• Multi-institutional collaborative program.

• Established in 1988 to document the composition and status of natural vegetation of the Carolinas.

• Provides data, data services, software development and analysis to EEP and its contractors.

1. Restoration targets2. Protocols and tools3. Data management4. Data analysis5. Training

1. Document reference conditions2. Derive restoration targets3. Design site-specific restoration plan4. Implement the plan5. Monitor change and assess success6. Employ adaptive management

CVS provides improved reference data, target design tools, monitoring protocols, data management and analysis, and training.

Boot camp for botanists; Woodstock for botanists; Extreme botany

Access to sites rarely available

Unparalleled training

Networking opportunities

Free lodging and free t-shirt

Send email to peet@unc.edu or join the list at http://cvs.bio.unc.edu

June 19-26 (NC Piedmont), July 15-22 (SC coast)

Student research projects

Broad-scale collaboration and data mining

Targeted systems

Piedmont rivers

Mountain bogs

Other research projects

• U.S. National Vegetation Classification http://www.natureserve.org/explorer/

• Ecological Society of America Vegetation Panel – Standards for associations and alliances of the NVC. http://www.bio.unc.edu/faculty/peet/pubs/EcoMonogr79;173.pdf

• Ecological Society of America Vegetation Panel – Guidelines for recording and classifying vegetation. http://www.esa.org/vegweb/docFiles/ESA_Guidelines_Version_5.2.pdf

• Federal Geographic Data Committee, Vegetation Subcommittee – Federal standards http://cvs.bio.unc.edu/FGDCVegetationStandard-V2-2008.pdf

• VegBank http://vegbank.org

National & International National & International ContextContext

www.vegbank.orgwww.vegbank.org

CVS VisionCVS Vision

• The Carolina vegetation database, available on the web

• Revision and documentation of the National Vegetation Classification

• Tools for identification and prediction of existing and potential vegetation

• Synthesis and reference information on the vegetation of the Carolinas

Move from crude species lists to a plot database and quantitative community descriptions.

EEP contractors can use these data to establish site-specific restoration targets.

Phase 1: National Vegetation Classification type descriptions.

Phase 2: Dynamically generated targets.G

rowers can predict material needs.E

EP can anticipate significantly higher success.

Consistent methodology

Appropriate for most vegetation types

FGDC compliant and broadly compatible

Flexible in intensity and time commitment

Easy to resample

Total floristics &/or tree population structure

Major site variables

5 sampling levels provide flexibility plus consistency.Available resources include manuals, datasets, and data entry tools.Applicable for multiple purposes and organizations

Level 1: Inventory of planted stems

Level 2: Inventory of all woody stems

Level 3: Cover of dominants and optional stem inventory

Level 4: Full floristics

Level 5: Full floristics, by module, across scales.

For restoration areas with planted stems.

The primary purpose is to document installation and to monitor survival and growth of installed plants.

For restoration areas. Plots allow accurate and rapid

assessment of the overall status and trajectory of woody-plant restoration on a site.

Documents leaf area cover of common species

Conforms to the FGDC standard for plots used to classify vegetation to an NVC association

Used to assess vegetation successional status as well as the presence and abundance of undesirable taxa

Similar to level 3, but more

Cover values are determined for all plant species

Additional environmental data are collected

Plots conform to the FGDC standards for plots used to revise the NVC.

The CVS data management system insures accurate data collection and reporting

The CVS data-entry tool allows efficient data entry with automatic error checking

Reports and plot statistics can be automatically generated

The archived data are used in various analyses and to generate datasheets for subsequent monitoring

Demonstrations Demonstrations today and tomorrowtoday and tomorrow

Contractors use the tool to digitize & organize data.

Centralizes the entry process into one place

Can calculate number of required plots for a project

Efficient data entry at all CVS Levels:

Forms mimic paper datasheets Lookup data (species, locations) quickly Avoid redundant typing.

Possible errors are flagged for resolution

Reports summarize final data

Download plots from our website for monitoring

New datasheets printed for future monitoring

SAVES TIME & MONEY, DELIVERS HIGHER QUALITY DATA!

Data automatically checked for errors as entered.

You don't have to retype data that is known from

last year.

The cursor stops only on the few fields with solid

borders.

CVS reports Datasheets for monitoring Survival & growth of planted stems Direction of compositional change Rate of compositional change Problems needing attention

(e.g., stem mortality, exotic species)

The data and services provided by CVS improve the likelihood that the monitored vegetation is developing towards a pre-defined reference condition.

Data summarized with click of a button

Multiple configuration options available

Reports based on a single year or multiple years Reports based on a single project or multiple projects

Summary of Stem Vigor

Matrix of plots, species, and number of stems

(This page shows 3 of 10 to 12 worksheets in the Report)

Project SummaryHighlights year

of project failing to meet

requirements!

Contractors receive hands-on training in data collection and management at annual workshops

Annual “Pulse” events provide intensive training in sampling protocols and North Carolina’s plant species and vegetation.