Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Plant Community Composition And Structure Monitoring In Scotts Bluff National Monument, 2013 Annual Report, Isabel Ashton, Michael Prowatzke

United States National Park Service: Publications

Introduction

During the last century, much of the prairie within the Northern Great Plains has been plowed for cropland, planted with non-natives to maximize livestock production, or otherwise developed, making it one of the most threatened ecosystems in the United States. Within Nebraska, greater than 77% of the area of native mixed grass prairie has been lost since European settlement (Samson and Knopf 1994). The National Park Service (NPS) plays an important role in preserving and restoring some of the last pieces of intact prairies within its boundaries. The stewardship goal of the NPS is to “preserve ecological integrity and …

Dispersal Ecology Of Desert Mosses Along Gradients Of Elevation, Wildfire Disturbance And Local Niche, Robert Joseph Smith

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Much of the variation in plant communities can be explained by the dispersal of individuals across landscapes, an ecological process that contributes to clinal variation, post-disturbance recovery and habitat occupancy. The role of dispersal is of particular concern for Mojave Desert plant communities that may not be able to tolerate recent departures from historical fire regimes. The aim of this thesis was to infer how dispersal is reflected by patterns of diversity in disturbed and undisturbed bryophyte communities in the Spring Mountains of southern Nevada. Chapter 2 presents an examination of sub-surface bryophyte communities (propagule "soil-banks") along a 1400 m …

Plant Community Composition And Structure Monitoring For Agate Fossil Beds National Monument, 2012 Annual Report, Isabel W. Ashton, Stephen K. Wilson, Daniel J. Swanson, Michael Prowatzke, Phil Graeve

United States National Park Service: Publications

Executive Summary

Agate Fossil Beds National Monument (AGFO) plays a vital role in protecting and managing some of the last remnants of native mixed-grass prairie in the region. The Northern Great Plains Inventory & Monitoring Network (NGPN) and Fire Ecology Program (FireEP) surveyed 12 long-term monitoring plots in Agate Fossil Beds National Monument in 2012 as part of an effort to better understand the condition of plant communities in the park. We measured plant diversity and cover, looked for the presence of exotic species that may be newly invading the park, and evaluated the amount of human and natural disturbance …