Coastal Forest Monitoring Protocol, Cape Cod National Seashore

Smith, Stephen; Decker, Velma; Phillips, Carrie; Hill, Emily

Forest communities within CACO are found over a broad range of topographic, hydrologic, and geologic conditions and provide an expansive habitat for a large number of flora and fauna. As such, forests may serve as an important indicator of the ecological health of not only CACO, but Cape Cod itself. Both natural and anthropogenic factors influence the health of forests. Chronic and episodic climatological factors, fire, fire suppression, disease, invasive species, insects, succession, fragmentation by development, acid deposition, ultraviolet radiation, global warming, and air pollution have been identified as having the potential to significantly alter this diverse habitat. Such realized and potential threats necessitate a comprehensive system of response monitoring. To objectively assess spatial and temporal variation in forest ecosystems in a manner that is scientifically robust, it is imperative that a standard protocol for collecting and processing information be followed. This ensures that data maintain a high level of integrity that is vital to drawing any conclusions through analytical inquiry. However, it should be mentioned that it is difficult, if not impossible, to predict what additional or new kinds of information may be needed in the future. Thus, the protocol may periodically need some form of modification to fit these needs, while still maintaining enough of its original form to make comparisons to the oldest datasets. To guide this process, critical reviews of the protocol should be conducted along the way.This document proposes a methodology for implementing a system of monitoring designed to provide high-quality information on the status of forest resources across CACO. While the protocol itself should serve as the primary tool with which to assess structural and functional changes in these communities, available environmental datasets on potentially important abiotic factors (e.g., elevation, precipitation, air quality, soil properties) can help to elucidate underlying mechanisms of change and, subsequently, guide the management of the resource. It is expected that these kinds of analyses will also assist investigators studying other biological systems. For instance, certain wildlife respond to forest habitat suitability as defined by taxonomic composition, productivity, and/or reproductive output. Similarly, forest processes are highly relevant to the monitoring of adjacent habitats, such as heathlands and grasslands, which are slowly being lost through succession.

Coastal Forest Monitoring Protocol, Cape Cod National Seashore

Series

Collections