Plant Communities
Numerous biotic and abiotic factors have altered and continue to threaten plant communities within SFAN. As plant communities continue to recover from past resource extraction and grazing, there is a need to understand how current activities are effecting this recovery. It is also important to monitor and evaluate changes to the composition of plant communities and type changes occurring on the landscape. The monitoring program proposed assimilates multiple vital signs including invasive plant species, threatened and endangered plant species, wetlands, grassland plant communities, oak woodlands, and plant species at the edge of their range. There are also significant ties between plant community change and almost all of the faunal indicators being monitored such as landbirds, Northern spotted owls, endangered butterflies, etc.
Reports & ResourcesBotanical Inventory of Pinnacles National Monument Contact InformationAndrea Williams |
Monitoring ObjectivesDevelop and maintain a list of priority plant communities based on their rarity and degree of protection. Detect long-term trends in native and non-native abundance and distribution within selected plant communities. Detect changes in overall vegetation cover, vegetation type and species composition of selected SFAN plant communities. |
Monitoring Protocol
|