Desired condition of grasslands and meadows in Valley Forge National Historical Park
Latham R. 2012. Desired condition of grasslands and meadows in Valley Forge National Historical Park. Natural Resource Technical Report. Natural Resource Technical Report NPS/NER/VAFO/NRTR—2012/636. Fort Collins, Colorado
The grasslands and meadows of Valley Forge National Historical Park cover 541 ha (1,340 acres), nearly 44% of the total park area. This is one of the largest areas of permanently maintained but uncultivated, upland, herbaceous vegetation in the Mid- Atlantic Region. Uncultivated grasslands and meadows are increasingly gaining recognition as vital habitats for many native plants and animals at the same time as they are becoming scarcer and the species that depend on them are undergoing alarmingly rapid declines. However, present conditions in the fields are ecologically marginal; they are dominated by nonnative, invasive plant species, which are of low value as food for insects and thus support low biomass, low diversity, low numbers, and low population viability of wildlife species throughout the food web, relative to grasslands and meadows dominated by native plants. The challenges of specifying a desired condition for these lands include staying true to the main historical mission of the park and accurately describing historical species assemblages that until now have been neglected as a subject of research in historical ecology and community classification.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Latham, Roger
- Date of Issue
- 2012-10-31
- Units
- NRSS , VAFO
- Keywords
- Desired condition, Grassland, Meadow
- Subjects
- Ecological Framework: Biological Integrity | Focal Species or Communities | Grassland/Herbaceous Communities