»Landscape Patterns and Dynamics
Vital Signs Included in Protocol
- Land cover
- Land use changes
(Integrated Upland, Invasive/Non-native Plants)
Parks Where Protocol Will Be Implemented
All CHDN park units (AMIS, BIBE, CAVE, FODA, GUMO, RIGR, WHSA)
Justification/Issues Being Addressed
Ecosystem processes occur at multiple scales, but most notably over ecologically long time periods (10s–100s years) and large spatial extents (e.g., 10s–100s km). Monitoring of ecosystem change, therefore, benefits from a landscape-level perspective. Change in landscape use, both inside and outside National Park boundaries, can identify impending issues such as future loss and fragmentation in wildlife habitats, isolation of park resources, potential for water scarcity and pollution, and invasion of non-native species (Hacsic and Wu 2006, NARSEC 2007, Young and Schrader 2007). Change in landscape composition (e.g., land cover classes, severity classes of past fires, indices of wetness) can also provide valuable information on large scale changes in resources that may be associated with shifting climate and temperature feedbacks (Saunders et al. 1998, Quattrochi and Luvall 1999, Smith and Johnson 2004). Substantial changes in these land cover attributes occur in response to natural and anthropogenic processes. Natural disturbance regimes largely are driven by climatic factors (e.g., Swetnam and Betancourt 1998), and expected changes in climatic conditions may elevate the frequency and/or severity of natural disturbances such as wildfire and insect and disease outbreaks. Energy development sites (wind farms, oil and gas development) is increasing in the CHDN region (i.e., CAVE and GUMO). Increased habitat fragmentation is a likely outcome of this growth.
The NPS has long been aware of the implications and consequences of large-scale changes in land cover. Over 10 years ago, the National Park System Advisory Board recommended that “resource management should be addressed in broader context,” and specifically recognized the impact of activities outside park boundaries (NPS 1993). The majority of parks are dependent on adjacent lands simply because their boundaries fail to completely encompass the habitats (e.g., riparian corridors) and processes (e.g., migratory species, fire regimes) of the greater ecosystem (Myers 1972; Western 1982; Curry-Lindahl 1972; Garratt 1984). Therefore, threats from outside park boundaries can, and are, significantly modifying biodiversity within parks (NPCA 1979; Garratt 1984; Sinclair 1998).