Overview of Other Monitoring Programs

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Overview of Other Monitoring Programs

• Mike Britten, Intermountain Region Inventory and
  Monitoring Coordinator

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Presentation goals

• Describe important long-term monitoring programs
  or concepts related to NPS VSM
• Examples at global, hemispheric, national,
  regional, and local scales
• Classes of monitoring programs
• National Park-based monitoring by partners
• Biodiversity monitoring
• Ecological monitoring
• Climate monitoring
• Resources monitoring
• Taxon-specific monitoring
• Provide sources of information/contacts

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PRIMENet

• Lead organization(s) EPA and NPS
• Partners
• University of Georgia
• Research partners include USGS, USDA, NOAA and
  universities
• Program start
• 1996
• Contact
• Kathy Tonnessen, NPS
• Information
• www.aqd.nps.gov/ard/prime/

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PRIMENet
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PRIMENet

• Goal Conduct Long-term monitoring of
  environmental stressors and stimulate research on
  effects of stressors on ecosystems.
• Stressor monitoring
• Air quality
• Climate
• UV
• Features
• Network-based monitoring (14 parks and 6 or 7
  urban sites)
• Central cooperators do work
• Excellent QA/QC

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PRIMENet

• Originally called DISPro
• 1.2 million per year but EPA contribution being
  reduced to 350K
• Long-term EPA commitment???

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State of the Parks

• Lead organization(s) NPCA
• Partners
• NPS (pilot parks)
• Colorado State University (Tom Stohlgren)
• Yale, Berkeley
• Program start
• 1999
• Geographic scope NPS-wide (40-50 parks NPS-wide)
• Annual budget 800/yr (FY 2002)
• Contact
• Mark Peterson, NPCA (970-493-2545
  mpeterson_at_npca.org)
• Information
• http//208.226.12.12/across_the_nation/park_pulse

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State of the Parks

• The State of the Parks Program will fulfill the
  NPS Systems immediate need for objective,
  systematic information on the Systems natural
  and cultural resources.
• Goals
• Determine the best way to assess the health of
  natural and cultural resources
• Develop a system to determine the most threatened
  sites and resources, and
• Produce reports and outreach tools to communicate
  the findings to the public and to Congress
• A rapid assessment program reporting on
  conservation capacity
• Using existing data only

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State of the ParksProposed attributes/indicators
(80 indicators)

• Native biodiversity
• Invasive species
• Pollution (AQ standards, wet/dry deposition,
  light and noise pollution
• Altered natural processes
• Land/water use and boundary issues

• Rapid climate change
• Archeological resources
• Historic structures
• Ethnographic resources
• Archival items/collections
• Sense of place
• Cultural landscapes

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ABI - Association for Biodiversity Information

• Lead organization(s) ABI/Natural Heritage
  Network
• Partners
• States
• The Nature Conservancy
• Program start
• 1999
• Geographic scope
• Global but first in NA and the Western Hemisphere
• Contact
• Jim Drake, Minneapolis, MN (612-331-0729)
• Information
• www.abi.org

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ABI - Association for Biodiversity Information

• Vision The Association for Biodiversity
  Information will help protect the world's plants,
  animals, and ecosystems by improving society's
  understanding of biodiversity and making this
  knowledge easily accessible to the public and
  those making decisions about land and water use.
• Objectives
• Develop data
• Develop tools
• Develop information products
• Develop expertise
• Provide information that is easy to access,
  understand, and use

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BON - Biodiversity Observing Network

• Lead organization NSF
• Partner San Diego Super Computer Center
• Geographic scope U.S.
• Program start first workshop in 1998 at
  University of Virginia
• Information
• www.sdsc.edu/bon/

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BON - Biodiversity Observing Network

• Mission Advance knowledge of the biological,
  physical and social determinants of biological
  diversity, its environmental consequences, and
  its role in determining biocomplexity.
• BON - a concept only, developed through four
  workshops
• Concept
• 50 observatories or sites
• Cross observatory funding of biodiversity
  research

