SOP #09: Conducting Invasive Plant Species Surveys. Version 2.01. Pacific Island Network Established Invasive Plant Species Monitoring Protocol. Unpublished National Park Service Report, Pacific Island Inventory and Monitoring Network, Hawaii National Park, Hawaii.
Ainsworth A, Gross J, Akamine K, Moore L. 2025. SOP #09: Conducting Invasive Plant Species Surveys. Version 2.01. Pacific Island Network Established Invasive Plant Species Monitoring Protocol. Unpublished National Park Service Report, Pacific Island Inventory and Monitoring Network, Hawaii National Park, Hawaii.. National Park Service
This SOP describes how to establish fixed and rotational transects and collect Pacific Island Inventory & Monitoring Network (PACN I&M) Established Invasive Plant Species (EIPS) monitoring field data for the parks to monitor change in richness, frequency proportion, and distribution of non-native plant species. Within PACN parks, managers have been working to control and monitor the state of their non-native plant species problem. This protocol is designed as a rapid assessment to provide systematically gathered long-term data for non-native plant species monitoring utilizing fixed and rotational transects established within major plant communities at each park. Transect monitoring will be conducted within four plant community types: wet forest, subalpine shrubland, mangrove wetland, and coastal strand. Transects in the subalpine shrubland and wet forest communities will be monitored for non-native species cover in contiguous 5 x 20 m plots. Transects located in mangrove wetland and coastal strand communities will be monitored for non-native species cover in contiguous 5 x 10 m plots. Monitoring along transects will allow for a general PACN Established Invasive Plant Species Monitoring Protocol SOP 9.2 assessment of the status and changes in overall non-native species populations within major plant communities of each park. All transects are established using the same methodology with measuring tapes, but only the fixed transect are permanently marked for future sampling. A master equipment list for this protocol is in SOP #1 Before the Field Season. The equipment list should be updated as needed if this SOP is revised. Prior to navigating to a transect, sanitation procedures outlined in SOP #4 Sanitation Protocol must be followed. Methods for generating transect locations and navigating are detailed in SOP #5 Transect Generation, SOP #6 Using Garmin GPS Units, and SOP #8 Using ArcGIS Field Maps Application. Data forms for recording field observations are in Appendix E: Forms for Recording Field Data.
- Type
- Standard Operating Procedure
- Authors
- Ainsworth, Alison; Gross, Jacob; Akamine, Kathryn; Moore, Lindsay
- Date of Issue
- 2025-05-20
- Publisher
- National Park Service
- Units
- AMME , HALE , HAVO , KALA , NPSA , PACN
- Keywords
- Established Invasive Plant Species, Field Surveys, Non-native Plants, Transect Monitoring
Other versions
- SOP #09: Conducting Invasive Plant Species Surveys. Version 2.02. Pacific Island Network Established Invasive Plant Species Monitoring Protocol. Unpublished National Park Service Report, Pacific Island Inventory and Monitoring Network, Hawaii National Park, Hawaii.
- SOP #09: Conducting Invasive Plant Species Surveys. Version 2.0. Pacific Island Network Established Invasive Plant Species Monitoring Protocol. Unpublished National Park Service Report, Pacific Island Inventory and Monitoring Network, Hawaii National Park, Hawaii.