General Vegetation Monitoring Protocol Great Lakes Inventory & Monitoring Network
Sanders S, Johnson SE, Waller DM. 2007. General Vegetation Monitoring Protocol Great Lakes Inventory & Monitoring Network
Terrestrial vegetation was ranked third among all 46 Vital Signs evaluated by the National Park Service (NPS) Great Lakes Network for incorporation into a long-term monitoring strategy. Terrestrial vegetation serves as an integrated measure of terrestrial ecosystem health by expressing information about climate, soils, and disturbance (Randerson et al. 2002), as well as browse (Côte et al. 2004), and exotic species invasion (Ojima et al. 1991). Further, terrestrial vegetation serves as a trophic base for other ecosystem components (Fortin et al. 2005). Because of this interwoven relationship between terrestrial vegetation and both biotic and abiotic components, we have developed a comprehensive protocol that incorporates the Network’s monitoring plans for terrestrial vegetation as well as those of related Vital Signs, including terrestrial pests and pathogens, problem species, succession, and soils. Because forests predominate the landscape in the Great Lakes Network national parks, this protocol will focus exclusively on forested vegetation. Protocols for non-forested terrestrial vegetation may be developed by the Network in the future, as time and funding allow (Route and Elias 2006).