Distribution and abundance of Lemhi penstemon (Penstemon lemhiensis) at Big Hole National Battlefield:2009 inventory report
Stucki DS and Rodhouse TJ. 2009. Distribution and abundance of Lemhi penstemon (Penstemon lemhiensis) at Big Hole National Battlefield:2009 inventory report. Natural Resource Technical Report. NPS/UCBN/NRTR—2009/239. National Park Service. Fort Collins, Colorado
As part of the Upper Columbia Basin Network’s efforts to complete biological inventories, we censused the rare endemic Penstemon lemhiensis in Big Hole National Battlefield during 2007 and estimated the population from a sample in 2009. This report details our current understanding of the distribution and abundance of P. lemhiensis, based on these efforts. We also present the results of additional searches that were conducted in 2009 in other roadcuts and exposed slopes elsewhere in the Battlefield. In 2007, our census resulted in the counting of 520 mature plants with inflorescences. In 2009, we sampled from two discrete sampling “frames” and estimated the populations of plants with rosettes (excluding seedlings) from the two Battlefield hillslopes (the “Howitzer Hill” and adjacent road cut, and “Horse Pasture”) to include 512 and 873 plants, respectively. P. lemhiensis appears to be restricted to these two areas on the west side of the Battlefield above the North Fork Big Hole River. Small patches of apparently suitable habitat, including roadcuts and exposed slopes elsewhere in the Battlefield, were unoccupied by the species in 2009. An area behind the park visitor center where a small population existed in 1982 (Ramstetter 1983) has apparently been extirpated. Spotted knapweed (Centaurea beibersteinii), a potential competitor, was found in several small patches of the Battlefield, but was not widespread in P. lemhiensis habitat. This report also documents methods used to survey the species, and provides recommendations for future inventory and monitoring efforts.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Stucki, Devin; Rodhouse, Thomas
- Date of Issue
- 2009-09
- Publisher
- National Park Service
- Units
- BIHO , NRSS , PWRO , UCBN
- Keywords
- Absence (Biodiversity), Abundance, Abundance (Biodiversity), Big Hole National Battlefield, Biological Inventory, Distribution, Distribution (Biodiversity), GRTS, Lemhi penstemon Inventory, Observations, Penstemon lemhiensis, Presence (Biodiversity), Rare Plant Inventory, Sampling Design, Vegetation Inventory