Vegetation community monitoring at Cape Lookout National Seashore, 2010.
Byrne MW, Corbett SL, DeVivo JC. 2012. Vegetation community monitoring at Cape Lookout National Seashore, 2010.. Natural Resource Data Series. NPS/SECN/NRDS—2012/258. National Park Service. Fort Collins, Colorado
In 2009, the National Park Service (NPS) Southeast Coast Network (SECN) Inventory and Monitoring Network began collecting plant community data as part the NPS Vital Signs monitoring program. Information collected under this Vital Sign will be used to help managers make better informed decisions by understanding trends and variability related to plant species, frequency of occurrence, percent cover, diversity, and distribution in the groundcover, shrub, and canopy strata. Data were collected at 30 spatially-balanced random locations at the Seashore. Monitoring efforts resulted in the addition of 14 species, subspecies, and varieties to the park’s species list. Absolute canopy cover across the park was approximately 11%. Virginia live oak (Quercus virginiana) had the largest average DBH of any canopy species at the park. Yaupon holly (Ilex vomitoria) was the most frequently detected seedling species. Wax myrtle (Morella cerifera) was the most frequently occurring species in the shrub stratum. Largeleaf pennywort (Hydrocotyle bonariensis) and saltmeadow cordgrass (Spartina patens) were the most frequently occurring species in the groundcover stratum.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Byrne, Michael; Corbett, Sarah; DeVivo, Joseph
- Date of Issue
- 2012-03
- Publisher
- National Park Service
- Units
- CALO , NRSS , SECN
- Keywords
- absolute cover, diameter at breast height, groundcover, Monitoring, relative cover, shrub, Tree, Vegetation, Vegetation Monitoring