Terrestrial vegetation monitoring in Southeast Coast Network parks: Protocol implementation plan

The Southeast Coast Network conducts long-term terrestrial vegetation monitoring as part of the nationwide Inventory and Monitoring Program of the National Park Service. Vegetation in parks is monitored as a key vital sign and indicator of overall ecosystem health because changes in vegetation condition reflect effects of stressors such as extreme weather, disease, invasive species, fire, and land use change. Plants also provide the structured habitat and food resources on which other species depend. Monitoring plants and their associated communities over time allows for targeted understanding of ecosystems within the SECN geography, which provides managers information about the degree of change within their parks’ natural vegetation. The Southeast Coast Network adheres to the definition of “natural” vegetation proposed by the National Vegetation Classification System as “vegetation which appears to be unmodified by human activities”, which differs from “cultural” vegetation “which is planted or actively maintained by humans such as annual croplands, orchards, and vineyards (Grossman et al. 1998).” Terrestrial vegetation monitoring takes place within natural vegetation areas of 15 national park units within the Southeast Coast Network. Parks include Canaveral National Seashore (CANA), Cape Hatteras National Seashore (CAHA), Cape Lookout National Seashore (CALO), Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area (CHAT), Congaree National Park (CONG), Cumberland Island National Seashore (CUIS), Fort Frederica National Monument (FOFR), Fort Matanzas National Monument (FOMA), Fort Pulaski National Monument (FOPU), Fort Sumter National Monument (FOSU), Horseshoe Bend National Military Park (HOBE), Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park (KEMO), Moores Creek National Battlefield (MOCR), Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park (OCMU), and Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve (TIMU). The Southeast Coast Network monitors between nine and seventy-seven randomly located plots within each park. The number of plots depends on several factors, including the total terrestrial area and coverage of broadly defined habitat types within the park or its respective management unit. Monitored habitat types include tidal and nontidal maritime wetlands, alluvial wetlands, nonalluvial wetlands, upland forests, open upland woodlands, and natural to semi natural successional communities. Plots are 20 × 20 meters (65.6 × 65.6 feet [ft]) in size. Data collected in each plot include species richness, species-specific cover and constancy, species-specific woody stem seedling/sapling counts and adult tree (greater than 10 centimeters [3.9 inches (in)]) diameter at breast height (DBH), and site conditions and environmental covariates. The Southeast Coast Network’s approach, rationale, and required resources for terrestrial vegetation monitoring are described in this document, the protocol implementation plan narrative. Ten associated Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) provide detailed instructions on how to collect, manage, analyze, and disseminate the project’s findings. The network’s narrative and some SOPs are derived, in large part, from Vegetation Monitoring Protocol for the Cumberland Piedmont Network, Version 1 (White et al. 2011). Any differences in approach between the two networks is documented throughout this Southeast Coast Network narrative and the SOP documents.