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BON - Biodiversity Observing Network Desired
BON observatory attributes

• Secure from development
• Access to terrestrial and aquatic habitats
• On-site facilities
• Meteorological data
• Multiple partners

• Internet connectivity
• GIS/GPS capability/instrumentation
• On-site reference collections
• Affiliation with museum

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BON - Biodiversity Observing Network

• BON concepts
• Core taxa sampling for distribution and
  abundance
• Reference collections
• Sampling design - site-specific (not top-down)
• Heterogeneity of potential BON sites
• Modest BON budget (envisioned)
• Standardization (when possible) through
• Incentives to PIs
• Core taxa monitoring
• Standard data management protocols
• Aggregating data of BON observatories (at some
  level of detail)
• Integration of research at BON sites

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GAP Analysis Program

• Lead organization USGS-BRD
• Partners
• States
• Federal agencies
• Geographic scope U.S.
• Program start development of methods in 1987
• Contacts Michael Jennings and Kevin Gergely at
  University of Idaho
• Information
• http//www.gap.uidaho.edu/

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GAP Analysis Program
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GAP Analysis Program

• Mission to Provide regional assessments of the
  conservation status of native vertebrate species
  and natural land cover types and to facilitate
  the application of this information to land
  management activities.
• Objectives
• 1. Map the land cover of the United States
• 2. Map predicted distributions of vertebrate
  species for the U.S.
• 3. Document vertebrate species and land cover
  types in areas managed for biodiversity
• 4. provide information to the public and those
  charged with land use research, policy, planning,
  and management
• 5. build institutional cooperation in the
  application of this information to state and
  regional management activities
• Identifies conservation gaps
• Native vertebrates only

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NEON - National Ecological Observatory Network

• Lead organization NSF
• Partners
• Archbold Biological Station
• San Diego Super Computer Center
• Geographic scope U.S.
• Program start first workshop in 2000 at
• Information
• http//www.sdsc.edu/NEON/

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NEON - National Ecological Observatory Network

• Mission "The National Ecological Observatory
  Network (NEON) will establish 10 observatories
  located around the country that will serve as
  national research platforms for integrated
  studies in field biology."
• Objectives
• To provide a state-of-the-art national facility
  for field biologists to conduct cutting edge
  research spanning all levels of biological
  organization from molecular genetics to whole
  ecosystem studies and across scales ranging from
  seconds to geological time and from microns to
  kilometers
• To interconnect the geographically distributed
  parts of the facility into one virtual
  installation via communication networks so that
  members of the field biology research community
  can access the facility remotely and
• To facilitate predictive modeling of biological
  systems via data sharing and synthesis efforts by
  users of the facility.

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NEON - National Ecological Observatory Network

• NEON - a concept only, produced through four
  workshops
• Concepts
• Network of 10 state of the art observatories
  (minimum annual budget of 3 million/yr)
• Comprehensive, integrated measurement and
  analysis of ecological systems (multiple scales)
• Common research infrastructure and protocols
• Describe ecosystem function and predict
  anthropogenic induced changes
• Emphasis on new technology
• Equipment, equipment, equipment

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NEON - National Ecological Observatory Network
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NEON - National Ecological Observatory Network

• Pacific Northwest Observatory Workshop (February
  2001)
• Entire region is the Observatory
• Focal sites
• Satellite sites
• Temporary sites
• Wall to wall coverage
• Themes (alternatives)
• Responses of forests and aquatic systems to
  anthropogenic change
• Integration of environmental and social
  information for decision making at multiple
  scales
• Tracking emblematic totems (vital signs?)
  across environmental gradients

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Ecological Indicators for the Nation

• EPA requested a critical scientific evaluation of
  indicators to monitor ecological changes from
  natural or anthropogenic causes
• Report from Indicators Committee and others of
  the National Research Council to EPA (published
  in 2000)

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Ecological Indicators for the Nation

• Indicators Committee
• Suggests criteria for useful indicators
• Provides methods for integrating complex
  information into indicators
• Proposes indicators
• Identifies data useful in the design and
  computation of indicators
• Offers guidance for information/data
• Gathering
• Storing
• Communicating

