<descriptor thcode="23"><thesaurus thcode="23" name="Data Categories for Marine Planning" scope="Categories spanning the breadth of information types required for ocean planning from a national, multidisciplinary perspective. Includes description, assessment, and prediction regarding governance, resources, uses, and infrastructure." creator="Frances Lightsom, Giancarlo Cicchetti, and Charles Wahle" rights="public domain" edition="1.0" date="2015-03-20" codetype="number" prefix="dcmp" uri="http://www.usgs.gov/science/MarinePlanningData" tblname="dcmp" root_code="1" contact="pschweitzer"><category><term thcode="25" code="29" name="distinct labels" parent="26" scope="Preferred labels (descriptor texts) are distinct within the thesaurus. A concept can be specified either by its unique identifier (code) or by the text of its descriptor."/><term thcode="25" code="13" name="transitive" parent="12" scope="Narrower terms have an &quot;is a&quot; relationship with their broader terms, and generally can be described as part-of, type-of, or instance-of the broader term."/><term thcode="25" code="16" name="hierarchical" parent="11" scope="Substantive broader-narrower relationships exist among the terms."/><term thcode="25" code="5" name="theme" parent="2" scope="Terms indicate domains of human concern, such as scientific discipline, societal problems, or characteristics of earth, space, oceans, and living things."/><term thcode="25" code="29" name="distinct labels" parent="26" scope="Preferred labels (descriptor texts) are distinct within the thesaurus. A concept can be specified either by its unique identifier (code) or by the text of its descriptor."/><term thcode="25" code="13" name="transitive" parent="12" scope="Narrower terms have an &quot;is a&quot; relationship with their broader terms, and generally can be described as part-of, type-of, or instance-of the broader term."/><term thcode="25" code="16" name="hierarchical" parent="11" scope="Substantive broader-narrower relationships exist among the terms."/><term thcode="25" code="5" name="theme" parent="2" scope="Terms indicate domains of human concern, such as scientific discipline, societal problems, or characteristics of earth, space, oceans, and living things."/></category><altlabel><altlabel>DCMP</altlabel><altlabel>DCMP</altlabel><altlabel>Marine Planning Data</altlabel><altlabel>Marine Planning Data</altlabel><altlabel>MarinePlanningData</altlabel><altlabel>MarinePlanningData</altlabel></altlabel></thesaurus><term thcode="23" code="28" name="Ecological Functions and Services" parent="26" scope="Ecological Functions and Services includes data describing or measuring an ecological or ecosystem process, property, or benefit to humans that is associated with habitat or biota. While many natural services are related to physical materials and energy production, this category is limited to those services and benefits that derive from ecological interactions of living organisms. Examples of processes or properties include primary productivity, secondary production, nutrient processing, biomass, biodiversity, ecological integrity, and trophic connectivity or export. Examples of services include provisioning of food; carbon storage; nutrient removal; filtration of water; and storm, wave, or flood protection. Functions and services related to biodiversity and production are included here and are further categorized and discussed below. Distributions include records of ecological processes, properties, or services at a location, obtained through direct measurement; measurement of proxies; or modeled estimates. Assessments include ecological valuation indices; calculations of yield; indices of habitat quality or biological integrity; purpose-driven, regionally-specific indicators of ecological value or condition; classifications of areas as critical to certain functions; monetization or other valuations of services; and models of benefits or values. Predictions are the results of models or projections of future distributions, values, or impacts of ecological functions or services; anticipated changes produced by natural and human processes; future projections of cumulative impacts of single or multiple stressors; scenario-testing models of loss or gain of function; and predictions of ecological or economic effects of functional changes under different management strategies. The Ecological Functions and Services category includes two sublevels, which are called out for their broad impact on other functions and services and for their frequent use in assessments."/><bt><term thcode="23" code="26" name="Living Resources" parent="6" scope="Includes aspects of coastal and marine biota that are of particular importance to ecology or to human uses. These can include particular species, groups of biota, associations of biota with physical features, biological function, and biological connectivity."/><term thcode="23" code="6" name="Data Content Subjects" parent="1" scope="Environmental characteristics and processes as well as human activities that use, rely on, or impact those features."/><term thcode="23" code="1" name="Data Categories for Marine Planning" scope="Categories indicating the breadth of information types required for ocean planning from a national, multidisciplinary perspective. Published in USGS Open-File Report 2015-1046, doi:10.3133/ofr20151046"/></bt><nt><term thcode="23" code="30" name="Biodiversity" parent="28" scope="A measure of the variety of organisms within a level of biological organization at any scale in a defined place. Types of biodiversity include genetic diversity; species diversity; guild, feeding group, or functional group diversity; habitat or biotope diversity; and any other measure of biological variety at a location. Biodiversity can be evaluated at levels of biological organization including taxonomic groups (for example, fishes), communities (for example, megafauna), habitats (for example, soft substrate, coral reef), or ecological systems (for example, number of habitats or biotopes in a managed embayment) and at spatial scales ranging from submeter to global. Biodiversity is widely viewed as critical to ecological functions, services, and economic benefits; changes in biodiversity have been closely linked to changes in the ways ecosystems function. Biodiversity is usually considered as an inherent ecosystem service. For purposes of marine planning, biodiversity measures that can be compared across the planning area are most valuable in decision-making. Distributions include quantifications of numbers of species, genetic types, taxonomic groups (for example, fishes), communities, or habitats at a place; diversity indices that can include rarity or relative abundance of types; measurements of proxies (for example, habitat types with known high or low numbers of species); or models. Assessments can estimate, value, monetize, or model the ecological function or service values and impacts of various aspects of biodiversity; identify biodiversity hotspots; or evaluate the effects of pollution, development, climate change, or other stressors on biodiversity. Predictions are the results of models or projections of future distributions, values, or impacts to biodiversity, including future changes produced by natural and human processes. Predictive models can also evaluate the ecosystem effects and ecological function or service impacts of altered biodiversity; scenario-testing models can compare ecological function or service outcomes of different management actions that affect biodiversity."/><term thcode="23" code="29" name="Biological Production" parent="28" scope="A measure of growth, reproduction, or yield of a biological system at any scale, together with the services provided. This includes primary production (the rate or extent to which new organic matter is created, usually through photosynthesis); secondary production (the rate or extent to which consumers multiply and grow); related concepts such as standing stock, biomass density, available biomass, trophic transfer, and sustainable yield; and services including not only provisioning of food but also the many other services that are enhanced by high biomass of specific organisms. Distributions include spatial records of chlorophyll concentration; growth rates or biomass of flora or fauna; trophic transfer; human consumption; flood control; or other services, derived through direct measurement, measurement of proxies, or models. Assessments can estimate, model, value, or monetize the ecological or service benefits and impacts of various forms or quantities of primary production or evaluate the effects of nutrients, shading, climate change, or other stressors on production and related services. Predictions are the results of models or projections of future distributions, values, or impacts, including anticipated changes produced by natural and human processes. Predictive models can also evaluate the ecosystem-level effects and impacts to ecological functions or services resulting from changing levels and shifting forms of primary or secondary production; scenario-testing models can compare the production or service outcomes of different management actions, including altering nutrient inputs, harvesting, or other actions."/></nt></descriptor>