Changes in methodology for monitoring long-term vegetation quadrats on the Jornada Experimental Range

TitleChanges in methodology for monitoring long-term vegetation quadrats on the Jornada Experimental Range
Publication TypeConference Paper
Year of Publication2009
AuthorsSlaughter A.L, Maxwell CJ, LaPlante V, Steele C
Conference Name62nd Society for Range Management Annual Meeting
Date PublishedFebruary 8-12, 2
PublisherSociety for Range Management
Conference LocationAlb., NM
ARIS Log Number237243
Keywordsfive year, SRM
AbstractNearly 150 sq. mi. quadrats were established for long-term monitoring of vegetation dynamics on the Jornada Experimental Range in south central New Mexico in the early 1900s. Today, approximately 120 of those sites are revisited on a five year sampling rotation. Although some of the methods for data acquisition are similar to those used at the inception of this study, technological advances have allowed for a very different type of data processing and analysis today. In this poster we present ways that these methodologies have changed, and outline rationale behind use of additional or revised monitoring methods in the future. This overview includes photographs, examples of early data collection procedures, and historic documents related to the quadrat monitoring study. Analyses of these historic data have shown that landscape position, extended drought periods, and/or proximity to specific plant communities have been major factors in driving vegetation change within these quadrat plots throughout the 20th century.