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Ecological Indicators for the Nation

• Recommended indicators
• Extent and status of Nations ecosystems
• Land cover
• Land use
• Nations ecological capital
• Total species diversity
• Native species diversity
• Nutrient runoff
• Soil organic matter

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Ecological Indicators for the Nation

• Recommended indicators (continued)
• Ecological functioning and performance
• Carbon storage
• Production capacity
• Net primary productivity
• Lake trophic status
• Stream O2
• Agricultural systems
• Nutrient use efficiency
• Nutrient balance

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NRI - National Resources Inventory

• USDA - NRCS
• Partner Statistical Laboratory Iowa State
  University
• Geographic scope Private lands in U.S.
• Program start 1972 Rural Development Act (but
  forerunner of NRI began in 1934)
• Information
• www.nhq.nres.usda.gov/nri
• Goal Document trends in natural resources and
  environmental conditions

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NRI - National Resources Inventory

• Indicators
• Land cover
• Land use
• Soil erosion
• Prime farmland soils
• Wetlands
• Habitat diversity
• Selected conservation practices
• Other natural resource information

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NRI - National Resources Inventory

• Data collected at 800,000 sample locations
• Forerunners of NRI
• National Erosion Reconnaissance Survey - 1934
• Conservation Needs Inventory (CNI) - 1945

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EMAP - Environmental Monitoring and Assessment
Program

• Lead organization EPA
• Partner organizations NOAA, USGS, States
• Geographic scope U.S.
• Program start 1991
• Information
• www.epa.gov/emap/index.html

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EMAP - Environmental Monitoring and Assessment
Program

• Goal To develop the scientific understanding
  for translating environmental monitoring data
  from multiple spatial and temporal scales into
  assessments of ecological condition and forecasts
  of the future risks to the sustainability of our
  natural resources.
• Alternate goal (EPA Director) Build the
  scientific basis, and the local, state and tribal
  capacity to monitor for status and trends in the
  condition of the Nations aquatic systems
• Cost effective
• Scientifically defensible
• Quantifiable trends
• Supports GPRA

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EMAP - Environmental Monitoring and Assessment
Program
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EMAP - Environmental Monitoring and Assessment
Program

• EMAP approach - statistically-valid approach to
  determining state and national aquatic ecosystem
  condition
• Uses biological indicators (e.g. fish and benthic
  community structure) as integrators of aquatic
  ecosystem condition
• Establishes measurable baselines for health of
  aquatic ecosystems and assesses trends in
  condition
• Reduces costs and identifies most important areas
  and stressors
• Provides monitoring designs for consistent
  aggregation of data from local to national levels
  

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EMAP - Environmental Monitoring and Assessment
Program

• Indicator research in EMAP
• Indicator Development - finding characteristics
  of the environment that can be measured and
  related to the biological condition of a resource
  
• Streams, rivers, lakes, reservoirs, wetlands,
  estuaries, coral reefs
• Classification - meaningful groupings within
  resource types and/or ecosystem types to allow
  better statistical design and analysis
• Multi-Tier Monitoring Designs - scale defined
  statistical design that allows aggregation and
  interpretation of monitoring data

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EMAP - MAIA - Mid-Atlantic Integrated Assessment

• Demonstrates that regional monitoring is feasible
  at broad scale
• Biological and landscape indicators developed and
  tested
• Statistically-based sampling design for regional
  resources developed and tested
• First assessments of regional environmental
  condition
• An Ecological Assessment of the United States
  Mid-Atlantic Region A Landscape Atlas
• Condition of the Mid-Atlantic Estuaries
• Mid-Atlantic Highlands State of the Streams

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EMAP - MAIA - Mid-Atlantic Integrated Assessment
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EMAP - MAIA - Mid-Atlantic Integrated Assessment

