Digital Elevation Model (DEM) Derived Topographic Indices Across Sequoia Groves in Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Park and Yosemite National Park

This dataset provides topographic indices derived from 1 m resolution DEMs for sequoia groves in both Sequoia-Kings Canyon and Yosemite National Parks. All mapped sequoia groves in Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Park and two groves from Yosemite National Park, Merced and Mariposa, are included. For each grove, aspect, slope, the stream network, height above nearest drainage (HAND), depth to water (DTW), maximum elevation deviation (DEVmax), and heat load index (HLI) are calculated. These indices were chosen because of their relevance in determining soil moisture across a landscape. Derived topographic parameters were calculated using 1 m DEMs generated in 2016 resampled to 3 m and a combination of ArcGIS Pro Tools, ArcPy Scripts, Whitebox GAT tools, and R scripts. The stream networks, which are further used in the calculation of HAND and DTW, were determined using a flow accumulation threshold of 2000 meters squared based on a literature-accepted range, chosen specifically based on knowledge of the areas of interest. The neighborhood size range for DEVmax was chosen on two scales, allowing for the identification of both local and more global minima and maxima: squares centered at each pixel ranging from 9 to 303 meters and 9 to 1203 meters wide. The neighborhood size chosen by the algorithm at each pixel maximizes the deviation from the average. Files that include the neighborhood size chosen are included for reference. All files are included as GeoTIFF files.