Invasive exotic plant monitoring in Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park and Curecanti National Recreation Area: 2010 field season
Edvarchuk KA, Elwood H, Ransom CV. 2012. Invasive exotic plant monitoring in Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park and Curecanti National Recreation Area: 2010 field season. Natural Resource Technical Report. NPS/NCPN/NRTR—2012/576. National Park Service. Fort Collins, Colorado
This report describes the invasive exotic plant monitoring conducted in Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park and Curecanti National Recreation Area in 2010. Invasive exotic plant (IEP) species are a significant threat to natural ecosystem integrity and biodiversity, and controlling them is a high priority for the National Park Service. Because routine monitoring for newly invading populations is an important step in successfully controlling them, the Northern Colorado Plateau Network (NCPN) selected the early detection of IEPs as one of 10 monitoring protocols to be implemented as part of its long-term monitoring program. Routes and transects were selected for inventory and monitoring in both Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park and Curecanti National Recreation Area. Between July 23 and August 9, 2010, a Utah State University field crew detected 21 invasive exotic plant species on 88 of 1,327 hectares searched, or about 6.6% of the total inventoried area. Of 31 targeted plant species, nine were found in the monitoring quadrats, as well as one other non-native species of concern to the area. The most abundant (in terms of hectares infested) target species mapped along monitoring routes in the parks was Canada thistle (Cirsium arvense), with 19.05 hectares. The second-most abundant target species, which was also the most common (i.e., most infestations), was woolly mullein (Verbascum thapsus), at 18.87 hectares. Yellow sweetclover (Melilotus officinale), not a priority species, was the most commonly encountered species in monitoring transects; it was almost exclusively recorded on transects in Curecanti NRA. Reed canarygrass (Phalaris arundinaceae) was the secondmost commonly recorded species on transects and exclusive to the Gunnison River shoreline in Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Edvarchuk, Kimberly; Elwood, Heather; Ransom, Corey
- Date of Issue
- 2012-05
- Publisher
- National Park Service
- Units
- BLCA , CURE , NCPN , NRSS
- Keywords
- Exotic Species, Exotic/Invasive Species - Plants, Invasive Species, Monitoring, NCPN Invasive Plants Monitoring, Plant Studies