Plant community composition and structure monitoring at Theodore Roosevelt National Park: 2019 data report

Manuel, Ryan; Swanson, Daniel

This report presents the results of vegetation monitoring work conducted in 2019 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 ninth consecutive year of data collection, the NGPN field crew visited fifteen long-term plant community monitoring (PCM) plots to collect data to assess plant communities at THRO. Four scheduled PCM plot installs in THRO’s south unit and one PCM plot install in THRO’s North unit were not visited or completed in 2019. The compliance required for installation of permanent rebar and nails had not yet been completed at the time of fieldwork. These five PCM plots may be installed on a future visit. The NGPFire crew visited three PCM plots and eight long-term fire plant community (FPCM) plots to collect data and assess fire effects following prescribed burns at the park. Two of these FPCM plots (THRON_FPCM_0103 and THRON_FPCM_0167) were not read within the Sheep burn unit since they did not burn in the 2019 Sheep prescribed fire. This monitoring work is part of a long-term monitoring effort with the goal of sampling 20 of 100 randomly located 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 15 visited 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 herb-layer height, abundance of native and non-native species, and ground cover. In addition to the above-mentioned vegetation indices, the NGPFire crew also collected species richness data in the one plot monitored within the Jones Creek unit. Monitoring crews identified 194 species in the 24 monitoring plots visited in 2019 at THRO, 25 of which were exotic species. The average absolute cover of exotic species was 45% and 151% for native species. Tree density, health, and seedling regeneration, as well as woody fuel loads, were recorded at 9 plots. The most common disturbances observed were the result of animal activity (e.g., grazing, game trails, and prairie dogs).

Plant community composition and structure monitoring at Theodore Roosevelt National Park: 2019 data report

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