In 2015, under contract to the Marin Municipal Water district (MMWD), Aerial Information Systems, Inc. (AIS) conducted the photo interpretation of sudden oak death (SOD) affected vegetation stands for the Mt. Tamalpais Watershed Forest and Woodlands Project. They looked at 2014 imagery and used the 2009 remap layer to reclassify stands which had changed over the past 5 years, these stands were changed mostly due to SOD. The mapping study area consists of approximately 18,986 acres of Marin county. Work was performed on the project in 2015 by using the 2014 imagery to mark changes in vegetation. The primary purpose of the project was to find areas where vegetation had changed because of SOD and to show where gaps were formed by fallen oak trees. There was a total of 99 mapping classes. Vegetation with field questions map class is not symbolized in the cartography.CNPS under separate contract and in collaboration with CDFW VegCAMP developed the floristic vegetation classification used for the project. The floristic classification follows protocols compliant with the Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) and National Vegetation Classification Standards (NVCS).The 2009 vegetation map was updated applying heads-up digitizing techniques using a 2014 base of 6-inch resolution, natural color imagery provided by MMWD, in conjunction with custom ArcGIS tools that AIS developed to update the existing 2009 database. Mapped polygons were assessed for change in Vegetation Type as a result of SOD. More information can be found in the project report which is bundled with the BIOS vegetation map.
