Description
Kenai National Wildlife Refuge (KENWR) has a legislative mandate “to conserve fish and wildlife populations and habitats in their natural diversity”. To improve our understanding of spatial and temporal variation at the landscape level, we are developed the Long Term Ecological Monitoring Program (LTEMP) to assess change in biota on the sample frame used by the USDA Forest Service's Forest Inventory and Analysis program (FIA). Through a formal agreement with the FIA, we completed our baseline inventory of 259 permanent terrestrial plots systematically distributed at 5-km intervals across the 805,000-ha KENWR in 2004 and 2006. In addition to the forested vegetation sampled by the FIA, we sampled vascular and nonvascular plants on non-forested plots, and breeding landbirds, arthropods, and noise on all plots. All sampling methods are passive, nondestructive (to habitat), relatively inexpensive, and require ≤ 2 visits to a plot in a given sampling year.
This occurrence dataset includes observations of plants by FIA crews from 1999 to 2003 and observations of plants and birds by KNWR crews in 2004 and 2006.
Data Records
The data in this occurrence resource has been published as a Darwin Core Archive (DwC-A), which is a standardized format for sharing biodiversity data as a set of one or more data tables. The core data table contains 9,665 records.
3 extension data tables also exist. An extension record supplies extra information about a core record. The number of records in each extension data table is illustrated below.
This IPT archives the data and thus serves as the data repository. The data and resource metadata are available for download in the downloads section. The versions table lists other versions of the resource that have been made publicly available and allows tracking changes made to the resource over time.
Versions
The table below shows only published versions of the resource that are publicly accessible.
How to cite
Researchers should cite this work as follows:
Morton J M, Berg E, Bowser M, Eskelin T, Laker M, Magness D (2022): Occurrences from Kenai National Wildlife Refuge’s Long Term Ecological Monitoring Program, 1999–2006. v1.8. United States Geological Survey. Dataset/Occurrence. https://bison.usgs.gov/ipt/resource?r=knwr_ltemp_1999-2006&v=1.8
Rights
Researchers should respect the following rights statement:
The publisher and rights holder of this work is United States Geological Survey. To the extent possible under law, the publisher has waived all rights to these data and has dedicated them to the Public Domain (CC0 1.0). Users may copy, modify, distribute and use the work, including for commercial purposes, without restriction.
GBIF Registration
This resource has been registered with GBIF, and assigned the following GBIF UUID: 325ea405-3e25-42aa-a2a4-26820fcb803b. United States Geological Survey publishes this resource, and is itself registered in GBIF as a data publisher endorsed by GBIF-US.
Keywords
Occurrence
External data
The resource data is also available in other formats
| Presence of plants within 5.64 m radius, circular plots | https://ecos.fws.gov/ServCat/DownloadFile/199658 UTF-8 comma separated values |
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| Point intercept counts of plants on four 10 m, 20 point transects | https://ecos.fws.gov/ServCat/DownloadFile/199659 UTF-8 comma separated values |
| Variable circular plot bird occurrences | https://ecos.fws.gov/ServCat/DownloadFile/199660 UTF-8 comma separated values |
Contacts
- Originator
- Originator
- Metadata Provider ●
- Originator ●
- Point Of Contact
http://orcid.org/http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4879-3997
- Originator
- Originator
- Originator
- Content Provider
Geographic Coverage
The geographic coverage included all USDA Forest Inventory and Analysis plots on the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge.
| Bounding Coordinates | South West [59.568, -151.166], North East [61.018, -149.743] |
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Taxonomic Coverage
Vascular plants and birds were generally identified to species. Some non-vascular plants were also included.
