Tuesday, August 4, 2009: 1:30 PM-5:00 PM
Sandia/Santa Ana, Albuquerque Convention Center
OOS 17 - US National Vegetation Classification as a Tool for Sustainable Environmental Management and Conservation
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.
Organizer:Ayzik I. Solomeshch, University of California
Co-organizer:Todd Keeler-Wolf, California Department of Fish and Game
Moderator:David Roberts, Montana State University
1:30 PMOOS 17-1The 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 PMOOS 17-2Application 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 at Chapel Hill, Elizabeth R. Matthews, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, M. Forbes Boyle, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Thomas R. Wentworth, North Carolina State University, Brenda L. Wichmann, North Carolina State University
2:10 PMOOS 17-3Applying the National Vegetation Classification in the National Park Service: Synergies between classification and mapping
Chris Lea, National Park Service
2:30 PMOOS 17-4Implementation of vegetation classification for restoration and management of Californian grasslands
Ayzik I. Solomeshch, University of California, Michael Barbour, University of California
2:50 PMOOS 17-5Evaluating 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 Break
3:20 PMOOS 17-6Identifying candidate reference sites for a national wetland condition assessment; the role of the U.S. National Vegetation Classification and other wetland classifications
Don Faber-Langendoen, NatureServe, Regan Lyons, NatureServe, Pat Comer, NatureServe
3:40 PMOOS 17-7Using vegetation classification and mapping to guide conservation planning in California
Todd Keeler-Wolf, California Department of Fish and Game
4:00 PMOOS 17-8Is leaf habit or phylogenetic history a better predictor of variation in plant functional traits and foliar nutrients in 87 tree species from a tropical dry forest?
Jennifer S. Powers, University of Minnesota, Peter L. Tiffin, University of Minnesota
4:20 PMOOS 17-9Topographic 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 PMOOS 17-10Using 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, University of Washington, Jonathan D. Bakker, University of Washington, Jerry F. Franklin, University of Washington

See more of Organized Oral Session

See more of The 94th ESA Annual Meeting (August 2 -- 7, 2009)