Plant community composition and structure monitoring at Theodore Roosevelt National Park: 2018 data report
Manuel RM, Davis CJ, Swanson DJ. 2019. Plant community composition and structure monitoring at Theodore Roosevelt National Park: 2018 data report. Natural Resource Data Series. NPS/NGPN/NRDS—2019/1210. National Park Service. Fort Collins, Colorado
This report presents the results of vegetation monitoring work conducted in 2018 at Theodore Roosevelt National Park (THRO) by the Northern Great Plains Inventory and Monitoring Network (NGPN) and the Northern Great Plains Fire Ecology (NGPFire) program. During the eighth consecutive year of data collection, the NGPN field crew visited twenty long-term plant community monitoring (PCM) plots to collect data to assess plant communities at THRO. The NGPFire crew visited five PCM plots and six long-term fire plant community (FPCM) plots to collect data to assess fire effects following prescribed burns at the park. This monitoring work is part of a long-term monitoring effort with the goal of sampling 20 of 140 randomly located upland plots every year so that each plot is visited for two consecutive years and then rested for eight years on a ten-year rotating basis. NGPN staff collected data relating to species richness, herb-layer height, abundance of native and non-native species, ground cover, and site disturbance in each of the 20 plots. 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 burn severity, herb-layer height, abundance of native and non-native species, ground cover, and target species. Monitoring crews identified 223 species in the 31 monitoring plots visited in 2018 at THRO, 34 of which were exotic species. The average absolute cover of exotic species was 32% and 139% for native species. Tree density, health, and seedling regeneration, as well as woody fuel loads, were recorded at 12 plots. The most common disturbances observed were the result of animal activity (e.g., grazing, game trails, and prairie dogs).
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Manuel, Ryan; Davis, Christopher; Swanson, Daniel
- Date of Issue
- 2019-03
- Publisher
- National Park Service
- Units
- NGPN , NRSS , THRO
- Keywords
- Grasslands, mixed-grass prairie, Monitoring, monitoring report, plant community monitor, Plant community monitoring, Plant diversity, Vegetation