Integrated upland protocol of the Mojave Desert Network: Volume 1, protocol narrative
Pan JJ, Craig D, Robinson D, Soukup D, Harrod Starcevich L, Tallent N, Truitt R. 2015. Integrated upland protocol of the Mojave Desert Network: Volume 1, protocol narrative. Natural Resource Report. NPS/MOJN/NRR—2015/1010. National Park Service. Fort Collins, Colorado
The Natural Resource Challenge was implemented to encourage national parks to focus on the preservation of the nation’s natural heritage through science, natural resource inventories, and expanded resource monitoring. Through the Natural Resource Challenge, NPS implemented the “Vital Signs Monitoring Program,” a long-term ecological monitoring program that will provide rigorous, scientifically-based information on the status and trends of park ecosystems. With data from this program, park managers will be better able to evaluate complex and challenging resource issues and make decisions that result in long-term protection of park ecosystems. In 2000, 270 NPS units were organized into 32 inventory and monitoring (I&M) networks based on ecological similarity and geographic proximity. The Mojave Desert Network (MOJN) I&M, one of the networks created, includes seven NPS units in California, Nevada, and Arizona. MOJN is comprised of Death Valley National Park, Great Basin National Park, Joshua Tree National Park, Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Manzanar National Historic Site, Mojave National Preserve, and Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument. Together, these units encompass over 3.3 million hectares, or 9.7% of the total land area managed by NPS. Twenty park vital signs - indicators of ecosystem health - representing a suite of ecological phenomena at multiple temporal and spatial scales were identified for MOJN I&M. MOJN I&M vital signs fall into five categories: Air & Climate, Geology & Soils, Water, Biological Integrity, and Landscapes. This protocol addresses seven of the 20 vital signs in two of the five categories, Geology & Soils and Biological Integrity. Integrated Upland monitoring will be conducted on select upland shrub communities, chosen because this physiognomic class collectively represents a large proportion of each park and captures focal communities of interest (e.g., Joshua tree, creosote bush, and sagebrush). Representative upland communities were selected for monitoring and will be assessed for changes in vegetation, soils, and target invasive species. Macroplots in each park will be monitored on a 3-year revisit schedule with trend analyses planned after three visits. Parameters examined in macroplots include change in shrub species community composition, life form composition, soil parameters (e.g., pH, soil surface disturbance, biological soil crusts), and frequency of occurrence of target “status and trends invasive species.” This protocol includes a narrative and an accompanying set of standard operating procedures (SOPs) that detail the steps required to collect, manage, and disseminate the data representing the status and trend of upland communities in the MOJN parks. For all references to the IU protocol SOPs, see the Integrated Upland Protocol of the Mojave Desert Network, Volume 2, Standard Operating Procedures. The protocol is a living document that evolves as new information emerges, methodologies are refined. The first few cycles of monitoring will address the logistics of field monitoring (e.g., travel time between sites, time needed for on the ground monitoring) and status of upland communities (e.g., site variability, inter-annual variability). From there, the focus will shift toward trend analysis to detect ecologically meaningful declines or increases, from which appropriate management strategies can be developed.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Pan, Jean; Craig, Donovan; Robinson, Dana; Soukup, Deborah; Harrod Starcevich, Leigh Ann; Tallent, Nita; Truitt, Robert
- Date of Issue
- 2015-08
- Publisher
- National Park Service
- Units
- DEVA , GRBA , JOTR , LAKE , MANZ , MOJA , MOJN , NRSS , PARA
- Keywords
- biological crust, canopy gap, Chemistry, Communities, creaosote bush, Deposition, Erosion, Generalized Random Tessellation Stratified, GRTS, integrated, Integrated Upland Protocol, Invasive Plant, Joshua Tree, macroplot, Monitoring, Nutrient, physiognomic, rabbitbrush, repeat photos, Sagebrush, shrubland, Soils, sop, species frequency, standard operating procedure, status and trends, Transect, Upland, Upland Protocol, Vegetation, Woodlands
- Subjects
- Ecological Framework: Biological Integrity | Focal Species or Communities | Desert Communities , Ecological Framework: Biological Integrity | Focal Species or Communities | Shrubland Communities , Ecological Framework: Biological Integrity | Focal Species or Communities | Vegetation Complex