Vegetation Monitoring Site Reconnaissance, Monumenting, and Description in the Klamath Network Parks
Project ID: J8W07100039
Federal Agency: National Park Service
Partner Institution: Southern Oregon University
Fiscal Year: 2010
Initial Funding: $77,340
Total Funding: $93,155
Project Type: Technical Assistance
Project Disciplines: Biological
National Park: Klamath Network Inventory & Monitoring
Principal Investigator: Jones, Greg
Agreement Technical Representative: Sarr, Daniel
Abstract: The implementation of long-term vegetation monitoring requires that sampling sites be located in places that are safe and feasible for sampling. Site reconnaissance, monumenting (i.e., creating permanent markers), and descriptions of sampling sites at six National Park Service (NPS) units will be an important preliminary effort to support and refine the spatial sampling design for vegetation monitoring by the Klamath Network Inventory & Monitoring Program (KLMN). This project pertains to the KLMN parks, including Crater Lake National Park, Lava Beds National Monument, Lassen Volcanic National Park, Oregon Caves National Monument, Redwood National and State Parks, and Whiskeytown National Recreation Area. This is a collaborative effort between Southern Oregon University (SOU) and NPS in establishing permanent vegetation plots for the KLMN parks. SOU was closely involved in the development of the KLMN Vegetation Monitoring Protocol, and student and research staffs have knowledge of the region and field monitoring methods. Site reconnaissance is important because establishment of permanent plots is an unpredictable and time-consuming process that will be difficult to accommodate during an intensive sampling season of formal monitoring. This project will facilitate future monitoring and provide essential information about the site conditions, including guidelines for navigating to the field sites. Field work in this project will be important in refining the effort spelled out in the monitoring protocol. In addition, this project will provide educational opportunities to train SOU students and staff in back country navigation, reconnaissance, and monumenting techniques. The results of this project will be shared with the public through KLMN newsletter articles, reports, and resource briefs.
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