Vegetation communities are the primary drivers for a range of ecological processes and are integral to the proper function of park ecosystems. They serve as the foundation for food webs and wildlife habitat for many species, and function as a carbon sink, produce oxygen, cycle nutrients and energy through an ecosystem, influence the local climate, improve water quality, and moderate flooding and erosion. Given the widespread anthropogenic influences in Southeast Coast Network (SECN) parks and the importance of vegetation communities, quantifying trends in plant cover, frequency, diversity, and distribution is vital to understanding the ecological processes and identifying stressors and their impacts. Evaluating trends in plant cover, frequency, diversity and distribution provides measures for assessing the ecological integrity and sustainability of southeastern ecosystems, and identifying the need for specific management activities on our park lands. The National Park Service Omnibus Management Act of 1998 and other reinforcing policies and regulations require park managers to establish baseline information and to provide information on the long-term trends in the condition of National Park System resources (Title II, Sec. 204). The vegetation-community monitoring data summarized herein is a tool to assist park managers in fulfilling this mandate.

Vegetation communities serve as the foundation of habitat for many species, function as a carbon sink, produce oxygen, cycle nutrients and energy, improve water quality, and moderate flooding/erosion. Given the widespread anthropogenic influences in Southeast Coast Network parks and the importance of vegetation communities, quantifying trends in species diversity and forest regeneration is vital to understanding ecological processes and identifying stressors and their impacts. Evaluating trends in vegetation and environmental attributes provides measures for assessing the ecological integrity and sustainability of park’s terrestrial vegetation and identifies potential management activities on our park lands. The National Park Service Omnibus Management Act of 1998 and other reinforcing policies and regulations require park managers to establish baseline information and to provide information on the long-term trends in the condition of National Park System resources (Title II, Sec. 204). The data summarized herein is a tool to assist managers in fulfilling this mandate.

Vegetation communities serve as the foundation of habitat for many species, function as a carbon sink, produce oxygen, cycle nutrients and energy, improve water quality, and moderate flooding/erosion. Given the widespread anthropogenic influences in Southeast Coast Network parks and the importance of vegetation communities, quantifying trends in species diversity and forest regeneration is vital to understanding ecological processes and identifying stressors and their impacts. Evaluating trends in vegetation and environmental attributes provides measures for assessing the ecological integrity and sustainability of park’s terrestrial vegetation and identifies potential management activities on our park lands. The National Park Service Omnibus Management Act of 1998 and other reinforcing policies and regulations require park managers to establish baseline information and to provide information on the long-term trends in the condition of National Park System resources (Title II, Sec. 204). The data summarized herein is a tool to assist managers in fulfilling this mandate.

Final certified observation data for (pilot) vegtation monitoring efforts conducted by the Southeast Coast Network in 2009 and 2010. Vegetation communities are the primary drivers for a range of ecological processes and are integral to the proper function of park ecosystems. They serve as the foundation for food webs and wildlife habitat for many species, and function as a carbon sink, produce oxygen, cycle nutrients and energy through an ecosystem, influence the local climate, improve water quality, and moderate flooding and erosion. Given the widespread anthropogenic influences in Southeast Coast Network (SECN) parks and the importance of vegetation communities, determining trends in vegetation communities is vital to understanding the ecological processes and identifying stressors and their impacts. Given the widespread anthropogenic influences in SECN parks and the importance of vegetation communities, quantifying trends in plant cover, frequency, diversity, and distribution is a high priority. Evaluating trends in plant cover, frequency, diversity and distribution provides measures for assessing the ecological integrity and sustainability of southeastern ecosystems, and identifying the need for specific management activities on our park lands. The National Park Service Omnibus Management Act of 1998, and other reinforcing policies and regulations, require park managers to establish baseline information and to provide information on the long-term trends in the condition of National Park System resources (Title II, Sec. 204). The vegetation-community monitoring data summarized herein is a tool to assist park managers in fulfilling this mandate. Vegetation community monitoring data. Includes data on the canopy, shrub and ground cover strata. Six measures were collected in nested subplots within each plot: canopy cover, shrub cover, diameter at breast height (DBH), canopy-species seedling counts, herbaceous cover, and nested frequency of herbaceous species. All raw cover values represent absolute cover, which is defined as the percent of the ground surface covered by the foliage, branches, stems, and other plant structures of a defined response variable (i.e., species, or the the finest taxonomic resolution possible).

This lidar dataset was collected by NCALM for Philip Dennison and Brian Codding at the University of Utah. This study explores the dynamic impacts of environmental change and biomass harvesting on woodland ecosystems and traditional livelihoods . The study area covers approximately 230 km2 in Utah and Bears Ears, New Mexico.

