Plant community composition and structure monitoring at Fort Union Trading Post National Historic Site: 2017 data summary report
Rockwood SL. 2018. Plant community composition and structure monitoring at Fort Union Trading Post National Historic Site: 2017 data summary report. Natural Resource Data Series. NPS/NGPN/NRDS—2018/1145. National Park Service. Fort Collins, Colorado
This report presents the results of the Northern Great Plains Inventory and Monitoring Network’s vegetation monitoring at Fort Union Trading Post National Historic Site (FOUS) in 2017. This was the seventh year that the Northern Great Plains Inventory and Monitoring Network (NGPN) conducted field work at FOUS. Crew members from NGPN visited six long-term monitoring plots to collect data on the plant communities at FOUS. This work is part of a long-term monitoring effort designed to provide a better understanding of the condition of the vegetation community 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. In 2017, the NGPN monitoring crew identified 71 unique plant species in six monitoring plots. Of those species, 16 were exotic. The two plots located in the Bodmer Overlook Unit were more diverse and had more native species than the four plots located in the Upland Terrace area near the fort. No trees or woody fuels were present in the six plots, but the crew did identify a single green ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica) seedling. The most commonly observed ground disturbances resulted from mowing by the park in the Upland Terrace, severe drought, and animal use.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Rockwood, Stephanie
- Date of Issue
- 2018-01
- Publisher
- National Park Service
- Units
- FOUS , NGPN , NRSS
- Keywords
- plant community monitor