Plant community composition and structure monitoring for Agate Fossil Beds National Monument: 2016 data report
Rasor AT and Swanson DJ. 2016. Plant community composition and structure monitoring for Agate Fossil Beds National Monument: 2016 data report. Natural Resource Data Series. NPS/NGPN/NRDS—2016/1074. National Park Service. Fort Collins, Colorado
This report presents the results of vegetation monitoring efforts in 2016 at Agate Fossil Beds National Monument (AGFO) by the Northern Great Plains Inventory and Monitoring Network (NGPN). During the sixth full year of field work, crew members from NGPN visited six long-term plant community monitoring (PCMs) plots and the Northern Great Plains Fire Effects Crew visited three fire plant community monitoring (FPCM) plots to collect data on the plant communities at AGFO. This effort is part of a long-term monitoring program in order to better understand the condition of the mixed-grass prairie, riparian, and upland regions in AGFO. NGPN staff captured data relating to species richness, herb-layer height, native and exotic (non-native) species abundance, ground cover, and site disturbance on each of the nine plots. An additional seventeen riparian community monitoring (RCM) plots were also evaluated for species richness and abundance of individual native and exotic species. Our 2016 findings can be summarized as follows: The NGPN monitoring crew identified 92 plant species in nine combined plots (six PCM plus three FPCM) visited in 2016 at AGFO and twelve of these species were exotic. None of the exotics identified were on the target list for the early detection and rapid response program in the Northern Great Plains Network parks. Ten rare native species were also recorded, with at least one of the species occurring in five out of six PCM plots. The most common disturbances observed in monitoring plots were prescribed fire and animal use. Amongst the seventeen riparian monitoring plots, 80 plant species were identified, of which 17 species were exotic for this area. One exotic species identified in the RCM plots, the pale yellow iris (Iris pseudacorus), is on the target list for the early detection and rapid response program. That invasive exotic species was identified in eleven out of the seventeen RCM plots. Eight rare native species were identified across thirteen of the seventeen RCM plots, with up to four rare native species identified in a single plot (RCM_267).
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Rasor, Aaron; Swanson, Daniel
- Date of Issue
- 2016-12
- Publisher
- National Park Service
- Units
- AGFO , NGPN , NRSS
- Keywords
- Grasslands, mixed-grass prairie, Monitoring, monitoring report, plant community monitor, Plant community monitoring, Plant diversity, Vegetation