SWAN_Vegetation_Database.zip contains 24 .csv's comprising the main components of the SWAN Vegetation Monitoring Database. SWAN_Vegetation_Database_Fields.zip contains another 24 .csv's describing the columns present on the main components of the SWAN Vegetation Monitoring Database along with another 10 .csv's describing categorical type data, where present. 8/5/2025 update: Includes a minor fix on taxon code around "FEBR2" (which was resolving to a date reference on Veg_Taxon and ~20 instances where "FEBR2" was encountered in field. Includes change of name "TreeSeedling" table (and related metadata) to "TreeSapling". Includes inclusion of 10 new categorical type metadata tables along with a few minor related changes to attribute tables (changing a few columns auto-identified as a "categorical" type to "character" type). Includes "one-line" descriptions of each of the 24 data tables present in Table and Relationships section of reference publish. Includes minor changes to "Plot" table (addition of two columns, Qualifier_Code and GRTS_Number) along with related changes to corresponding "Plot" attribute metadata and categorical metadata tables to describe added columns. Qualifier_Code and GRTS_Number are part of the concatenation that forms the "Plot" column referenced on most of the other data columns. Of note, catvars_SWAN_Veg_Plot.txt includes descriptions of the Qualifier_Code column, for which the "S" on "Plot" is derived from, when present. Depending on the park where the plot is present and the Elevation_Band_Code the plot is connected to, this "S" can either refer to "Spruce" (identified as a spruce forest sample, at either Elevation_Band_Code 1 or 2) or "South" (south of Turquoise Lake at LACL at Elevation_Band_Code 3). For more information, please refer to catvars_SWAN_Veg_Plot.txt contained in this reference or reference: "Protocol for Ground-based Monitoring of Vegetation in the Southwest Alaska Network" (https://irma.nps.gov/DataStore/Reference/Profile/2097701).

24 data containing .csv's comprising the main components of the SWAN Vegetation Monitoring Database plus another 24 .csv's describing the columns present on the main components of the SWAN Vegetation Monitoring Database.

SWAN_Vegetation_Database.zip contains 24 .csv's comprising the main components of the SWAN Vegetation Monitoring Database. SWAN_Vegetation_Database_Fields.zip contains another 24 .csv's describing the columns present on the main components of the SWAN Vegetation Monitoring Database along with another 10 .csv's describing categorical type data, where present. 8/5/2025 update: Includes a minor fix on taxon code around "FEBR2" (which was resolving to a date reference on Veg_Taxon and ~20 instances where "FEBR2" was encountered in field. Includes change of name "TreeSeedling" table (and related metadata) to "TreeSapling". Includes inclusion of 10 new categorical type metadata tables along with a few minor related changes to attribute tables (changing a few columns auto-identified as a "categorical" type to "character" type). Includes "one-line" descriptions of each of the 24 data tables present in Table and Relationships section of reference publish. Includes minor changes to "Plot" table (addition of two columns, Qualifier_Code and GRTS_Number) along with related changes to corresponding "Plot" attribute metadata and categorical metadata tables to describe added columns. Qualifier_Code and GRTS_Number are part of the concatenation that forms the "Plot" column referenced on most of the other data columns. Of note, catvars_SWAN_Veg_Plot.txt includes descriptions of the Qualifier_Code column, for which the "S" on "Plot" is derived from, when present. Depending on the park where the plot is present and the Elevation_Band_Code the plot is connected to, this "S" can either refer to "Spruce" (identified as a spruce forest sample, at either Elevation_Band_Code 1 or 2) or "South" (south of Turquoise Lake at LACL at Elevation_Band_Code 3). For more information, please refer to catvars_SWAN_Veg_Plot.txt contained in this reference or reference: "Protocol for Ground-based Monitoring of Vegetation in the Southwest Alaska Network" (https://irma.nps.gov/DataStore/Reference/Profile/2097701).

Ground-based monitoring for the vegetation composition and structure vital sign for the Southwest Alaska Network (SWAN), focuses on documenting trends in the structure, composition, and demography of selected late-successional vegetation classes in response to environmental changes across three elevation bands (0-450 m; >450-900 m; >900 m) within the three largest parks: Katmai (KATM), Kenai Fjords (KEFJ), and Lake Clark (LACL). SWAN employed a Generalized Random-Tesselation Stratified (GRTS) sampling design, which involved a two-stage sampling scheme to ensure safety and accessibility while establishing permanent plots in selected vegetation classes. In order to focus on long-term changes rather than successional dynamics, the monitoring targeted specific vegetation classes that are common, late-seral, and sensitive to environmental changes, while avoiding early-successional classes. The selected vegetation associations included low elevation interior spruce forests, mid-elevation white spruce woodlands, low and dwarf shrub communities, and alpine dwarf shrub-fellfield communities, reflecting a gradient from warm coastal to colder alpine environments. Selected monitoring plots were revisited at approximately 5 year intervals, during which point intercept, nested quadrat frequency, tree censuses, and other structural and environmental measurements were performed.