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.

Forest vegetation provides an integrated measure of terrestrial ecosystem health by expressing information about the collective suite of drivers and stressors which act upon it. These include climate, disturbance, browse, and invasive species. We developed a comprehensive forest monitoring protocol to detect change in the nine Great Lakes Network parks. Monitoring is conducted on a nine-year rotation, with each of the parks sampled over the course of one summer, once every nine years. Site locations were selected to ensure that they are random, but also spatially balanced throughout the parks. At each sampling site, we collect extensive data on trees (including saplings and seedlings), shrubs, herbs, coarse woody material, and browse. We also carry out assessments of tree health. Data are housed in a Microsoft Access database and published annually in an open-source, machine readable format. Quality control measures include both on site assessments of accuracy, as well as extensive data checking via automated parsing routines. Finally, reports from monitoring are produced on a regular basis and include internal National Park Service technical reports and externally reviewed manuscripts for publication in peer-reviewed journals. All data are publicly available.

Forest vegetation provides an integrated measure of terrestrial ecosystem health by expressing information about the collective suite of drivers and stressors which act upon it. These include climate, disturbance, browse, and invasive species. We developed a comprehensive forest monitoring protocol to detect change in the nine Great Lakes Network parks. Monitoring is conducted on a nine-year rotation, with each of the parks sampled over the course of one summer, once every nine years. Site locations were selected to ensure that they are random, but also spatially balanced throughout the parks. At each sampling site, we collect extensive data on trees (including saplings and seedlings), shrubs, herbs, coarse woody material, and browse. We also carry out assessments of tree health. Data are housed in a Microsoft Access database and published annually in an open-source, machine readable format. Quality control measures include both on site assessments of accuracy, as well as extensive data checking via automated parsing routines. Finally, reports from monitoring are produced on a regular basis and include internal National Park Service technical reports and externally reviewed manuscripts for publication in peer-reviewed journals. All data are publicly available.

Plot level raw datasets--including Cover, Woody Stem, Plot/Environmental, and Soil--from vegetation sampling on Coastal Wetland Elevation Monitoring Sites within the South Atlantic Geography. There are four tabular datasets for each sampling year, representing the raw data collected from vegetation plots established at each of the South Atlantic Geography Coastal Wetland Elevation Monitoirng Sites. File naming structure is as follows: CWEM (standard)_YearSampled_DatasetType. Datasets include: 1) CWEM_xxxx_Cover: cover class values by taxon and nested quadrat depth by taxon; 2) CWEM_xxxx_Stems: woody stem counts by diameter class and taxon; 3) CWEM_xxxx_Plots: plot metadata, environmental attributes, and disturbance history; and 4) CWEM_xxxx_Soil: soil chemistry and texture analysis results. 2013 files represent the first year of vegetation sampling (baseline) on 20 CWEM sites across 18 refuges within the SALCC, including: ACE Basin, Alligator River (2), Blackbeard Island, Cedar Island, Currituck, Harris Neck, Lower Suwannee (2), Mackay Island, Pea Island, Pinckney Island, Pocosin Lakes, Roanoke River, Savannah, St. Marks, Swanquarter, Waccamaw, Wassaw, and Wolf Island NWR. 2016 files represent the second year of vegetation sampling on 18 of the baseline 20 CWEM sites (Pocosin Lakes and Lower Suwannee-Dan May Creek site not accessed in 2016) and first year sampling (baseline) for the newly established Cape Romain NWR sites (2).

This data package contains North Coast and Cascades Network (NCCN) Inventory and Monitoring Program forest vegetation tabular data collected during 2005-2018 in Mount Rainier National Park (MORA), North Cascades National Park (NOCA), Olympic National Park (OLYM), and Lewis and Clark National Historical Park (LEWI). The protocol, publications, and all other associated links can be found in the project reference at: https://irma.nps.gov/DataStore/Reference/Profile/2182054. The diverse environmental conditions of the Pacific Northwest support various forest types, from coastal rainforests to subalpine fir forests, often containing mature forests that have not experienced recent stand-replacing disturbances. The North Coast and Cascades Network (NCCN) encompasses eight National Park Service units in the Pacific Northwest, with five parks featuring significant forest areas: Lewis and Clark National Historical Park (LEWI), Mount Rainier National Park (MORA), North Cascades National Park Service Complex (NOCA), Olympic National Park (OLYM), and San Juan Island National Historical Park (SAJH). Mature forests are integral to the character of these parks, and represent essential carbon stores and carbon sequestration potential. As such, forest vegetation has been identified as a key park ecosystem component in the development of NCCN's monitoring protocols. The primary objectives of the NCCN's forest monitoring program include tracking trends in tree recruitment, growth, mortality, and overall forest structure and composition, all as measures of forest health and integrity. Monitoring occurred in permanent one-hectare plots designed to align with the Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program methodologies, incorporating a hierarchy of subplots for efficient data collection. These plots were designed to represent various forest types across the three large parks, focusing on warm-wet, cold-dry, and mid-elevation environments. Additionally, forests in the smaller parks were monitored with broader definitions of forest types. Specific parameters that were monitored include tree dimensions and health indicators, snag density and size, and environmental factors such as soil properties and landscape position. Complete measurements occurred every five years, while previously tagged trees were monitored annually for mortality to be able to detect short-term changes in tree condition. This comprehensive monitoring approach provides insights into the ecological dynamics of forest ecosystems, aiming to minimize the effects of succession while recognizing the significance of changing disturbance patterns (which have been monitored using remotely sensed imagery following a separate protocol, see https://irma.nps.gov/DataStore/Reference/Profile/2097545). This program aimed to detect subtle ecological changes, offering critical data for effective management of Pacific Northwest ecosystems amid ongoing environmental challenges.

