Quantifying the Representation of Plant Communities in the Protected Areas of the U.S.: An Analysis Based on the U.S. National Vegetation Classification Groups

Plant communities represent the integration of ecological and biological processes and they serve as an important component for the protection of biological diversity. To measure progress towards protection of ecosystems in the United States for various stated conservation targets we need datasets at the appropriate thematic, spatial, and temporal resolution. The recent release of the LANDFIRE Existing Vegetation Data Products (2016 Remap) with a legend based on U.S. National Vegetation Classification allowed us to assess the conservation status of plant communities of the U.S. The map legend is based on the Group level of the USNVC, which characterizes the regional differences in plant communities based on dominant and diagnostic plant species. By combining the Group level map with the Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US Ver 2.1), we quantified the representation of each Group. If the mapped vegetation is assumed to be 100% accurate, using the Aichi Biodiversity target (17% land in protection by 2020) we found that 159 of the 265 natural Groups have less than 17% in GAP Status 1&2 lands and 216 of the 265 Groups fail to meet a 30% representation target. Only four of the twenty ecoregions have > 17% of their extent in Status 1&2 lands. Sixteen ecoregions are dominated by Groups that are under-represented. Most ecoregions have many hectares of natural or ruderal vegetation that could contribute to future conservation efforts and this analysis helps identify specific targets and opportunities for conservation across the U.S.

Changing status of Blysmus compressus (Flat Sedge) in the Sefton Coast sand-dunes, north Merseyside, UK

A 2018 survey of the nationally ‘Vulnerable’ Blysmus compressus (Flat-sedge) in the Sefton Coast sand-dunes, north Merseyside (v.c.59, South Lancashire), aimed to update information collected on distribution and habitats a decade earlier. As in 2008, the plant was mainly found in calcareous dune-slacks of recent origin, with short, open, species-rich vegetation on gley soils with a relatively high pH. Sites with a lower sward height supported a higher percentage cover of B. compressus. The largest populations were associated with sites that had been disturbed by recreational trampling, occasional vehicle use and/or grazing, especially by rabbits. Twenty-two sites were recorded, seven being new. Overall, the area occupied by B. compressus declined by 17%, two 2008 sites being lost. Similarly, an estimate of 15-20,000 plants in the earlier survey fell to 12,600. Losses were attributed to vegetation overgrowth and scrub development, partly resulting from lower rabbit numbers and reduced management input. The plant occurred in a range of vegetation types but matches to known UK National Vegetation Classification communities were generally poor. Management methods to conserve B. compressus and other vulnerable taxa are discussed.

A Standardized Ecosystem Classification for the Coordination and Design of Long-term Terrestrial Ecosystem Monitoring in Arctic-Subarctic Biomes

A Canadian Arctic-Subarctic Biogeoclimatic Ecosystem Classification (CASBEC) is proposed as a standardized classification approach for Subarctic and Arctic terrestrial ecosystems across Canada and potentially throughout the circumpolar area. The CASBEC is grounded in long-standing terrestrial ecosystem classification theory and builds on concepts developed for ecosystems in British Columbia, Quebec, and Yukon. The fundamental classification unit of the CASBEC, the plant association, is compatible with the lower-level classifications of the Arctic Vegetation Classification (AVC), the Canadian National Vegetation Classification (CNVC), and the United States National Vegetation Classification (USNVC) and is used to generate a classification and nomenclature for Arctic and Subarctic terrestrial ecological communities. The use of a multi-scalar ecosystem framework, such as that developed by the British Columbia Biogeoclimatic Ecosystem Classification, provides an ecological context to use classified plant associations to delineate and define climatically equivalent regional scale climate units (biogeoclimatic subzones) and ecologically equivalent local-scale site units within biogeoclimatic subzones. A standardized framework and taxonomy of ecosystem classification for Subarctic and Arctic terrestrial ecological communities will facilitate the planning, coordination, and applicability of terrestrial ecological monitoring and research. The CASBEC classification and high-resolution ecosystem mapping are being used to develop an effective experimental design, to select ecosite types for long-term monitoring, and to extrapolate results to landscape scales in the Experimental and Reference Area of the Canadian High Arctic Research Station (CHARS) in Cambridge Bay. Widespread adoption of the CASBEC could provide a spatial and functionally scalable framework and a common language for interpreting, integrating, coordinating, and communicating Arctic and Subarctic monitoring, research, and land management activities across the Canadian North and around the circumpolar area.