Plant community composition and structure monitoring at Fort Laramie National Historic Site: 2020 data report

Bortz TM, Davis MB, Manuel RM. 2022. Plant community composition and structure monitoring at Fort Laramie National Historic Site: 2020 data report. Natural Resource Data Series. NPS/FOLA/NRDS—2022/1350. National Park Service. Fort Collins, Colorado. https://doi.org/10.36967/nrds-2293003

This report presents the results of vegetation monitoring efforts in 2020 at Fort Laramie National Historic Site (FOLA) by the Northern Great Plains Inventory and Monitoring Network (NGPN) and the United States Geological Survey (USGS). This was the tenth year of combined monitoring efforts. Crew members from USGS visited 9 long-term monitoring plots to collect data on the plant communities at FOLA. This work is part of a long-term monitoring effort designed to provide a better understanding of the condition of the vegetation community at FOLA and how it changes over time. USGS staff measured species richness, herb-layer height, native and non-native species abundance, ground cover, and site disturbance at each of the nine plots. In plots where woody species were present, tree regeneration, tall shrub density, tree density, and woody fuel loads were also measured. Data collection at seven plots was incomplete, where only point-intercept, site disturbance, and invasive species presence data were collected, while in two plots the previously listed protocols as well as the quadrat protocol were performed. In 2020, the monitoring crews identified 44 unique plant species in 9 monitoring plots. Of those species, 19 were exotic species. In a majority of plots (5 of 9), there was a greater percent of native species cover compared to exotic species cover. However, exotic plants were found at every plot in FOLA. No rare species were observed during our surveys

Type
Published Report
Authors
Bortz, Tyler; Davis, Molly; Manuel, Ryan
Date of Issue
2022-04
Publisher
National Park Service
DOI
10.36967/nrds-2293003
Units
FOLA , NGPN , NRSS
Subjects
Ecological Framework: Biological Integrity | Invasive Species | Invasive/Exotic plants , Ecological Framework: Biological Integrity | Focal Species or Communities | Grassland/Herbaceous Communities , NPS.gov Subject Site: Grasslands & Prairies

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