Plant community composition and structure monitoring at Devils Tower National Monument: 2021 data report

Dupret LE and Swanson DJ. 2022. Plant community composition and structure monitoring at Devils Tower National Monument: 2021 data report. Natural Resource Data Series. NPS/NGPN/NRDS—2022/1369. National Park Service. Fort Collins, Colorado. https://doi.org/10.36967/2293464

This report presents the results of vegetation monitoring efforts in 2021 at Devils Tower National Monument (DETO) by the Northern Great Plains Inventory and Monitoring Network (NGPN) and Fire Ecology Program (NGPFire). This was the eleventh year of combined monitoring efforts. Crew members from NGPN visited eight long-term monitoring plots to collect data on the plant communities at DETO. The NGPFire crew visited an additional 16 plots in the Southwest, Meadow and Graham Burn Units to collect plant community data prior to and following prescribed fire. 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 and in response to prescribed fire. NGPN and NGPFire 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 measured. In 2021, monitoring crews identified 93 unique plant species in 24 monitoring plots. Of those species, 13 were exotic species. On average, the absolute cover of native species was greater than the absolute cover of exotic species. There were no state-listed rare species observed in 2021. There were five state listed noxious weeds and one county listed weed species observed in 2021. Trees were present in only 19 of the plots and these were dominated by ponderosa pine. Seedling density was highly variable with some sites having none and others had more than one thousand stems per hectare.

Type
Published Report
Authors
Dupret, Louis; Swanson, Daniel
Date of Issue
2022-09
Publisher
National Park Service
DOI
10.36967/2293464
Units
DETO , NGPN , NRSS
Subjects
Ecological Framework: Biological Integrity | Invasive Species | Invasive/Exotic plants , Ecological Framework: Biological Integrity | Focal Species or Communities | Riparian Communities , Ecological Framework: Biological Integrity | Focal Species or Communities | Grassland/Herbaceous Communities , Ecological Framework: Biological Integrity | Focal Species or Communities | Forest/Woodland Communities , Ecological Framework: Biological Integrity | Focal Species or Communities | Vegetation Complex

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