ELEMENT OCCURENCE (EO) DEFINITION:
An Element Occurrence is an area of land and/or water
in which a species or ecological community is, or was, present.
MAPPING METHODOLOGY
The Conservation Data Centre follows NatureServe mapping methodology that depicts
Occurrences as polygons. These polygons include locational uncertainty. The locational uncertainty
incorporates inaccuracies that can be associated with the collection of location information, such as
inaccurate GPSs or vague locational descriptions. New Occurrences generally closely match the known
location; however, some of the older Occurrences appear as large circles that include much larger
areas of uncertainty, given the 'LOCATION' data for the record and the habitat requirements of the
species/plant community. The CDC is revisiting existing Occurrences to reduce large polygons to areas
more representative of the location.
FIELD DESCRIPTIONS
Format:
Shape file field name (Name used in printed reports): Description.
Shape (N/A): This field indicates the spatial geometry
of the feature; polygon, line or point. Not a CDC field.
Shape_id (Shape ID): The unique identifier for each
Occurrence, used to label Occurrences on map products and in correspondence
with the CDC about a particular Occurrence record. If an Occurrence
is composed of more than one polygon, each will have the same Shape
ID.
Occr_id (Occurrence ID): A unique identifier for each
Occurrence record. Used internally by the CDC.
Sci_name_f (Scientific Name). The formatted version of the Resource
Information Standard Committee (RISC) standard Scientific name for B.C.,
including proper capitalization and html tags for italics.
Sci_name (N/A): The scientific name written in sentence
case. Used for sorting but not reporting since this field does not always
use standard capitalization and italics. Use Sci_name_f instead.
Eng_name_f (English Name): The formatted version of the Resource
Information Standard Committee (RISC) standard English name, including
proper capitalization and html tags for italics.
Eng_name (N/A): The English name written in title case.
Used for sorting but not reporting since this field does not always
use standard capitalization and italics. Use Eng_name_f instead.
El_type (Type): Identifies the element (species or
ecological community) as belonging to one of the following groups: Vertebrate
Animal, Invertebrate Animal, Vascular Plant, Nonvascular Plant,
Fungus, or Ecological Community.
El_type_cd (N/A):
Generally identifies the type of element as either: Animal, Plant or Ecological Community (NPC).
Tax_class (Taxonomic class): The taxonomic class name,
in English, to which the species belongs. Examples include: Monocots,
Dicots, Mammals, Birds, Reptiles, and Insects.
Data_sens (Data sensitive): A single character indicating
whether the record is sensitive, and the data protected.
N - DATA NOT PROTECTED, MAY BE RELEASED
Y - DATA PROTECTED, MUST NOT BE RELEASED
THE PRECISE LOCATION OF SENSITIVE RECORDS ARE “BLURRED” USING A
RANDOMIZED BUFFER. NO ATTRIBUTE OTHER THAN SHAPE ID IS DISPLAYED.
Glob_rank
(Status/Global): The global conservation status for the species or ecological
community, assigned by NatureServe.
Prov_rank
(Status/Provincial): The provincial conservation status for the species
or ecological community, assigned by the BC CDC.
Cosewic (Status/COSEWIC):
COSEWIC designation.
Bc_list (Status/B.C. List): The provincial "list" status for this species or
ecological community. Possible values are;
Red, Blue, Yellow, Introduced, Accidental, and Extinct.
Sara_sched (SARA Schedule): The SARA schedule to which
the species is assigned.
Surv_site (Survey Site): A short description of the location
of the Occurrence, e.g. "Duncan, 2 km east of". Most often the
Survey Site is the nearest Gazetted place name.
Directions (Directions): Directions to the site of the
Occurrence. If the Data_sens field is 'Y', this information is not released to the public.
First_obs (First Obs. Date): The date on which the species
or ecological community was first observed at the Occurrence site. Format
is YYYY-MM-DD. Uncertainty in the year will be indicated by the appropriate
number of dashes (-). Uncertainty in the month and day will be indicated
by the appropriate number of dashes, characters or words. Seasons are
abbreviated as follows:
| Season |
Abbreviation |
| Spring |
SP |
| Summer |
SU |
| Fall |
FA> |
| Winter |
WI |
Last_obs (Last Obs. Date): The date on which the species
or community was last observed to be extant at the Occurrence site. For
Format, see First_obs.
