons due to different studies using different shorelines. Staff 
manually deleted these slivers after the "erase", defaulting to the more recent 
shoreline coverage.

Once all the data were properly "erased", staff loaded all of the data into 
a single geodatabase feature class. Running a topology resulted in no 
overlaps. If an area was uninterpreted within a more recent study, but 
interpreted in an older study, then the older study was used. 

Sliver polygons less than one square meter were deleted. Any additional 
slivers are either due to preserving the "Source" attribute or they were 
present in the original source data sets.
Process Date: 2010

The data set was updated to include the 2009 seagrass data from SJRWMD. Process Date: 20100929
The data set was updated to include the 2010 seagrass from SWFWMD Process Date: 201103
GeoPlan downloaded this dataset from the Fish and Wildlife Research Institute (FWRI) via FTP on 7/13/2011. The data was received as a shapefile in projection: Albers, NAD 83, GRS 80. The dataset was then projected from NAD 83 to FGDL Albers HPGN. - Upcased all records in the table. - Renamed shapefile from seagrass_fl_poly to seagrs_2011 - Added FGDLAQDATE field - Deleted Shape.Leng, Shape.Len, and Shape.Area fields Process Date: 20110713
MAP PROJECTION PARAMETERS:

Projection                          ALBERS
Datum                               HPGN
Units                               METERS
Spheroid                            GRS1980
1st Standard Parallel               24  0  0.000
2nd Standard Parallel               31 30  0.000
Central Meridian                   -84 00  0.000
Latitude of Projection's Origin     24  0  0.000
False Easting (meters)              400000.00000
False Northing (meters)             0.00000

DATA SOURCE CONTACT (S):

Name:
Abbr. Name:
Address:


Phone:

Web site:
E-mail:
Contact Person:
         Phone:
        E-mail:
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission-Fish and Wildlife Research Institute
FFWCC_FWRI
Fish and Wildlife Research Institute, 100 Eighth Avenue Southeast
St. Petersburg, Florida
33701
727-896-8626

http://ocean.floridamarine.org/mrgis/Description_Layers_Marine.htm GISLibrarian@MyFWC.com GISLibrarian

FGDL CONTACT:
Name:                   FLORIDA GEOGRAPHIC DATA LIBRARY
Abbr. Name:             FGDL
Address:                Florida Geographic Data Library
                        431 Architecture Building
                        PO Box 115706
                        Gainesville, FL  32611-5706
Web site:               http://www.fgdl.org

Contact FGDL: 

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