Adaptively managing restoration projects requires a monitoring plan or program. Monitoring plans can be challenging to develop and implement because of budget constraints, personnel turnover and complex site conditions. Additionally, standard agreed upon monitoring protocols are lacking for many biological assemblages (e.g., plants, birds, etc.). Generally, lack of well developed and funded monitoring programs can result in an inability to compare monitoring data between years at the same site and between different sites. This has hampered our understanding of the broader patterns of the recovery of restored plant communities. In an effort to address the lack of standard monitoring protocols, the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers has been developing rapid, consistent and repeatable methods for monitoring herbaceous vegetation. This presentation will cover the basic structure of the monitoring methods and the results of a 2 year test of the methods in four different regions of the continental U.S.
Results/Conclusions
Quantitative (quadrat/transect) and qualitative (meander survey) data collection methodologies were tested in the field. Test sites were located in the states of IL, RI, FL and NM and included a variety of plant community types (e.g., mesic prairie, coastal high marsh, arid riparian zone). In addition, each test site included two observers to test for rates of observer bias. The results of the field testing of the indicate that amount of area and level of effort involved in the sampling affect some common vegetation metrics, such as species richness and floristic quality assessment metrics. Overall, the methods were proven to be consistent and repeatable between years. These methods will provide a valuable tool for land managers regarding adaptive management decisions and a means of comparing a number a projects to increase our understanding of how restored plant communities recover over time.