ࡱ> egdq` $bjbjqPqP .T::vJJJ8Td;hFF\\\\\\:::::::$$=h?;!\\!!;\\$;P###!\\:#!:##68\: ")VJ!^[7:t;H;o7z@!z@(88z@:\r4#j\\\;;#j\\\;!!!!$D Monitoring the Effects of Conservation Management in Tallgrass Prairie Mei Ai Khoo, TNC Intern 08 Intern Name: Mei Ai Khoo University Affiliation: Wellesley College Address: 340 Common St, Belmont MA 02478 Telephone Number: 617-653-6631 Supervisor: Dr. Meredith Cornett Position: Director of Conservation Science, TNC in MN/ND/SD Address: 394 Lake Ave. South, Duluth, MN 55802 Telephone Number: 218-727-6119 Academic Advisor: Dr. Dan Brabander Position: Associate Professor of Geosciences, Wellesley College University: Wellesley College Expertise: Biogeochemistry, Environmental Studies Address: 106 Central Street, Wellesley MA 02481 Telephone Number: (781) 283-3056 Location of internship: Minnesota, North Dakota (Central United States Conservation Region) - Sheyenne Delta, ND; Agassiz Beach Ridges (Bluestem Prairie), MN; Ordway Glacial Lakes, MN; conservation areas Proposed Dates of Internship: July 7 Sept 15 Description of Internship Project Project participants: The Nature Conservancy U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Minnesota Dept. of Natural Resources U.S. Geological Survey Concordia College Habitat Objectives Maintain or increase the percentage cover of native prairie Minimize the percentage cover of invasive/exotic vegetation Maintain the structural diversity of native grassland ecosystems Management treatments: prescribed fire, grazing, haying Monitoring objective: To determine broad, community changes over time in the condition of native grasslands in response to grazing and other land management techniques. The project is focused on native prairie, but methods could be applied to restored areas as well. Justification: North American prairies Quantity and quality reduced because of conversion of grasslands to other uses. Site Background Sheyenne Delta one of the few large examples of nearly intact native tallgrass prairie left in the northern tallgrass prairie ecoregion within North Dakota. Agassiz Beach Ridges (Bluestem Prairie) Although a highly-fragmented landscape, the Agassiz Beach Ridges represent one of the largest and highestthe best remaining examples of quality northern tallgrass prairies in the U.SMinnesota. Ordway Prairie combines grasslands and woods in a mosaic representation of where competitionforming a tension zone between forest and prairie was intense. Monitoring of prairie conditions will enables TNC and interested parties to assess the current condition of prairie remnants across a broad area and evaluate the effectiveness of management and (in some cases) restoration effortsof native prairie. Variables indicative of broad trends were selected to enable comparisons across an extensive, rather than an intensive, scale. A sampling protocol was designed that would give rapid and reliable assessments of the composition and structure of plant communities. Effective conservation would will be determined by the ratio of native plants to invasive-exotic plant species, structural diversity, and the presence of a few carefully-selected quality indicators. and by the diversity of the ecosystem. Methods A rapid belt transect method has been selected to characterize the vegetation structure and composition. This method proved effective during the 2007 pilot season. The following procedures will be carried out along transects that are 25m long, 0.1m wide, and spaced generally at 1 per 10 acres (this may need adjusting). 50 0.5m plots occur along each transect. Structure Visual Obstruction Reading (VOR) measuring vegetation height at the beginning of each transect using a Robel pole Litter Depth obtaining measurements of litter layer depth at 5 points along transect Composition Plant groups recording of plant groups by habitat association at each plot Quality Indicators recording presence of certain conservative plant species within 1.5m on either side of transect (checklist will be provided). Dominant weeds presence of Tier 1 invasives recorded at each plot (checklist will be provided) Data management A common coding system for the vegetation groups will be used by all partners involved and all data will be entered in a common Access database developed by the USGS for this project. Schedule (tentative) Week of July 7: Monday, July 7 Meet at Paynesville Office/Ordway Glacial Lakes Landscape with Sara Simmers (contractor for the week) and Sarah Margoles (TNC Lead Technician), Land Steward, and other TNC staff as appropriate. Training in the belt transect method, use of IPAQ, and plant identification. Tuesday, July 8 Day for interagency group training, also in the Ordway area. Focus is field methods and database training. Travel to Bluestem Prairie (approx. 2.5 hours). Wednesday, July 9 Meet Bluestem Staff. Field work in Bluestem area.Travel to Brown Ranch in Milnor, ND around mid-to-late afternoon. Approximately 85 miles, 1.5 hours, West of Bluestem. Thursday, July 10 Early morning orientation to Brown Ranch/Sheyenne Delta Landscape/Meet with Land Steward/Other appropriate TNC staff. Field work (with TNC Science Director and Land Steward in a.m., PM independently. Friday, July 11 Full day of field work at Brown Ranch/Sheyenne Delta. Week of July 14: Brown Ranch/Sheyenne Delta Week of July 21: Brown Ranch/Sheyenne Delta Week of July 28: Brown Ranch/Sheyenne Delta Week of August 4: Agassiz Beach Ridges (Bluestem or Glacial Ridge Area) Week of August 11: Agassiz Beach Ridges (Bluestem or Glacial Ridge Area) Week of August 18: Agassiz Beach Ridges (Bluestem or Glacial Ridge Area) Week of August 25: Ordway/Glacial Lakes Week of September 1: Ordway/Glacial Lakes Week of September 8: Ordway/Glacial Lakes ***If possible Jacobson Fen, Prairie Coteau near Clear Lake, SD Expected work products The intern will be responsible for conducting vegetation surveys in coordination with TNC staff and partners. Over the course of two to three months, it is expected that the intern will have completed over 400 vegetation surveys, building a reliable database for the project covering a total of 4,000 acres within three key conservation areas: the Sheyenne Delta, Agassiz Beach Ridges, and Ordway Glacial Lakes. This is an increase over the 2000 acres sampled by TNC and partners during the 2007 pilot season. The intern will also be responsible for managing data safely, including regular downloads to a hard drive, creating backups, etc. Expected Milestones July 11 Develop a comfortable level of familiarity with the belt transect method and database input Aug 1 Formulate at least one working hypothesis based on the data collected so far Aug 22 Able to mMake observations and draw comparisons between different grasslands; refine hypothesis Sept 15 Able to formulate at least one hypothesis that is testable with the data collected so farArrive at a set of conclusions as well as have a clear idea of what future work needs to be done Communications Weekly communications will take place between the intern and supervisor via e-mail, phone calls or (at times) in person. Communication expectations and arrangements to be worked out during Week 1 of internship. Journal entries and other intern work products to be communicated to Renee Mullen via e-mail.      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