Vascular plant inventory, vegetation community classification, mapping, and accuracy assessment report information for Carl Sandburg National Historic Site, as part of the NPS Vegetation Mapping Inventory Program
2003. Vascular plant inventory, vegetation community classification, mapping, and accuracy assessment report information for Carl Sandburg National Historic Site, as part of the NPS Vegetation Mapping Inventory Program
The first step in any effort to monitor the “vital signs” or ecological health of a tract of land is to develop a baseline from which to measure and gauge trends. Park personnel and park volunteers assisted NatureServe ecologists to establish a baseline for Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site in three ways: 1) Ecologists from NatureServe established eleven permanently marked one-hectare circular plots throughout the park in a grid system and another four in unique ecological areas that were missed by the grid. These plots are available to be used by researchers on studies ranging from bird point counts to individual plant monitoring to herpetological inventories. 2) Ecologists collected data on all unique vegetation communities within the park and found at least fourteen vegetation associations (unique ecological assemblages of plants) within park boundaries. Three associations warrant special attention. The Pinus pungens – Pinus rigida – (Quercus prinus) / Kalmia latifolia – Vaccinium pallidum Woodland (Blue Ridge table mountain pine – pitch pine woodland (typic type)) is considered globally rare and is threatened within the park by hardwood invasion due to suppression of fire. The Selaginella rupestris – Schizachyrium scoparium – Hypericum gentianoides – Bulbostylis capillaris Herbaceous Vegetation (Appalachian low elevation granitic dome) is globally very rare and is threatened within park boundaries by unintentional trampling from park visitors. Finally, the Tsuga canadensis – Liriodendron tulipifera – Betula lenta / Rhododendron maximum Forest is secure throughout its range in the southern Appalachians. However, the example of this association within the park probably represents an older stand of forest within a matrix of younger forest. It is also a mesic community in a park dominated by xeric and dry-mesic communities. 3) Ecologists obtained information about plant species already identified and catalogued in the park museum collection and conducted an inventory for new plant species on the site. NatureServe staff, park staff, and volunteers collected 170 specimens and added over 135 new species to a list that already contained over 375 species. We estimate that between 75 and 95% of the flora in the park is now documented. Some notable species found in the park either during the current studies or in past studies that are globally rare or uncommon include North Fork heartleaf (Hexastylis rhombiformis), rough panicgrass (Dichanthelium leucothrix), Piedmont ragwort (Packera millefolia), Carolina hemlock (Tsuga caroliniana), Biltmore’s carrion flower (Smilax biltmoreana), netted nutrush (Scleria reticularis), and Allegheny mountain golden-banner (Thermopsis mollis).
- Type
- Unpublished Report
- Date of Issue
- 2003-02
- Units
- CARL , VMI
- Keywords
- Accuracy Assessment, Aerial Photography, alliances, Associations, community association, Digital Orthophoto, Digital Spatial Database, DOQ, DOQQ, Field Data, flight line, GIS, GPS, habitat mapping, Inventory Projects, Landcover, Landscape, National Park, National Park Service Inventory, National Vegetation Classification Standard, National Vegetation Classification System, NVCS, Orthophoto, Plots, U.S. National Vegetation Classification, USNVC, USNVCS, Vegetation Inventory, Vegetation Inventory Report, Vegetation Map Report, Vegetation Mapping, Vegetation Plots