Start Date
3-11-2024 11:00 AM
End Date
3-11-2024 11:09 AM
Abstract
The Revegetation Program at the Bureau of Environmental Services aims to use a resilience-based adaptive management approach to steward natural areas, but we have lacked an adequate monitoring protocol to effectively implement this approach. We spent three years developing a functional assessment protocol to assess progress toward management goals and to infer performance of different ecological functions. Our goal was to create a protocol to evaluate progress toward multiple goals across habitat types, be quick enough to fit into busy schedules, and detailed enough to see change over time. We developed the functional assessment over three years from 2019 through 2021; we reviewed other assessment protocols, researched and brainstormed metrics for different ecosystem functions, developed mapping protocols, and tested different data collection apps. We considered appropriate sample sizes, randomization, and levels of precision and accuracy. Unique aspects of our functional assessment include a tree vine rating system, consideration of vegetation structure and species richness independent of species origin, and assessment of the potential for stewardship and collection by indigenous community members. During the field seasons of 2020 and 2021 we field tested and fine-tuned the functional assessment protocol, paying particular attention to ease of use and repeatability. The first data were collected using the protocol in summer of 2022. Initial findings from the first two years of data collection will be presented, along with lessons learned in the creation of a new monitoring protocol.
Subjects
Habitat assessment, Habitat restoration, Plant ecology
Persistent Identifier
https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/41411
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 License.
What Are Those Plants Doing Out There? Developing a Protocol to Assess Natural Area Function
The Revegetation Program at the Bureau of Environmental Services aims to use a resilience-based adaptive management approach to steward natural areas, but we have lacked an adequate monitoring protocol to effectively implement this approach. We spent three years developing a functional assessment protocol to assess progress toward management goals and to infer performance of different ecological functions. Our goal was to create a protocol to evaluate progress toward multiple goals across habitat types, be quick enough to fit into busy schedules, and detailed enough to see change over time. We developed the functional assessment over three years from 2019 through 2021; we reviewed other assessment protocols, researched and brainstormed metrics for different ecosystem functions, developed mapping protocols, and tested different data collection apps. We considered appropriate sample sizes, randomization, and levels of precision and accuracy. Unique aspects of our functional assessment include a tree vine rating system, consideration of vegetation structure and species richness independent of species origin, and assessment of the potential for stewardship and collection by indigenous community members. During the field seasons of 2020 and 2021 we field tested and fine-tuned the functional assessment protocol, paying particular attention to ease of use and repeatability. The first data were collected using the protocol in summer of 2022. Initial findings from the first two years of data collection will be presented, along with lessons learned in the creation of a new monitoring protocol.