Plant community composition and structure monitoring for Knife River Indian Villages National Historic Site: 2012 annual report
Ashton IW, Prowatzke M, Swanson D, Greave P, Wilson SK. 2013. Plant community composition and structure monitoring for Knife River Indian Villages National Historic Site: 2012 annual report. Natural Resource Technical Report. NPS/NGPN/NRTR—2013/682. National Park Service. Fort Collins, Colorado
Knife River Indian Villages National Historic Site (KNRI) protects 1758 acres of northern mixed-grass prairie and riparian forests. The Northern Great Plains Inventory & Monitoring Network and Fire Ecology Program surveyed 13 long-term monitoring plots in KNRI in 2012 as part of an effort to better understand the condition of plant communities in the park. We measured plant diversity, vegetative cover, and tree density; looked for the presence of exotic species that are of concern to park management; and evaluated the amount of human and natural disturbance at all plots. This effort was the second year in a multiple-year venture to document the current status and long-term trends in plant communities in KNRI. At the end of five years, there will be an in-depth report describing the status of the plant community. In 2014, there will also be a large survey completed in the park to estimate the condition of the riparian forests. In this report, we provide a simple summary of our results from sampling in 2012. KNRI protects and manages a small remnant of northern mixed-grass prairie. A history of extensive human-use has led to low native species richness and a landscape dominated by exotic species. Smooth brome and Kentucky bluegrass are particularly abundant. To retain ecological integrity it is important to continue efforts to reduce the cover of invasive plants. Allowing for natural disturbances such as fire may be critical to maintaining plant diversity in KNRI, but it should be balanced with the need to protect intact native communities and prevent further invasions of exotic species in areas where native diversity is high. Continued monitoring efforts will be critical to track changes in the condition of the vegetation communities in KNRI.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Ashton, Isabel; Prowatzke, Michael; Swanson, Dan; Greave, Phil; Wilson, Stephen
- Date of Issue
- 2013-02
- Publisher
- National Park Service
- Units
- KNRI , NGPN , NRSS
- Keywords
- Grasslands, mixed-grass prairie, Monitoring, monitoring report, plant community monitor, Plant community monitoring, Plant diversity, riparian forest, Vegetation