Plant community composition and structure at Wind Cave National Park: 2016 Data Report
Rockwood SL and Swanson DJ. 2017. Plant community composition and structure at Wind Cave National Park: 2016 Data Report. Natural Resource Data Series. NPS/NGPN/NRDS—2017/1090. National Park Service. Fort Collins, Colorado
This report presents the results of vegetation monitoring efforts in 2016 at Wind Cave National Park (WICA) 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 eighteen long-term plant community monitoring (PCM) plots to collect data on the plant communities at WICA. The NGPFire crew visited an additional ten PCM plots and ten fire plant community monitoring plots (FPCM) plots. This is part of a long-term monitoring effort to better understand the condition of the mixed-grass prairie and ponderosa pine woodlands within the boundaries of WICA. 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. In plots where woody species were present, NGPN measured tree regeneration, tall shrub and tree density, and woody fuel load. The NGPFire crew collected data relating to herb-layer height, abundance of native and non-native species, ground cover, and target species data at ten PCM plots and two FPCM plots. In five FPCM plots, only woody species and target species data were collected, and in three FPCM plots only target species data were collected. Our 2016 findings can be summarized as follows: Monitoring crews identified 215 species in 38 monitoring plots visited in 2016 at WICA, of which 26 were exotic species. Common buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica), a targeted exotic species of concern in Northern Great Plains Network parks, was identified in two plots at WICA. The average relative cover of exotic species was approximately 25%. Tree density, health, and seedling regeneration, as well as woody fuel loads, were observed at twenty-eight plots. The most common disturbances observed were related animal use (e.g., grazing, game trails, and prairie dogs) and fire (wildland and prescribed).
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Rockwood, Stephanie; Swanson, Daniel
- Date of Issue
- 2017-03
- Publisher
- National Park Service
- Units
- NGPN , NRSS , WICA
- Keywords
- Grassland, mixed-grass prairie, monitoring, monitoring report, plant community, plant community monitor, plant diversity, tree, vegetation
Series
See also
- Plant community composition and structure monitoring protocol for the Northern Great Plains I&M Network - Standard operating procedures version 1.01
- Plant community composition and structure monitoring protocol for the Northern Great Plains I&M Network: Version 1.01