• Landscape Indicators
• Population Density
• Population Change
• Road Density
• U-Index
• Roads by Streams
• Nitrate Deposition
• Sulfate Deposition
• Ozone Concentration
• Impoundment Density
• Crops gt 3 Slope
• Agriculture on gt 3 Slopes

• Forests
• Riparian
• Agriculture by Streams
• Nitrogen Load
• Phosphorus Load
• Soil Loss
• Forest Density
• Largest For. Patch
• Forest Edge
• Vegetation Loss
• Vegetation Gain

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EMAP - Western Pilot

• Program goal advance the science of ecosystem
  monitoring for western ecosystems
• Indicators
• Reference conditions
• Design
• Assessment methods
• Program goal build state capacity for long-term
  monitoring
• Monitoring tools
• Analytical capability
• Partnerships

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EMAP - Western Pilot

• Objectives
• Demonstrate indicators and designs for measuring
  environmental progress
• Unbiased estimates of ecological resource
  condition
• Comparative ranking of stressors
• Tools for biocriteria
• Demonstrate the value of survey based monitoring
  developed by EMAP
• Apply to real problems of regional and state
  interest

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EMAP - Western Pilot
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LTER Network - U.S. Long Term Ecological Research
Network

• Lead organization NSF
• Partner organizations NASA, ESA, Organization
  of Biological Field Stations, academic
  institutions, etc.
• Program start 1980
• Information
• www.lternet.edu
• Contacts
• www.lternet.edu/people/

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LTER Network - U.S. Long Term Ecological Research
Network

• 1. Andrews LTER2. Arctic Tundra LTER3.
  Baltimore Ecosystem Study4. Bonanza Creek LTER
  5. Central Arizona - Phoenix 6. Cedar Creek
  LTER7. Coweeta LTER8. Harvard Forest9. Hubbard
  Brook LTER 10.Jornada Basin11.Kellogg
  Biological Station12.Konza LTER13.Luquillo
  LTER14.McMurdo Dry Valleys15.Niwot Ridge
  LTER16.North Temperate Lakes17.Palmer Station
  18.Plum Island Ecosystem 19.Sevilleta
  LTER20.Shortgrass Steppe21.Virginia Coast
  Reserve22.Florida Coastal Everglades23.Georgia
  Coastal Ecosystems24.Santa Barbara Coastal

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LTER Network - U.S. Long Term Ecological Research
Network

• Mission
• Understanding ecological phenomena over long
  temporal and large spatial scales
• Creating a legacy of well-designed and documented
  long-term experiments and observations for future
  generations
• Conducting major synthetic and theoretical
  efforts
• Providing information for the identification and
  solution of ecological problems

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LTER Network - U.S. Long Term Ecological Research
Network

• Research on core areas
• Pattern and control of primary production
• Spatial and temporal distribution of populations
  selected to represent trophic structures
• Pattern and control of organic matter
  accumulation and decomposition in surface layers
  and sediments
• Patterns of inorganic inputs and movements of
  nutrients through soils, groundwater and surface
  waters
• Patterns and frequency of disturbances

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ARMI - Amphibian and Reptile Monitoring Initiative

• Lead organizations USGS-BRD
• Partners NPS, FWS, BLM (DOI agencies)
• Program start 2001
• Contacts Daniel James (National ARMI
  Coordinator)
• Annual funding 2 million/yr
• Information
• http//monitoring2.er.usgs.gov/armi/index.cfm

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ARMI - Amphibian and Reptile Monitoring Initiative

• Objectives
• Initiate long-term monitoring to determine Trends
  in amphibian populations
• Conduct research into causes of amphibian
  declines and malformations
• Make use of relevant expertise within USGS and
  DOI
• Make the information available to cooperators,
  land managers, the scientific community, and the
  general public

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ARMI - Amphibian and Reptile Monitoring Initiative

• Integration
• Common databases and reporting
• Comparable protocols, analytical tools, Training,
  and planning
• Research on causes of change, which at all levels
  is guided by monitoring results
• Synthesis across ecological regions, scientific
  disciplines, and governmental and institutional
  boundaries
• Modeling