The geodatabase represents the sampling design used to meet the project's purpose. The sampling design relies upon spatially balanced GRTS sampling. Geodatabase representing the sample design for the North Coast and Cascades Network (NCCN) forest vegetation monitoring project. The Forest Monitoring project objectives are to monitor trends in the processes of tree recruitment, growth, and mortality, and in forest structure and composition. The geodatabase represents the sampling design used to meet project objectives. The sampling design relied upon spatially balanced, Generalized Random Tessellation Stratified (GRTS) sampling for all parks. The GRTS sample design was created using stratified equal probability survey design methods (psurvey.design package for R). Strata were defined based on elevation bands. The sample design formed the basis for office and field evaluation of selected locations, and the subsequent establishment of long-term monitoring plots.

This geospatial dataset contains North Coast and Cascades Network (NCCN) prairie vegetation monitoring spatial data collected during 2007-2017 at in San Juan Island National Historical Park (SAJH). The protocol, publications, and all other associated links can be found in the project reference NCCN Monitoring Prairie Vegetation: https://irma.nps.gov/DataStore/Reference/Profile/2193720 Geodatabase feature classes include the original Generalized Random Tessellation Stratified (GRTS) transects, modified active transects selected from the GRTS feature class, and annual segments with associated vegetation data 2007-2009, 2012-2015, and 2017. The goal of the NCCN prairie monitoring program is to detect and describe changes in the extent and quality of prairie communities in San Juan Island National Historical Park (SAJH). SAJH protects some of the last remaining prairies in Washington state. Over 60% of the American Camp unit is dominated by grasslands that have persisted since the end of the Pleistocene. In 2007, the National Park Service initiated monitoring to document status and trends in cover and ecological condition of vegetation communities using repeatable, rapid assessment of physiognomic class and vegetation quality along line-intercept belt transects. Transect-based sampling was designed to address a hierarchy of monitoring questions linked to management objectives, including the maintenance of broad landscape structure (e.g., forest versus herbaceous) associated with the cultural landscape and the continued ecological integrity of plant communities. While physiognomic cover is similar today to the historic time period (36% forest:61% non-forest), the ecological condition of grasslands or prairies is threatened by persistent, introduced grasses and exotic shrubs. Monitoring objectives included: 1) detect change in the extent of physiognomic cover types, 2) detect change in the proportion of areas dominated by exotic plant species, 3) detect change in the quality of herbaceous cover types, and 4) detect changes in composition and diversity of herbaceous cover types. Monitoring was implemented at the American Camp unit of SAJH, since 90% of all prairies are located within this section of the park.

This geospatial dataset contains North Coast and Cascades Network (NCCN) prairie vegetation monitoring spatial data collected during 2007-2017 at in San Juan Island National Historical Park (SAJH). The protocol, publications, and all other associated links can be found in the project reference NCCN Monitoring Prairie Vegetation: https://irma.nps.gov/DataStore/Reference/Profile/2193720 Geodatabase feature classes include the original Generalized Random Tessellation Stratified (GRTS) transects, modified active transects selected from the GRTS feature class, and annual segments with associated vegetation data 2007-2009, 2012-2015, and 2017. The goal of the NCCN prairie monitoring program is to detect and describe changes in the extent and quality of prairie communities in San Juan Island National Historical Park (SAJH). SAJH protects some of the last remaining prairies in Washington state. Over 60% of the American Camp unit is dominated by grasslands that have persisted since the end of the Pleistocene. In 2007, the National Park Service initiated monitoring to document status and trends in cover and ecological condition of vegetation communities using repeatable, rapid assessment of physiognomic class and vegetation quality along line-intercept belt transects. Transect-based sampling was designed to address a hierarchy of monitoring questions linked to management objectives, including the maintenance of broad landscape structure (e.g., forest versus herbaceous) associated with the cultural landscape and the continued ecological integrity of plant communities. While physiognomic cover is similar today to the historic time period (36% forest:61% non-forest), the ecological condition of grasslands or prairies is threatened by persistent, introduced grasses and exotic shrubs. Monitoring objectives included: 1) detect change in the extent of physiognomic cover types, 2) detect change in the proportion of areas dominated by exotic plant species, 3) detect change in the quality of herbaceous cover types, and 4) detect changes in composition and diversity of herbaceous cover types. Monitoring was implemented at the American Camp unit of SAJH, since 90% of all prairies are located within this section of the park.

This data was collected as part of a sampling protocol to monitor ecotonal movement of mangroves and upslope freshwater marshes in Everglades National Park and Big Cypress National Preserve. Remote sensing approaches are used to delineate the physical location of the ecotone (boundaries) between mangroves and freshwater marsh. Fourteen 3 kilometer (1.9 mile [mi]) segments are systematically placed along the ecotone within the two parks. Aerial imagery is used to digitize the mangrove-marsh ecotone in each segment and must be 1 meter (3.3 feet [ft]) or better resolution and have positional accuracy of ± 3 meters (9.8 feet [ft]) or better. Four ground-truth field point locations (marker points) are established approximately 1 kilometer (0.62 miles [mi]) apart along the ecotone of each segment to provide field-based measurements and ground-truthing of the digitized line. Vegetation data is collected at each sampling point, with this vegetation coverage determining where the placement of the ecotone should be. generally, this is where mangrove cover drops below 50% cover. The vegetation data also verifies if it is mangroves (typical Red) that is the dominant tree on the tress side of the ecotonal edge. The vegetation data also indicated the dominant graminoid on the more inland side of the ecotone. We have found 3 major groups for the marsh dominant vegetation type. This could be important mitigating factor or a indicator of future conditions. NOTE - Data for this data release was pulled from the mangrove marsh ecotone database and preliminarily cleaned and organized in May 2025. The data should undergo further QAQC before being used in analysis.