Plant community composition and structure monitoring for Badlands National Park: 2017 data report
Manuel RM. 2018. Plant community composition and structure monitoring for Badlands National Park: 2017 data report. Natural Resource Data Series. NPS/NGPN/NRDS—2018/1153. National Park Service. Fort Collins, Colorado
This report presents the results of vegetation monitoring efforts in 2017 at Badlands National Park (BADL) by the Northern Great Plains Network Inventory and Monitoring program (NGPN). During the seventh full year of field work, crew members from NGPN visited twenty long-term plant community monitoring (PCM) plots to collect data on the plant communities at BADL. This effort is part of a long-term monitoring program in order to better understand the condition of the sparsely vegetated badland, woody draw, and mixed-grass prairie regions in BADL. NGPN staff recorded data relating to species richness, herb-layer height, abundance of individual native and non-native species, ground cover, and site disturbance on each of the twenty plots. In plots where woody species were present, crews also measured tree regeneration, tall shrub and tree density, and woody fuel load. Our 2017 findings can be summarized as follows: Monitoring crews recorded 134 species across 26 monitoring plots visited in 2017 at BADL. Of those species, 25 were exotic. None of the exotics identified were on the target list for the early detection and rapid response program in the NGPN parks. No rare native species were documented. Trees, poles, and seedlings were only located at a single plot and woody fuel loads were recorded at one of the twenty-six plots. The most common disturbances observed were animal use and erosion.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Manuel, Ryan
- Date of Issue
- 2018-03-12
- Publisher
- National Park Service
- Units
- BADL , 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
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