Mid-Atlantic Network Forest Vegetation Monitoring Protocol
Comiskey JA, Schmit JP, Tierney G. 2009. Mid-Atlantic Network Forest Vegetation Monitoring Protocol. National Park Service. Fort Collins, Colorado
The Inventory and Monitoring Program’s Mid-Atlantic Network has identified forest vegetation and several associated vital signs as high priority for long-term monitoring. In collaboration with other networks, a protocol has been developed and pilot tested in nine parks of Virginia and Pennsylvania. The forest vegetation monitoring protocol assesses the status and trends of forest plant communities, and the impacts of stressors such as white-tailed deer,invasive exotic plants, exotic plant diseases and pathogens, and native forest pests, as well as the effect of acid deposition on forest soils.Evaluation of snags and downed woody debris provides information on additional important habitat for wildlife. A set of Standard Operating Procedures are shared with the Northeast Temperate Network’s forest vegetation monitoring protocol. The current protocol has been designed to sample 300 plots in forested areas of Mid-Atlantic Network and 24 plots in three Northeast Coastal and Barrier Network parks.Plot locations are randomly chosen from a 250-m sampling grid using a spatially balanced design (generalized random-tessellation stratified).Each plot consists of a 20 x 20 m square where all trees and shrubs with a diameter at breast height (dbh) ≥ 10 cm are identified,measured, tagged, marked, mapped, and their condition assessed. Trees and shrubs with a dbh ≥ 1 cm are identified, measured, marked,and tagged in each of three microplots. Number and height of tree seedlings and cover of a select group of native and invasive herbaceous plants are recorded in twelve quadrats. Coarse woody debris is measured along three transects.Additional metrics will likely be incorporated in future protocol versions including soil sampling and landscape context.
- Type
- Protocol Narrative
- Authors
- Comiskey, James; Schmit, John; Tierney, Geri
- Date of Issue
- 2009-07
- Publisher
- National Park Service
- Units
- APCO , BOWA , EISE , FRSP , GETT , HOFU , IMDP , MIDN , NCBN , NRSS , PETE , RICH , VAFO
- Keywords
- Biodiversity, Ecological Monitoring, exotic plant species, Forest, Forest Health, Invasive Species, Mid-Atlantic Network, Monitoring, Protocol, Vegetation, Vegetation Protocol, Vital Signs, x#forestHealth, x#MIDN, x#narrative, x#protocols
- Subjects
- Ecological Framework: Geology and Soils | Soil Quality | Soil Function and Dynamics , Ecological Framework: Biological Integrity | Invasive Species | Invasive/Exotic animals , Ecological Framework: Biological Integrity | Infestations and Disease | Insect Pests , Ecological Framework: Biological Integrity | Infestations and Disease | Plant Diseases , Ecological Framework: Biological Integrity | Focal Species or Communities | Forest/Woodland Communities