Invasive Exotic Plants Early Detection
Oxeye Daisy
Importance/Issues
All parks within the ROMN recognize invasive species as a primary management concern, both currently and for the future. Because many invasive taxa establish rapidly and are difficult to manage once established, it is necessary to develop an early-detection monitoring system for new arrivals. By predicting the areas most likely to host new invasions, and monitoring these areas intensively, we hope to provide managers with timely information for implementation. Further,
by monitoring the effectiveness and accuracy of our predicted invasion surface—and comparing those data to information provided by vegetation- community sampling across parks and observations made by other crews, park visitors, and park staff—we can refine our understanding of what makes communities good targets for invaders. This will promote long-term protection of our most vulnerable protected areas.
The NPS, USGS, and other cooperators are developing methods for creating landscape models of invasibility and early detection of invasive species. Invasion biologists have defined a number of biotic and abiotic attributes linked to successful invasions that can be used as predictors of invasiveness. Species attributes include fitness across a range of environments, plasticity, and high reproductive rate. Community attributes include available niche/resources, disturbance, proximity to sources, and lack of natural predators. These predictors complement the modeling process, which is an integral part of early detection. Species distribution modeling is a statistical approach relating the likelihood of a species’ occurrence (based on field observations) to a set of predictor variables (e.g., topographic position, community type, geographic context). The Pacific Island Network is currently developing protocols for early detection of invasive plants that will detail methodology for surveys of targeted species along road and trail corridors (within and near parks), surveys of selected plant distribution centers (e.g., nurseries and garden stores), incidental reporting (e.g., from park and network staff observations), and, potentially, a system for public reporting of target species.
Exotic Control at ROMO
Preliminary Monitoring Objectives
- Systematically maintain local lists of “priority species of concern” for each unit (systematic maintenance implies updating by ROMN staff, Park staffs, EPMTs, and USDA and State databases)
- Detect upland distribution (presence/absence and frequency) of “priority species of concern” based on vegetation and soil (VCSS) monitoring design.
- Detect distribution of non-native species in wetlands based on the WEI (Wetland Ecological Integrity) monitoring design.
- Detect distribution of aquatic and riparian invasive species of concern based on the SEI (Stream Ecological Integrity) monitoring design.
Potential Measures
- Similarity between “priority lists” from year-to-year (e.g., using Jaccard’s index to compare lists)
- Presence/ Absence of priority species – measure/indicator is mapped locations/extent (per sample unit within SEI, VCSS and WEI sampling designs)
- Distribution (overall extent, and with respect to locations of concern) of priority species (may be directly observed and/or modeled)
Protocol Development and Status
Priority lists have been drafted for each protocol – park combination with prototype implementation in 2007 (SEI in GLAC, VCSS in GRKO and LIBI, and WEI at ROMO). Data were collected on the presence (or explicitly implied absence) of species on the priority lists during the summer of 2007. These data are currently reported within each of the respective protocols; future development will support aggregation, management and analysis of these independently collected data within a geodatabase structure. ROMN also anticipated development and/or adoption of spatially explicit population and landscape monitoring for invasive species based on the results of ongoing R&D efforts by NPS, USGS, and numerous collaborators.
Contacts
Donna Shorrock
Natural Resources Program Center
1201 Oakridge Drive, Suite 200
Fort Collins, CO 80525
970-225-3583
Donna_Shorrockr@nps.gov
Mike Britten
Natural Resources Program Center
1201 Oakridge Drive, Suite 200
Fort Collins, CO 80525
970-267-2150
Mike_Britten@nps.gov
(ROMN Vital Sign Monitoring Plan, 2007, page 78 with edits and additions by Dan Manier)