Plant community composition and structure monitoring at Jewel Cave National Monument: 2019 data report
Rockwood SL. 2019. Plant community composition and structure monitoring at Jewel Cave National Monument: 2019 data report. Natural Resource Data Series. NPS/NGPN/NRDS—2019/1246. National Park Service. Fort Collins, Colorado
This report presents the results of vegetation monitoring in 2019 at Jewel Cave National Monument (JECA) by the Northern Great Plains Inventory and Monitoring Network (NGPN) and the Northern Great Plains Fire Ecology (NGPFire) program. This was the ninth year of combined monitoring efforts. Crew members from NGPN visited five long-term monitoring plots to collect data on the plant communities at JECA. Data collection at a scheduled sixth plot was not performed due to it being in an active construction zone. 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 plots. In plots where woody species were present, tree regeneration, tall shrub density, tree density, and woody fuel loads were also measured. The NGPFire crew visited an additional seven plots to collect pre- and post-burn data relating to herb-layer, ground cover, site disturbance, and woody species composition. In 2019, monitoring crews identified 132 unique plant species in twelve plots. Of those species, 16 were exotic species. On average, the absolute cover of native species was much greater than the absolute cover of exotic species. No rare species were observed in any of the six plots, however crews observed yellow toadflax (Linaria vulgaris), which is listed as an early-detection target exotic plant, as well as a Custer County noxious weed. NGPN and NGPFire crews collected tree regeneration and fuel load data in all plots. Five tree and shrub species were present; however, ponderosa pine was the dominant species. Ground disturbances included animal use, a road, and soil disturbance.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Rockwood, Stephanie
- Date of Issue
- 2019-11
- Publisher
- National Park Service
- Units
- JECA , 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