Integrated upland monitoring in Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park and Curecanti National Recreation Area: annual report 2011 (non-sensitive version)
Witwicki D. 2012. Integrated upland monitoring in Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park and Curecanti National Recreation Area: annual report 2011 (non-sensitive version). Natural Resource Technical Report. NPS/NCPN/NRTR—2012/657.N. National Park Service. Fort Collins, Colorado
The goal of the Northern Colorado Plateau Network (NCPN) integrated upland monitoring effort is to provide park managers with status and trend information on vegetation and soil attributes. This information is intended to provide early warning of resource degradation and determine natural variability of upland resources. This report summarizes NCPN upland monitoring in Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park (BLCA) and Curecanti National Recreation Area (CURE) during 2011. It outlines goals and objectives of NCPN upland monitoring, methods of the upland monitoring protocol, and procedures for defining and mapping target populations for monitoring, and describes the results of this year’s efforts and plans for future monitoring. In 2011, NCPN completed the first year of monitoring under the long-term operational sampling design at BLCA and CURE, and the fourth year of monitoring overall. Forty-two plots were monitored, including 24 plots at BLCA (12 pinyon-juniper and 12 Gambel oak/mixed montane shrub) and 18 plots at CURE (1 aspen and 17 sagebrush). Early monitoring data describe status of ecological site types; interpretation will be limited until additional data are acquired and more rigorously analyzed after at least five years of monitoring.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Witwicki, Dana
- Date of Issue
- 2012-12
- Publisher
- National Park Service
- Units
- BLCA , CURE , NCPN , NRSS
- Keywords
- Monitoring, NCPN Uplands Monitoring, Plant Studies, Upland, Uplands