| Kingdom | Plantae (plants) |
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| Class | Aves (birds) |
Temporal Coverage
| Start Date / End Date | 1999-06-30 / 2006-06-29 |
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Project Data
Kenai National Wildlife Refuge (KENWR) has a legislative mandate “to conserve fish and wildlife populations and habitats in their natural diversity”. To improve our understanding of spatial and temporal variation at the landscape level, we are developing the Long Term Ecological Monitoring Program (LTEMP) to assess change in biota on the sample frame used by the USDA Forest Inventory and Analysis program (FIA). Through a formal agreement with the FIA, we completed our baseline inventory of 259 permanent terrestrial plots systematically distributed at 5-km intervals across the 805,000-ha KENWR in 2004 and 2006. In addition to the forested vegetation sampled by the FIA, we sampled vascular and nonvascular plants on non-forested plots, and breeding landbirds, arthropods, and noise on all plots. All sampling methods are passive, nondestructive (to habitat), relatively inexpensive, and require ≤ 2 visits to a plot in a given sampling year. To date, we have recorded 647 species including one insect family and five insect species new to Alaska, two new sedges for KENWR, and a range expansion for Hammond’s flycatcher. In collaboration with the FIA, we plan to resample 20% of plots every other year over a 10-year monitoring window. However, implementation of the monitoring phase was delayed as we complete species identification, develop novel ways of estimating species-specific detection probabilities, evaluate statistical power to detect change, and consider modifications to the proposed rotating panel design. Our approach provides a statistically-rigorous framework for landscape monitoring and modeling, yet maintains a great deal of design flexibility. Integration with the FIA ensures that LTEMP is cost effective, and the collocation of floral and faunal sampling permits additional species-habitat modeling and other explanatory spatial modeling. We believe LTEMP can serve as a template for agencies that are developing long-term monitoring programs of biodiversity at the landscape level.
| Title | Kenai National Wildlife Refuge Long Term Ecological Monitoring Program |
|---|---|
| Study Area Description | The 805,000 ha Kenai National Wildlife Refuge (KNWR) is in south-central Alaska on the Kenai Peninsula, which is formed by the Cook Inlet and Prince William Sound. The KNWR shares boundaries with Chugach National Forest and Kenai Fjords National Park. Biodiversity is unusually high for this latitude because of the juxtaposition of two biomes on the Kenai Peninsula: the northern fringe of the Sitka spruce-dominated (Picea sitchensis) coastal rainforest on the eastern flank of the Kenai Mountains, and the western-most reach of boreal forest in North America on the western side of the Kenai Mountains. Forests on KNWR are dominated by white (P. glauca), Lutz’s (P. x lutzii), and black spruce (P. mariana) with an admixture of aspen (Populus tremuloides) and birch (Betula neoalaskana). Extensive peatlands are interspersed among spruce in the Kenai Lowlands. Lichen-dominated tundra replaces mountain hemlock (Tsuga mertensiana) and sub-alpine shrub (primarily Alnus spp.) above treeline in the Kenai Mountains and Caribou Hills. Topographic relief varies from sea level at Chickaloon Flats, a tidal estuary extending into the Cook Inlet, to 1800 m above sea level in the Kenai Mountains. The 1800 km2 Harding Icefield straddles the Kenai Mountains along the boundary that separates Kenai Fjords National Park and KNWR. |
| Design Description | As part of the implementation of the Alaska Coastal Inventory in south-central Alaska, the Pacific Northwest Research Station (PNWRS) established 176 Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) plots on KNWR in 1999. These plots were distributed across the forested portion of KNWR at a resolution of 1 plot per 2,360 ha. By 2003, the PNWRS had completed the first inventory of these plots following field protocols of the Coastal Alaska Inventory. However, the Coastal Alaska Inventory was implemented before the FIA national protocols were fully developed. Also, under a 2004 Memorandum of Understanding, the PNWRS agreed to reduce the frequency of re-sampling to ensure the integrity of 525,000 ha of Congressionally-designated Wilderness on KNWR. Consequently, there are several significant differences between what has been done on KNWR than in other parts of the U.S including systematically-distributed plots at regular intervals (versus randomly placed within tessellated hexagons); inventory of vascular and nonvascular flora in a 5.64-m radius column on each center subplot; and a monitoring design that specifies re-sampling 20% of plots every other year for 10 years (i.e., rotating panel design). To take advantage of inventorying and monitoring by the FIA, we adopted their sample frame by extending the existing FIA grid over the remaining non-forested portions of KNWR and overlaid additional sampling to inventory selected faunal assemblages on all points regardless of vegetation. This full sample frame, hereafter considered the LTEMP sample frame, was comprised of 342 plots systematically distributed at 4.8-km intervals across the 805,000 ha KNWR. At this spatial resolution, the distribution of these plots was proportional to the availability of macro-habitat types. This is an important attribute as data derived from the LTEMP sample frame are representative of the KNWR. |
The personnel involved in the project:
- Author
- Author
- Author
Sampling Methods
Morton et al. (2006) and Morton et al. (2009) provided details of sampling methods. Vegetation data on forested plots were collected as part of the USDA Forest Inventory and Analysis Program (FIA) by the USDA Pacific Northwest Research Station (PNWRS). Vegetation data on non-forested plots were collected by Kenai National Wildlife Refuge (KNWR). Bird occurrence data on all plots were collected KNWR.
