Sagebrush steppe vegetation monitoring in John Day Fossil Beds National Monument: 2011 annual report

Yeo, Jeffrey; Rodhouse, Thomas

Monitoring of the condition of sagebrush steppe within the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument (JODA) was conducted in May and June 2011. Four units of the monument were monitored: Clarno, Foree, Painted Hills, and Sheep Rock. Sampling occurred within 3 habitat categories of vegetation communities: (1) mesic habitat that typically occurs on wetter northerly sites that have shorter exposure to the sun or on higher elevations that retain snow pack or experience less evaporative loss, (2) xeric habitat that typically occurs on drier southerly sites that have longer exposure to the sun over the course of the year, and (3) sage habitat that typically supports sagebrush because of deeper soils in bottoms of draws and valleys, or flat expanses. Cover of exposed soil and of principal native and non-native plants or genera was estimated following methods detailed in the Upper Columbia Basin Network’s (UCBN) protocol for sagebrush steppe monitoring (Yeo et al. 2009). All JODA units had some plots representing good range condition. Painted Hills had more than double the number of plots that were in good condition than the other park units. Brief comparisons are made between results of 2011 monitoring at JODA and monitoring conducted in 2008 at Clarno, Painted Hills, and Foree; and monitoring conducted at Foree and Sheep Rock in 2009. It appears that fire, whether as wildfire or planned ignitions, by disturbing native plant communities and creating opportunities for invasion by non-native annual grasses, principally cheatgrass and medusahead, is posing a threat to the integrity of sagebrush ecosystems in the monument. We intend to modify sample frames for future monitoring at JODA similar to the approach used at Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve. Sample frames would be smaller and positioned to sample different condition categories of sagebrush steppe: those still dominated by native vegetation, those with a mix of native and non-native species that might be restored to a more healthy condition, and those dominated by non-native annual grasses. Additionally, areas that JODA is actively restoring to native sagebrush steppe communities might be monitored.

Sagebrush steppe vegetation monitoring in John Day Fossil Beds National Monument: 2011 annual report

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