UERLA Report: Catoctin Mountain Park Invasive Weed Survey
Taylor J and Colgan S. UERLA Report: Catoctin Mountain Park Invasive Weed Survey. Urban Ecology Research Learning Alliance. Blacksburg, VA
National Parks are experiencing an increase in the prevalence of exotic invasive plant species. These Invasive plants can alter the function of natural ecosystems by outcompeting native plants. Since park managers are often limited by funding and man-hour resources, they must make decisions on what areas are most in need of attention. We have developed a technique for surveying invasive species that we believe will allow surveys to be completed quickly while also maintaining enough detail to document the locations and prevalence of target invasive plant species. The survey was intended as a pilot study for other parks in the eastern region to follow; therefore, this report contains a detailed explanation of the methods and their justification, and a discussion section about how the techniques could be improved. Since this report was also intended to inform the decisions of the Natural Resource Management Department at Catoctin Mountain Park, we have included written descriptions of the patterns noted in the maps and through personal observation and offered management suggestions.
- Type
- Unpublished Report
- Authors
- Taylor, Justin; Colgan, Shane
- Publisher
- Urban Ecology Research Learning Alliance
- Units
- CATO
- Keywords
- climate change, ecosystem services, GPS, invasive species, Landscape & Resource Assessment, mapping, trees, UERLA, urban ecology research learning alliance, urban forest