Rocky Mountain Research Station

Title: Forest vegetation monitoring protocol for National Parks in the North Coast and Cascades Network

Author: Woodward, Andrea; Hutten, Karen M.; Boetsch, John R.; Acker, Steven A.; Rochefort, Regina M.; Bivin, Mignonne M.; Kurth, Laurie L.

Date: 2009

Source: Techniques and Methods 2-A8. Reston, VA: U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey. 228 p.

Description: Plant communities are the foundation for terrestrial trophic webs and animal habitat, and their structure and species composition are an integrated result of biological and physical drivers (Gates, 1993). Additionally, they have a major role in geologic, geomorphologic and soil development processes (Jenny, 1941; Stevens and Walker, 1970). Throughout most of the Pacific Northwest, environmental conditions support coniferous forests as the dominant vegetation type. In the face of anthropogenic climate change, forests have a global role as potential sinks for atmospheric carbon (Goodale and others, 2002). Consequently, knowledge of the status of forests in the three large parks of the NCCN [that is, Mount Rainier (MORA), North Cascades (NOCA), and Olympic (OLYM) National Parks] is fundamental to understanding the condition of Pacific Northwest ecosystems.

Keywords: forest vegetation, monitoring, Pacific Northwest

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Citation

Woodward, Andrea; Hutten, Karen M.; Boetsch, John R.; Acker, Steven A.; Rochefort, Regina M.; Bivin, Mignonne M.; Kurth, Laurie L.  2009.  Forest vegetation monitoring protocol for National Parks in the North Coast and Cascades Network.   Techniques and Methods 2-A8. Reston, VA: U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey. 228 p..