OOS 17 - US National Vegetation Classification as a Tool for Sustainable Environmental Management and Conservation

Tuesday, August 4, 2009: 1:30 PM-5:00 PM
Sandia/Santa Ana, Albuquerque Convention Center
Organizer:
Ayzik I. Solomeshch, University of California
Co-organizer:
Todd Keeler-Wolf, California Department of Fish and Wildlife
Moderator:
David Roberts, Montana State University
The completion of the National Vegetation Classification Standards document has opened up an opportunity to apply a vast amount of accumulated knowledge about plant community diversity to the management and conservation of vegetation on a continent-wide scale. This opportunity provides a mechanism for evaluating the importance of local vegetation diversity on a national scale. This symposium, for the first time at such a scale, will bring together experts in vegetation classification with ecologists and natural resource managers from a broad range of universities, resource agencies, and NGOs to determine the most effective use of classification for sustainable management objectives. Speakers will share their expertise in application of vegetation classification for development of vegetation management plans, environmental impact reports, strengthening monitoring and assessment protocols, and improving the effectiveness of compensatory mitigation. We will begin the symposium with an overview of common practices in developing vegetation management plans on protected, public, and private lands. We will then move on to evaluate experimental evidence concerning the uses of hydrological alteration, logging, fire, livestock, and herbicide application on successional processes and the biological value of vegetation resulting from the use of those tools. The symposium will conclude with a panel summary and general discussion including a question/answer session focused on questions in sustainable ecosystem management. While the symposium focuses on linking vegetation classification, management, and conservation, individual talks will be presented within the broader conceptual framework of how ecological theory can be applied to sustainable management of both plant and wildlife diversity.
1:30 PM
 The National Vegetation Classification Standard: Implementation and outreach for the state of Oklahoma
Todd Fagin, Coordinate Solutions, Inc.; Bruce W. Hoagland, University of Oklahoma; David W. Lowther, Coordinate Solutions, Inc.
1:50 PM
 Application of the US National Vegetation Classification as a guide to ecosystem restoration and management in the Carolinas and assessment of current data
Robert K. Peet, University of North Carolina; Elizabeth R. Matthews, University of California Santa Barbara; M. Forbes Boyle, University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill; Thomas R. Wentworth, NC State University; Brenda L. Wichmann, North Carolina State University
2:30 PM
 Implementation of vegetation classification for restoration and management of Californian grasslands
Ayzik I. Solomeshch, University of California; Michael Barbour, University of California , Davis
2:50 PM
 Evaluating mitigation effectiveness of Californian vernal pools using community type classification
Michael Barbour, University of California , Davis; Ayzik I. Solomeshch, University of California; Roderick L. Macdonald, University of California; Christina Owens, University of California Davis
3:10 PM
3:40 PM
 Using vegetation classification and mapping to guide conservation planning in California
Todd Keeler-Wolf, California Department of Fish and Wildlife
4:20 PM
 Topographic complexity governs cumulative area-elevation gradients in differing Appalachian landscapes
Elizabeth A. Crisfield, The Pennsylvania State University; Erica AH Smithwick, The Pennsylvania State University
4:40 PM
 Using LIDAR for MULTI-Scaled assessments of forest structure
Van R. Kane, University of Washington; Robert McGaughey, USDA Forest Service; Rolf Gersonde, Seattle Public Utilities; James A. Lutz, Utah State University; Jonathan D. Bakker, University of Washington; Jerry F. Franklin, University of Washington
See more of: Organized Oral Session
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