Plant community composition and structure monitoring for Fort Laramie National Historic Site: 2017 data report
Davis MB. 2017. Plant community composition and structure monitoring for Fort Laramie National Historic Site: 2017 data report. Natural Resource Data Series. NPS/NGPN/NRDS—2017/1140. National Park Service. Fort Collins, Colorado
This report presents the results of vegetation monitoring in 2017 at Fort Laramie National Historic Site (FOLA) by the Northern Great Plains Inventory and Monitoring Network (NGPN). This was the seventh year of field work conducted by NGPN at FOLA. Crew members from NGPN visited six long-term monitoring plots to collect data on the plant communities at FOLA. This work is part of a long-term monitoring effort designed to provide a better understanding of the condition of the vegetation community at FOLA and how it changes over time. NGPN staff measured species richness, herb-layer height, native and non-native species abundance, ground cover, and site disturbance at each of the six plots. In plots where woody species were present, tree regeneration, tall shrub density, tree density, and woody fuel loads were also measured. Our 2017 findings can be summarized as follows: The NGPN monitoring crew identified 87 plant species in six monitoring plots, 26 of which were exotic species. Generally, the two riparian plots had more native species and were more diverse than the four upland plots. Seedlings and trees were present in the two riparian plots. The majority of tree regeneration observed was for eastern cottonwood (Populus deltoides). The most commonly observed ground disturbances were the result of flooding in the riparian zone and animal use, which includes grazing.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Davis, Molly
- Date of Issue
- 2017-12
- Publisher
- National Park Service
- Units
- FOLA , 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