| Study Extent | The geographic coverage included all USDA Forest Inventory and Analysis plots on the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge. |
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Method step description:
- Vegetation sampling of forested sites by FIA: The PNWRS sampled vegetation on 176 forested plots following field protocols used in the Coastal Alaska Inventory (USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station, & USDA Forest Service, Region 10 - Alaska, 2003). Consistent with national Phase 2 protocols, each FIA site consists of four subplots to measure within-site variance. Each subplot consists of three nested fixed-radius circular plots: 7.3-m tree plot, 5.64-m horizontal-vertical (HV) vegetation profile, and a 2-m seedling/sapling plot. Three 11.28-m transects intersect the center subplot to estimate downed wood. National and regional FIA field protocols were generally similar except for relatively minor differences in measurement units and location of subplot sampling. The one obvious and significant discrepancy was the exclusive sampling of HV plots as part of the Coastal Alaska Inventory. Horizontal-Vertical (HV) Plot: A 5.64-m radius (horizontal distance) circular plot was established at point center. The HV plot was used to determine the horizontal and vertical distribution, density, diversity, and composition of plants and non-living material. Vegetation was classified into strata or layers starting at ground level such that this plot represented a column with a base of 100 m2. Vertical dimensions were estimated using the natural layer breaks observed on the plot. One HV profile plot was established for each polygon type that had a point meeting the following criteria: the polygon type at point center is vegetated (i.e., shrub, herbaceous, forest); the HV plot falls entirely within the polygon at point center (i.e., does not straddle polygon types); the polygon type at point center covers ≥ 90% of the area; and the point center does not fall in an inclusion. Data collected on HV plots include shrubs, grasses, forbs, lichens, mosses, tree seedlings (trees < 2.5 cm DBH), and in some cases shrub-like trees not recorded on the tree plot. For example, Krummholz and other stands where trees were growing in a twisted/stunted shrub-like form, were treated as shrub land. The HV record also included arboreal lichens, mosses, forbs and shrubs regardless of their substrate. The data we used here we had downloaded circa 2004 from the Forest Inventory and Analysis Database (Miles et al., 2001; Breazeale et al., 2008).
- Vegetation sampling of non-forested sites by KNWR: Vegetation Sampling of Non-forested Sites by KNWR: We did not use the FIA cluster sampling design, where four subplots are surveyed at a site. Instead, we sampled one plot, centered on the plot center and used sampling methods which better characterize non-forested vegetation. Our objectives were to quantify the relative frequency of ground cover and species within different height strata at each site. Similar to the HV plot sampled by the FIA, we also recorded all vascular and nonvascular flora on a 100 m2 circular plot with a 5.64 m radius from plot center. Voucher specimens or unknown plant material were collected at the site, but from locations > 10 m from plot center. We also took two stereo digital photographs on the north-south axis of each plot similar to PNWRS protocols for the HV plot. Herbaceous and woody vegetative cover within the first 2 m above ground were sampled using a modified point-intercept technique. A version of this sampling approach has been adopted by Denali National Park. Four 10-m long transects were laid out in the cardinal directions from plot center using tightly-woven, braided nylon cord marked at 0.5 m intervals (n = 20 points per transect). A 2 m long, 13 mm diameter steel rod, marked at 1 m to separate the vertical column into two strata, was used as a sampling pin that is held vertically at each sampling point. Each plant taxon that touches the sampling pin ≥ 1 time was recorded within stratum at each point. Only one hit per point per stratum per taxon was recorded at each of the 80 sampling points. Consequently, a minimum of 40 tallies were recorded per stratum; the number of tallies recorded can exceed this value considerably depending on species richness.
- Bird sampling by KNWR: We sampled landbird abundance and occurrence using variable circular plot methods during the last three weeks in June. We adopted (with some modifications) the protocols used in the Alaska Landbird Monitoring Survey (Handel & Cady, 2004), where horizontal distances to each bird were estimated at 1-min increments during a 10-min sampling interval using auditory or visual cues. Surveys were conducted 30 min after sunrise during the first 4 - 5 hrs of the morning, but only under specified conditions of good visibility, little or no precipitation, and light or no winds. We used a laser range finder to help with distance estimation and recorded unknown or questionable songs/calls with a Sony digital Walkman™ MZ-N10 minidisc recorder and a Saul Mineroff Electronics™, Inc., ATR55 mini-microphone boom. Weather and noise: We measured wind speed (m/sec averaged over 30 sec), temperature (°C), and relative humidity with a Kestrel 3000 Pocket Weather™ meter at ground level. We used the Beauford wind scale to record wind speed at canopy level. We used the Larson Davis Model 720 sound meter to measure sound levels (Leq, Lmax and Lpeak) over a 5-min interval while birds were being counted. The sound meter was mounted on a tripod, oriented with the microphone pointed skywards, and placed ≥ 3 m from either observer to reduce recording of incidental noise.