Occr_data (Occurrence data): Data about the Occurrence
such as number of fledglings from a nest site, number of plants in flower,
etc.
Rank (Rank): A single letter code (or 2 or 3-letter code
combination) signifying assessment of estimated viability (species) or
ecological integrity (communities), i.e., the probability of persistence
(based on condition, size, and landscape context) of the Occurrence. In
other words, EO ranks provide an assessment of the likelihood that if
current conditions prevail the Occurrence will persist for a defined period
of time, typically 20-100 years. Not all Occurrences have been ranked.
Rank_desc (Rank Description): A short description of
the meaning of the Occurrence Rank. i.e. A - Excellent estimated viability/ecological
integrity.
Rank_date (Rank date): Date the Occurrence rank was assigned.
For Format, see First_obs.
Rank_com (Rank comments): A short comment, justifying
the Occurrence rank. Occurrence records which do not have a Rank will
not have rank comments, and some records with ranks will not have had
this field completed.
Condition (Condition of Occurrence): An integrated measure
of the quality of biotic and abiotic factors, structures, and processes
within the Occurrence, and the degree to which they affect the continued
existence of the Occurrence. Components of this factor are:
a) reproduction and health (for species);
b) development/maturity (for communities);
c) ecological processes;
d) species composition and biological structure;
e) abiotic physical/chemical factors.
Occr_size (Size of Occurrence): Quantitative measure
of the area and/or abundance of the Occurrence. Components of this factor
are:
a) area of occupancy, in acres;
b) population abundance, (i.e., total count or qualitative estimate) (for species);
c) population density (for species);
d) population fluctuation (for species).
Land_cont (Landscape Context): An integrated measure of the quality
of biotic and abiotic factors, structures, and processes surrounding the
Occurrence, and the degree to which they affect the continued existence
of the Occurrence. Components of this factor are:
a) landscape structure and extent surrounding the EO, including genetic connectivity;
b) development/maturity of the surrounding landscape context (for community EOs);
c) ecological processes in the surrounding landscape context;
d) species composition and biological structure of the surrounding landscape context;
e) abiotic physical/chemical factors in the surrounding landscape context.
Gen_desc (General description): A description, or "word
picture", of the area where the Occurrence is located. For plant
and animal records, the ecological community in which the Occurrence is
found may be given. Information on surrounding land use is included, if
available.
Veg_zone (Vegetation zone):. The vegetation zone in which
a plant Occurrences is found. There are five possible zones; Lowland,
Steppe, Montane, Alpine and Subalpine.
Habitat (Habitat): A series of words or phrases from a controlled
vocabulary which describe the general habitat in which the Occurrence
is found. Keyword groups are separated by colons:
TERRESTRIAL: Woodland Needleleaf
TERRESTRIAL: Forest Broadleaf, Mature Forest; RIVERINE: Riparian
MARINE: Exposed
Bgc (BGC): The biogeoclimatic unit(s) in which the Occurrence
is found.
References (References): Bibliographic citations for
the sources of information on which record is based. Each record can have
multiple references.
Vers_date (Version Date): Date that the current version
of this Occurrence record was first completed, or since then, comprehensively
revised. Format YYYY-MM-DD.
Est_ra (Estimated Representational Accuracy): Percentage
of the polygon actually occupied by the Occurrence. Possible values are:
VH Very High (>95%)
H High (80% - 95%)
M Medium (20% - 80%)
L Low (>0%-20%)
U (?)
(null) - Not assessed
Con_extent (Confidence Extent): A one letter value that
indicates whether the full extent of the Occurrence is known (i.e., has
been determined through field survey). Values are:
Y - Confident full extent of EO is known
N - Confident full extent of EO is NOT known
? - Uncertain whether full extent of EO is known|
(null) - Not assessed
Feat_code (N/A): A BC Government code used for identifying
and symbolizing digital features in all its corporate spatial datasets.
Occ_asp_id (N/A): An automatically generated unique number
identifier for a polygon. Not a CDC field.
IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, PLEASE CONTACT THE
CONSERVATION DATA CENTRE.
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