Pacific Northwest Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU)

Enhanced Monitoring for Improved Management and Restoration Decision-making in the Wetland Camas Prairies of the Upper Columbia Basin Network

Project ID: P13AC00860

Federal Agency: National Park Service

Partner Institution: Oregon State University

Fiscal Year: 2013

Initial Funding: $47,052

Total Funding: $47,052

Project Type: Research

Project Disciplines: Biological

National Park: Upper Columbia Network Inventory & Monitoring

Principal Investigator: Reuter, Ron

Agreement Technical Representative: Dicus, Gordon

Abstract: This is a collaborative project to support enhanced camas prairie monitoring and synthesis of existing camas lily monitoring data in the Weippe Prairie Unit of Nez Perce National Historical Park (NEPE) and in Big Hole National Battlefield (BIHO), within the Upper Columbia Basin Network (UCBN). The NPS will work with Oregon State University (OSU) to: (1) Synthesize camas monitoring data from NEPE and BIHO dating back to 2005 with weather and soil moisture and water table data to describe how variation in climate and weather influences soil moisture and camas density and flowering rates; (2) augment the existing camas monitoring protocol with new standard operating procedures for establishing and surveying permanent intensive monitoring plots that will provide detailed information on plant community composition and abundance along gradients of soil moisture and existing camas plant density; (3) develop an experimental design that will enable NPS to randomly assign fire and indigenous harvesting (camas bulb digging) treatments to a subset of intensive monitoring plots so that the effects of these practices on camas and other plant species including non-native pasture grasses can be ascertained; and (4) evaluate the short-term effects of fire and digging on prairie vegetation after 1 and 2 years from these intensive monitoring plots that will serve as an analytical template for NPS to continue evaluating effects over longer time periods.

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