Northeast Temperate Network Long-term Forest Monitoring Protocol: 2008 Revision

Tierney G, Faber-Langendoen D, Mitchell B, Comiskey J. 2008. Northeast Temperate Network Long-term Forest Monitoring Protocol: 2008 Revision. National Park Service. Woodstock, VT

This protocol has been developed for long-term monitoring of forest vegetation within the National Park Service’s (NPS) Northeastern Temperate Network (NETN) as part of the NPS Inventory and Monitoring Program. The protocol includes methods for assessing and reporting the ecological integrity of forested ecosystems. The overall goal of this protocol is to monitor status and trends in the structure, function and condition of NETN forested ecosystems in order to inform management decisions affecting those systems. To do so, NETN will interpret and report the ecological integrity of NETN forested systems from monitoring data. The “ecological integrity” of an ecosystem is a measure of the structure, composition, and function of an ecosystem as compared to pristine or benchmark ecosystems operating within the bounds of natural or historic disturbance regimes (Karr and Dudley 1981, Parrish et al. 2003). Ecological integrity can be assessed by comparing key elements or attributes of an ecosystem to a reference area or to historical measurements or modeling efforts. In this way, NETN hopes to provide reliable data to inform management decisions relevant to NETN forested systems, including NPS land management and forest harvest plans, exotic species control, deer population management, NPS internal development, and national pollution control legislation.

Type
Unpublished Report
Authors
Tierney, Geri; Faber-Langendoen, Don; Mitchell, Brian; Comiskey, James
Date of Issue
2008
Publisher
National Park Service
Units
ACAD , ELRO , HOFR , IMDP , MABI , MIMA , MORR , NETN , NRIM , NRSS , ROVA , SAGA , SARA , VAMA , WEFA
Keywords
2008, airborne contaminants, Atmospheric Deposition, Basal area, Biodiversity, exotic plant species, Forest, Forest crown measurements, Forest Health, Forest Health Monitoring, Fragmentation, Growth rates, herbaceous vegetation, Invasive Species, NETN, Northeast Temperate Network, Plant Communities, plant composition, plant composition, plant cover, Plant diversity, revision, sapling, Seedling trees, shrub, Soil Chemistry, Species Abundance, Species Composition, Trees, Vegetation, vegetation community, Vegetation cover, Vegetation diversity, Woodland communities, Woody Debris
Subjects
Ecological Framework: Air and Climate | Air Quality | Wet and Dry Deposition , Ecological Framework: Geology and Soils | Soil Quality | Soil Function and Dynamics , Ecological Framework: Biological Integrity | Focal Species or Communities | Forest/Woodland Communities , Ecological Framework: Landscapes | Landscape Dynamics | Land Cover and Use , Ecological Framework: Landscapes | Nutrient Dynamics | Nutrient Dynamics

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