OOS 17
The Development of Regional Plot-Based Vegetation Classifications: How Classifications Based on Large Sets of Plot Data Further Our Understanding of Vegetation Ecology and Conservation

Wednesday, August 7, 2013: 8:00 AM-11:30 AM
101D, Minneapolis Convention Center
Organizer:
Daniel S. Wovcha, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
Co-organizers:
Shannon Menard, NatureServe; and Kurt A. Rusterholz, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
Moderator:
Kurt A. Rusterholz, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
Vegetation classifications are commonly used in biodiversity conservation and resource management. When based on analysis of large, geographically and ecologically broad sets of vegetation plot data, they can also reveal previously unrecognized patterns in vegetation and raise interesting ecological questions for further study. Researchers in several states and provinces have been developing regional classifications of native vegetation through numerical analysis of extensive field data from sample plots distributed across broad ranges of upland and wetland habitats. In addition to their use in the development of vegetation classifications, large and actively updated regional vegetation plot datasets are routinely queried for other vegetation and plant ecology studies and are likely to be important resources for future scientists, allowing for investigation of change in plant species associations over time, shifts in native species ranges, and the timing and spread of exotic species invasions in native habitats. This session, centered around the experiences of scientists working with vegetation plot data, will include discussion of the value of large sets of plot data for ecological studies; overviews of the process of analyzing geographically and ecologically broad datasets to produce useful classifications; how plot-based classifications are being applied in biodiversity conservation and forest management; and discussion of the complex issues associated with sampling and classifying aquatic vegetation.
8:00 AM
 Wild and wonderful West Virginia wetlands: First iteration of a plot-based vegetation classification
Elizabeth A. Byers, West Virginia Division of Natural Resources; James P. Vanderhorst, West Virginia Division of Natural Resources; Brian P. Streets, West Virginia Division of Natural Resources
8:20 AM
 Developing vegetation classifications for federal lands in New York using analysis of plot data
Greg Edinger, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
8:40 AM
 Twenty years of sampling and classifying vegetation in California
Todd Keeler-Wolf, California Department of Fish and Wildlife
9:00 AM
 Minnesota’s native plant community classification: From a set of vegetation plot data to a statewide classification
Daniel S. Wovcha, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources; Norman E. Aaseng, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources; John C. Almendinger, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources; Robert P. Dana, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources; Dan S. Hanson, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources; Michael D. Lee, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources; Erika R. Rowe, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources; Kurt A. Rusterholz, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
9:20 AM
 Classifying lake plant communities: Challenges and approaches
Donna J. Perleberg, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources; Paul J. Radomski, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
9:40 AM
10:30 AM
 Compilation of a national plot database for the Canadian National Vegetation Classification and its contribution to the development of Ontario’s Ecological Land Classification treed vegetation types
Peter Uhlig, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources; Ken Baldwin, Natural Resources Canada, Canadian Forest Service; Kimberly A. Chapman, Natural Resources Canada, Canadian Forest Service; Monique C. Wester, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources
11:10 AM
 Silvicultural interpretation of vegetation plot data
John C. Almendinger, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources