Plant community composition and structure monitoring for Devils Tower National Monument: 2016 data report
Rockwood SL and Swanson DJ. 2017. Plant community composition and structure monitoring for Devils Tower National Monument: 2016 data report. Natural Resource Data Series. NPS/NGPN/NRDS—2017/1086. National Park Service. Fort Collins, Colorado
This report presents the results of vegetation monitoring efforts in 2016 at Devils Tower National Monument (DETO) by the Northern Great Plains Inventory and Monitoring Network (NGPN) and the Northern Great Plains Fire Effects (NGPFire) program. During the sixth full year of field work, the NGPN field crew visited eight long-term plant community monitoring (PCM) plots and the NGPFire crew visited eleven PCM plots to collect data on the plant communities at DETO. This is part of a long-term monitoring effort to better understand the condition of the riparian and upland forests in DETO. NGPN staff captured data relating to species richness, herb-layer height, abundances of native and non-native species, ground cover, and site disturbance from each PCM plot. The NGPFire crew collected data relating to herb-layer height, abundance of native and non-native species, and ground cover at each of the eleven PCM plots. In plots where woody species were present, both crews measured tree regeneration, tall shrub and tree density, and woody fuel load. Our 2016 findings can be summarized as follows: Monitoring crews identified 117 species in eight monitoring plots visited in 2016 at DETO, of which 18 were exotic species. Generally, the upland PCM plots had greater native species diversity than the two plots along the riparian corridor. Nonnative species were abundant throughout the park, averaging about 31% relative cover. None of the exotic species identified in upland plots were on the target list for the early detection and rapid response program in the Northern Great Plains Network parks. Tree regeneration and woody fuel loads were observed at eighteen of the nineteen plots. The most common disturbances observed were prescribed fire and animal use.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Rockwood, Stephanie; Swanson, Daniel
- Date of Issue
- 2017-02
- Publisher
- National Park Service
- Units
- DETO , NGPN , NRSS
- Keywords
- Forest, Grasslands, mixed-grass prairie, Monitoring, monitoring report, plant community monitor, Plant community monitoring, Plant diversity, Vegetation
- Subjects
- Ecological Framework: Biological Integrity | Focal Species or Communities | Grassland/Herbaceous Communities , Ecological Framework: Biological Integrity | Focal Species or Communities | Forest/Woodland Communities