FGDC Vegetation Subcommittee to be Represented at ESA Meeting

The Vegetation Subcommittee of the Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) will be well represented at this year’s Ecological Society of America (ESA) meeting.  The subcommittee responsible for the implementation of the National Vegetation Classification (NVC) is actively engaged in a variety of activities at this year’s annual meeting, which will be held in Austin, TX, from August 6-12.  A diversity of partners work together to implement the NVC, including the U.S. Forest Service, USGS, NatureServe, the Vegetation Classification Panel of the Ecological Society, and all the member agencies represented on the subcommittee.  The meeting will include an NVC related field trip to Pedernales Falls State Park, a vegetation classification workshop, an organized oral session specific to use of the NVC in assessments, and an NVC booth sponsored by the ESA Vegetation Classification Panel. Dr. Alexa McKerrow, NVC implementation manager, as well as FGDC and ESA representatives will be available throughout the week to discuss the new standard and the work of the subcommittee.

Metadata Goes Global

To promote the establishment of a World Data Center in Africa, the NBII hosted participants from South Africa and Rwanda in Reston, VA, for two weeks of informatics training. A significant piece of launching a data-oriented infrastructure is the establishment of a metadata program. Metadata is a critical component for not only describing and documenting data sets, but is a significant driver in an organization’s ability to share data efficiently. An “Introduction to Metadata” workshop was presented by Viv Hutchison (USGS-NBII) on the first of three days devoted to the topic of metadata. Participants were introduced to the concept of metadata, its value, the Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC), and the NBII Biological Data Profile. In addition, participants learned about the history of metadata, how profiles and extensions add to the standard, how to write good metadata records, and how to implement a metadata program in an organization. Finally, the participants spent time creating a metadata record using Metavist software. This hands-on experience will empower the South African and Rwandan participants to create their own metadata records once they return to their offices. On the following two days, fresh with new skills in metadata production, the participants engaged in a “Train the Trainer” course taught by Viv Hutchison (NBII) and Kathy Martinolich (NOAA). The workshop focused on building the skills necessary to teach metadata to audiences of their own. After a day of instruction on how to construct solid lesson plans and presentation skills, the participants were asked to create their own lesson plans and present them to their peers. Each person was allowed 10 minutes. The presentation was then followed up by constructive criticism from the class and the instructors. These metadata workshops are a product of the NBII’s Metadata Program, which takes a broad approach to the collection and production of metadata. The NBII maintains a Metadata Clearinghouse that contains over 46,000 records – all of which use the FGDC Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata format, and the majority of which contain the Biological Data Profile (BDP). The BDP was designed by the NBII as a set of extended elements to the FGDC Standard that allow biologists to include information about their research, such as taxonomy, methodology, and analytical tools in their metadata records. The use of the standard is a requirement of federal agencies, thus the need for metadata workshops to teach scientists and data managers how to produce records. Once records are in production, the NBII also offers a quality control service to record creation assistance. The participants from South Africa and Rwanda will have access to all of the tools provided by the NBII Metadata Program as they embark on creating a program of their own. If you are interested in learning more about the NBII Metadata Program or how your organization might engage in some of the activities mentioned in this article, please contact Viv Hutchison or 206-526-6282 x329 for more information.