Integrated upland monitoring in Canyonlands National Park, annual report 2008

Witwicki, Dana

This report summarizes Northern Colorado Plateau Network (NCPN) upland monitoring in Canyonlands National Park during 2008. It outlines the goals and objectives of NCPN upland monitoring, methods of the monitoring protocol, and procedures for defining and mapping target populations for monitoring, and describes the results of this year's efforts and plans for future monitoring. The goal of the Northern Colorado Plateau Network (NCPN) integrated upland monitoring effort is to provide park managers with status and trend information for vegetation and soil attributes. This information will help to determine natural variability of upland resources and provide early warning ofresource degradation.This report summarizes NCPN upland monitoring in Canyonlands National Park (NP) during 2008. It outlines the goals and objectives of NCPN upland monitoring, methods of the monitoring protocol,and procedures for defining and mapping target populations for monitoring, and describes the results of this year’s efforts and plans for future monitoring. In 2008, the third year of monitoring at Canyonlands NP, three grassland ecological sites and two shrubland ecological sites were monitored in the park’s Island in the Sky and Needles districts. To gain understanding of variability, eight monitoring plots per ecological site have been monitored for three consecutive years. For this report, measures were summarized for each ecological site for 2008. The only statistical assessment performed was an ordination of vegetation cover. Results of this ordination indicated good separation of plots among all but two of the ecological sites. However, the two sites that overlap in ordination space are characterized by differences in soils, each with different susceptibility to erosion, and thus warrant separate consideration in terms of long-term monitoring.In 2008, the NCPN refined its vegetation sampling methods to include (1) cover of plant species and surface features using a point-intercept method and (2) shrub and exotic perennial species density using a belt transect. The change in methods is described in this annual report, and it is noted where the change might affect comparison with data from previous years. In 2008, all plots were sampled using the old and new methods so that previously collected data may be properly compared with data collected using the new methods. In addition, a power analysis was performed on the three years of pilot data based on minimum detectable change and variability. The results (reported in a separate document) were used to create an operational sampling design for long-term ecological monitoring of uplands in Canyonlands National Park that will be implemented in 2009.

Integrated upland monitoring in Canyonlands National Park, annual report 2008

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