- Reformatting data for GBIF: Occurrence data were downloaded from Morton et al. (2021), reviewed, edited, and reformatted using an R markdown script (Bowser, 2022).
Bibliographic Citations
- Morton, J. M., Bowser, M. L., Berg, E., Magness, D., & Eskelin, T. (2009). Long Term Ecological Monitoring Program on the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska: An FIA adjunct inventory. In W. McWilliams, G. Moisen, & R. Czaplewski (Eds.), 2008 Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) Symposium; October 21-23, 2008; Park City, UT (pp. 1–17). U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. http://www.treesearch.fs.fed.us/pubs/33332 http://www.treesearch.fs.fed.us/pubs/33332
- Breazeale, G., Conkling, B., Donnegan, J., Hansen, M., Meade, J., Miles, P., O’Connell, B., Shaw, J., Turner, J., & Woudenberg, S. (2008). The Forest Inventory and Analysis Database: Database Description and Users Manual Version 3.0 for Phase 2. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. https://www.fia.fs.fed.us/library/database-documentation/historic/ver3/FIADB_user%20manual_v3-0_p2_7_10_08.pdf https://www.fia.fs.fed.us/library/database-documentation/historic/ver3/FIADB_user%20manual_v3-0_p2_7_10_08.pdf
- Miles, P. D., Brand, G. J., Alerich, C. A., Bednar, L. F., Woudenberg, S. W., Glover, J. F., & Ezzell, E. N. (2001). The Forest Inventory and Analysis Database: Database Description and Users Manual Version 1.0. U.S. Department. of Agriculture, Forest Service, North Central Research Station. https://doi.org/10.2737/NC-GTR-218 https://doi.org/10.2737/NC-GTR-218
- USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station, & USDA Forest Service, Region 10 - Alaska. (2003). Field Proceedures for the Coastal Alaska Inventory 2003 (p. 182). USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station and USDA Forest Service, Region 10 - Alaska. https://www.fs.usda.gov/pnw/documents-and-media/2003-pnw-fia-south-central-alaska-periodic-field-manual https://www.fs.usda.gov/pnw/documents-and-media/2003-pnw-fia-south-central-alaska-periodic-field-manual
- Handel, C. M., & Cady, M. N. (2004). Alaska Landbird Monitoring Survey, Protocol for Setting Up and Conducting Point Count Surveys. USGS Alaska Science Center. https://ecos.fws.gov/ServCat/DownloadFile/111623?Reference=70866 https://ecos.fws.gov/ServCat/DownloadFile/111623?Reference=70866
- Bowser, M. (2022). Script for exporting occurrence data from Kenai National Wildlife Refuge’s Long Term Ecological Monitoring Program to Darwin Core format. USFWS Kenai National Wildlife Refuge. https://ecos.fws.gov/ServCat/Reference/Profile/144155 https://ecos.fws.gov/ServCat/Reference/Profile/144155
- Morton, J. M., Berg, E., Bowser, M., Eskelin, T., Jozwiak, L., Laker, M., Magness, D., & O’Brien, L. (2006). Long Term Ecological Monitoring Program: Interagency Agreement, Original Proposal, and 2004 Field Protocols. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Kenai National Wildlife Refuge. https://ecos.fws.gov/ServCat/Reference/Profile/132198 https://ecos.fws.gov/ServCat/Reference/Profile/132198
- Morton, J. M., Laker, M., & Bowser, M. L. (2021). Kenai National Wildlife Refuge Long Term Ecological Monitoring Program, occurrence datasets, 1999-2006. USFWS Kenai National Wildlife Refuge. https://ecos.fws.gov/ServCat/Reference/Profile/132257 https://ecos.fws.gov/ServCat/Reference/Profile/132257
Additional Metadata
| Alternative Identifiers | 325ea405-3e25-42aa-a2a4-26820fcb803b |
|---|---|
| https://doi.org/10.15468/73n3w7 | |
| https://bison.usgs.gov/ipt/resource?r=knwr_ltemp_1999-2006 |