Vegetation mapping and classification of Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial, Indiana: Project report

Diamond, David; Elliott, Lee; Debacker, Mike; James, Kevin; Pursell, Dyanna; Struckhoff, Alicia

Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial (LIBO) is situated in southern Indiana, near the small town of Lincoln City and Lincoln State Park. It lies within a formerly forested landscape, but most of the park has been cleared in the past. A vegetation classification and mapping project was initiated in 2011 and completed in 2013. Protocols and products were produced following National Park Service Vegetation Inventory Program guidelines. Classification was based on 30 field plots and 18 georeferenced observation points. Mapping was based on air photo interpretation and heads-up digitizing of polygons. Accuracy assessment points obtained during 2013 verified that the map is 100% accurate. Five vegetation types were mapped and quantified. The most natural of these was a fairly mature Black Oak-White Oak-(Pignut, Shagbark) Hickory (Quercus velutina -Quercus alba -Carya (glabra, ovata) Forest association, which covered 10.2 acres (4.1 hectares). This type occurred as a single patch that surrounded the gravesite of Nancy Hanks Lincoln, and provided an aesthetically appealing backdrop. A Restored Deciduous Forest, which contained large sugar maples (Acer saccharum) and tuliptrees (Liriodendron tulipifera) partially surrounded the mature forest and covered another 49.4 acres (20.0 hectares). Ruderal Forest dominated by red maple (Acer rubrum) was the largest type, and covered 93.0 acres (37.6 hectares). Invasive species were abundant and sometimes dominant within this type, and no native canopy dominant trees were recorded in plots, so this type may persist as a ruderal forest without active management for many decades.

Vegetation mapping and classification of Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial, Indiana: Project report

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