Plant community monitoring protocol for the San Francisco Bay Area Network of National Parks: Narrative version 1.0

Steers, Robert; Denn, Marie; Wrubel, Eric; Forrestel, Alison; Johnson, Brent; Parsons, Lorraine; Villalba, Fernando

The San Francisco Bay Area Network (SFAN) has identified a suite of vital signs, indicators of ecosystem health, which represent various ecological phenomena operating across multiple temporal and spatial scales. Plant community monitoring is a high priority vital sign for this network, specifically at Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GOGA), Muir Woods National Monument (MUWO), Pinnacles National Park (PINN), and Point Reyes National Seashore (PORE). In these park units, plant communities are numerous and exhibit a complex spatial arrangement on the landscape. Because it is not possible to monitor every type that occurs in SFAN, and because these areas lack any relatively permanent feature of the landscape that can be utilized to reduce variability in the data set through stratification, SFAN park managers selected a set of mapped vegetation types for monitoring. The sampling design consists of randomly selecting a subset of stands of each selected vegetation type from preexisting vegetation maps. One sampling plot per stand is used to collect data on a suite of vegetation parameters that represent structure and composition metrics, such as cover by species, density of woody plants, and species richness, among others. The sampling plot is based on modifications to the design used by the US Forest Service, Forest Inventory and Analysis program. Each vegetation type is on either an annual or three year sampling rotation: a subset of communities is sampled annually (some herbaceous vegetation types) to better understand interannual variability, other communities are monitored every three years to promote the ability of managers to respond if large undesirable changes are detected. This protocol consists of two separate volumes, a narrative with appendixes and a set of standard operating procedures (SOPs) that detail steps required to collect, manage, and disseminate the data representing the status and trend of targeted vegetation types (Steers et al. 2016). SFAN staff collected pilot data during 2011 and 2012 to help resolve logistical and methodological questions for the monitoring program. In 2013, 2014, and 2015 the program began implementing the monitoring of selected vegetation types to establish baseline conditions. Relatively little information is known about temporal dynamics for many of the vegetation types being monitored. These data will also be helpful to park managers by providing reference conditions for many vegetation types and providing a means to detect changes in vegetation in a timeframe that allows managers to react appropriately to protect park resources.

Plant community monitoring protocol for the San Francisco Bay Area Network of National Parks: Narrative version 1.0

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