Vegetation community monitoring at Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial, Indiana: 2011-2015
Leis SA. 2016. Vegetation community monitoring at Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial, Indiana: 2011-2015. Natural Resource Data Series. NPS/HTLN/NRDS—2016/1073. National Park Service. Fort Collins, Colorado
The woodlands at LIBO have undergone significant landuse changes from logging to restoration. We monitored four woodland sites during 2011 and 2015 to document the status of the vegetation community with an interest in non-native species. Two years of monitoring demonstrate that the woodland at LIBO generally reflects the historic overstory composition described by Pavlovic and White (1989). White oak was more dominant historically and maples less dominant than in the current forest. The forest canopy consistently represents a closed canopy forest with multiple layers. Tree density and basal area were similar across years. Likewise, regeneration was similar between years. Regeneration species were dominated by maples and few hardwoods were recruited to the large sapling stage. While species diversity of the understory was similar across years, there appeared to be a reduction in cover of some guilds in 2015. Notably non-native vines had lesser mean cover in 2015. Non-native species made a greater contribution than natives to understory cover. Specifically, common periwinkle and Japanese honeysuckle were abundant.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Leis, Sherry
- Date of Issue
- 2016-12
- Publisher
- National Park Service
- Units
- HTLN , LIBO , NRSS
- Keywords
- HTLN, HTLN Plant Communities Monitoring, Long-term monitoring, Monitoring, Plant community, Vegetation, Woodland
- Subjects
- Ecological Framework: Biological Integrity | Focal Species or Communities | Forest/Woodland Communities