Rare riparian prairie monitoring protocol for the Eastern Rivers and Mountains Network: Protocol narrative version 1.0

Perles, Stephanie; Manning, Douglas; Callahan, Kristina; Marshall, Matthew

Within its nine national parks, the Eastern Rivers and Mountains Network (ERMN) contains 14 diverse, unique, and globally significant plant communities associated with the floodplains and other geomorphic and hydrologic features of large rivers. These rare communities also provide unique habitats on which numerous rare plant species depend. Nearly 50 state-rare plant species and one species listed as federally threatened occur in the riparian zones of the Delaware, New, Gauley, and Bluestone rivers. Since it is not feasible for the ERMN to effectively monitor all 14 rare riparian communities, we considered numerous biological and logistical factors, and then selected three riparian prairie communities that occur in the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, Gauley River National Recreation Area, and New River Gorge National River as the monitoring target. The objective of monitoring the rare riparian prairies is to provide information on the condition of the parks’ riparian prairies and how this condition is changing over time, in order to inform management decisions affecting these riparian systems. Rare riparian prairie monitoring will occur annually, focusing on a single park and one panel of sites each year, such that each panel will be revisited every eight years. In the field, restricted randomization is used to establish monitoring transects along a baseline transect that spans the prairie’s length. Plots are placed along the monitoring transects also using restricted randomization. Within each 1-m2 plot, the substrate is characterized and all vascular plant species within the plot are recorded using standard percent cover categories. To capture the level of woody encroachment on the site, line intercept sampling is conducted along each monitoring transect to record the length of the transect covered by woody species. Last, the entire prairie is searched for invasive exotic plant species. Points along the baseline transect are permanently marked so that the location of each transect and plot can be reestablished in the same approximate location on subsequent sampling events. As part of the National Park Service (NPS) Inventory and Monitoring Program, the ERMN Rare Riparian Prairie Monitoring Protocol consists of a narrative (this report), Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) that outline specific data collection details of the monitoring protocol, and a Quality Assurance Plan (QAP) that documents the standards and procedures used in the collection, processing, storage, analysis, and publication of monitoring data. The latest versions of the SOPs, QAP, and additional supporting information can be accessed online at the ERMN website (https://www.nps.gov/im/ermn/riparian-prairies.htm), or the NPS Data Store (https://irma.nps.gov/DataStore/Reference/Profile/2227683). This narrative outlines the: (1) background, rationale, and objectives for monitoring of rare riparian prairies, (2) sampling design, (3) field methods, (4) data management, analysis, and reporting, (5) personnel requirements and training, and (6) operational requirements.

Rare riparian prairie monitoring protocol for the Eastern Rivers and Mountains Network: Protocol narrative version 1.0

Series

Collections