Plant community composition and structure monitoring at Badlands National Park: 2021 data report

Dupret LE and Swanson DJ. 2022. Plant community composition and structure monitoring at Badlands National Park: 2021 data report. Natural Resource Data Series. NPS/NGPN/NRDS—2022/1368. National Park Service. Fort Collins, Colorado. https://doi.org/10.36967/2293475

This report presents the results of vegetation monitoring efforts in 2021 at Badlands National Park (BADL) by the Northern Great Plains Inventory and Monitoring Network (NGPN) and the Northern Great Plains Fire Ecology Program (NGPFire). This was the eleventh year of combined monitoring efforts. Crew members from NGPN visited 17 long-term monitoring plots to collect data on the plant communities at BADL. Three plots were not visited, due to weather and time constraints. 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 plot. No woody species were present so tree regeneration, tall shrub density, tree density, and woody fuel loads were not measured. The NGPFire crew visited and collected vegetation data at an additional 13 plots in the Door and Castle Burn Units to better understand the effects of prescribed fire on vegetation. The monitoring crews identified 139 unique plant species in 30 monitoring plots in 2021. Of those species, 26 were exotic species. In most plots (24 out of 30), there was a greater percent of native species cover compared to exotic species cover. However, exotic plants were found at every plot in BADL.

Type
Published Report
Authors
Dupret, Louis; Swanson, Daniel
Date of Issue
2022-09
Publisher
National Park Service
DOI
10.36967/2293475
Units
BADL , NGPN , NRSS
Subjects
Ecological Framework: Biological Integrity | Invasive Species | Invasive/Exotic plants , Ecological Framework: Biological Integrity | Focal Species or Communities | Sparsely Vegetated Communities , Ecological Framework: Biological Integrity | Focal Species or Communities | Grassland/Herbaceous Communities , Ecological Framework: Biological Integrity | Focal Species or Communities | Vegetation Complex

Full text (PDF)

Series

See also

Browse the catalog