Hueston Woods GIS Trees Shapefiles 

IMPORTANT DOWNLOADING INSTRUCTIONS: 
1. Create a new folder on your computer where you KNOW you can find it. 
2. Download ALL of the metadata files into this new folder. If you do not download all of the files the shapefile will not open in GIS.
3. In the GIS software, open the folder that you downloaded all of the metadata files into. Double click on the "YEAR.trees.shp" file to open.4.
4. If you cannot open the file you are probably missing a metadata file. Delete and re-download all metadata files.
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Note: Data was extracted from GIS trees shapefiles for each sampling year and combined to create the master HuestonWoods_VegetationData.csv dataset. 

Source: Digitized by McEwan Lab Undergraduate Researchers & Grace Attea

Data Collection: Data for 1981, 1988, 1994, and 2000 collected by Dr. John Vankat at Miami University  
Data Collection: Data for 2022 collected by the McEwan Lab at the University of Dayton

Geographic Coordinate System: GCS_North_American_1983
Projected Coordinate System: NAD_1983_StatePlane_Ohio_South_FIPS_3402 (meters)

Sampling Parameters: 
Every stem OVER 1m in height is sampled for height (in meters using a meter tape or a digital clinometer; overstory trees may need to be recoreded for height in the winter or fall since
the canopy gets too dense; the height of some overstory trees was not taken in some sampling years due to the canopy density), diameter at breast height (DBH in centimeters) ONLY IF 
the DBH is over 1cm, species identification (recorded down to species level in MOST cases (ex: exception = Elm which was left as Ulmus species), and location (hand-mapped within 1m of accuracy).
UNDERSTORY = DBH < 11cm 
OVERSTORY = DBH >= 11cm
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Permanent Plot GIS "trees" 

This folder contains a shapefile stack (.shp) for trees in each sampling year, mapped as individaual points, including values for diameter at breast height, height, & species ID: 
- trees_1981.shp
- trees_1988.shp
- trees_1994.shp
- trees_2000.shp
- trees_2022.shp

Column titles:
sp_id = species identification. Please refer to the section below for species ID codes. 
dbh = diameter at breast height for species that had a DBH over 1cm.
height = height in meters for all trees over 1m.
tree_no = a tree number that is UNIQUE TO EACH SUBPLOT (i.e. there cannot be two 3's in any given subplot, etc.). These are used to determine if a tree is new, survives, or dies from year to year. 
tr_sub = transect_subplot. There are 21 transects and 20 subplots per transect (ex: 1_1 = transect 1 subplot 1). 

Notes that are unique to specific sampling years:
- 1994, 2000, and 2022 do not have all canopy heights due to canopy density. Most analysis is done with DBH so this has not caused any data issues. 
- Some trees were missed in 1988 taht were recorded in both 1981 and 1994. These were given a note as either XU (missing in the understory) or XO (missing in the overstory). 
  This was important to show that these trees were, in fact, survivors in 1994. 
- If a tree has a note next to it that says STS, this means survivor too short. This is important because if a tree falls under the sampling parameter of 1m but sprouted back in the next
  sampling year as the same tree, it still needs to be designated a survivor. This shows the stochasticity of forest understories. 
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SPECIES IDENTIFICATION CODES:

AN: Acer negundo
AS: Acer saccharum
AT: Asimina triloba
BT: Berberis thunbergii
CA: Carpinus caroliniana 
CC: Carya cordiformis
CD: Cornus drummondii
CF: Cornus florida
CO: Celtis occidentalis
CR: Cratageus species
EA: Euonymus alatus 
EU: Euonymus americanus 
FA: Fraxinus americana
FG: Fagus grandifolia
GT: Gledistia tricanthos 
JN: Juglans nigra
LB: Lindera benzoin
LM: Lonicera maackii
LT: Liriodendron tulipifera
MR: Morus rubra
OB: Aesculus glabra
PS: Prunus serotina
QR: Quercus rubra
RM: Rosa multiflora
SC: Sambucus canadensis 
US: Ulmus species
VB: Viburnum species
VT: Vitis species

Species in each Sampling Year:
- 1981: AN, AS, AT, CC, CD, CF, CO, CR, EA, EU, FA, FG, GT, JN, LB, LT, MR, OB, PS, QR, RM, SC, US, VT 
- 1988: AN, AS, AT, CC, CD, CF, CO, CR, EA, EU, FA, FG, GT, JN, LB, LT, MR, OB, PS, QR, SC, US, VB
- 1994: AS, AT, CC, CD, CF, CO, CR, EA, FA, FG, JN, LB, LT, MR, OB, PS, QR, RM, SC, US, VB, VT
- 2000: AS, AT, CC, CO, EA, FA, FG, JN, LB, LM, LT, MR, OB, PS, QR, US, VB, VT, SC
- 2022: AS, AT, CC, CO, FG, LB, LM, LT, MR, PS, QR, RM, US, BT

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