Massachusetts (Priority Natural Upland Forest Vegetation Community, 2003)

This layer represents the coastal components of the priority natural vegetation communities in MA. This layer is one of eight that depict the distribution of natural community systems identified by the Massachusetts Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program (NHESP) as most critical to the conservation of the Commonwealth's biological diversity (Barbour et al., 1998).

These eight layers are: coastal, coastal plain pond, vernal pool, acidic peatland, riverine, maritime sandplain, pine barrens, calcareous. 

For descriptions of these community systems, refer to Barbour, Simmons, Swain and Woolsey, "Our Irreplaceable Heritage: Protecting Biodiversity in Massachusetts" (1998). 

SPECIFICS FOR THE UPLAND FOREST COMMUNITIES:
This theme is a polygon coverage vectorized from classified satellite imagery. It depicts the distribution of several upland forest types derived from Landsat 5 imagery acquired on April 7, 1998. Additional information about the methods used to create these data is available from Philip John at MassGIS at (617) 626-1185. 

MassGIS is maintaining this layer.

This layer is intended for researchers, students, and policy makers for reference and mapping purposes, and may be used for basic applications such as viewing, querying, and map output production, or to provide a basemap to support graphical overlays and analysis with other spatial data. This mapping is intended for planning purposes only, as a guide to potentially valuable natural sites to be protected. All sites should be field checked before any action is taken on them. Aerial photo-interpretation can identify vegetation, but cannot assess the quality of a site for biodiversity, or the actual presence of rare plants and animals.