Synthesis of Vegetation Data for Nine National Parks
OVERVIEW: The mutual goals are to develop papers that summarize the first round of vegetation monitoring in the nine Great Lake network parks. The papers will be published by 2016, which coincides with the tenth anniversary of monitoring by the network and the 100th anniversary of the NPS. These papers target key topics that are of interest to many network parks, have direct management relevance, and will address issues related to climate change. STATEMENT OF JOINT OBJECTIVES/PROJECT MANAGEMENT PLAN: Develop two peer reviewed papers that address how species currently present in Great Lakes Network national parks are responding to climate change, identify anticipated species range shifts and which of these may warrant concern, and discuss how shifting species distributions may affect community dynamics within network parks. RECIPIENT INVOLVEMENT: The recipient will provide expertise for data synthesis, provide data on plant functional traits for the particular species analyzed as part of this project, synthesize data and prepare first drafts of the papers. NATIONAL PARK SERVICE INVOLVEMENT: The NPS will provide long term monitoring data to address the objectives, provide data on fire history in network parks, assist with specifics of the project, and work directly with the Principal Investigator and graduate students on the project. NPS did not solicit full and open competition for this award based the following criteria: The PI is the foremost authority on long-term change of the herbaceous layer in forests of the upper Midwest, authoring over a dozen papers and several book chapters on the subject. He also has a proven track record of involvement with the Great Lakes I&M Network, providing his assistance in the past on the development of a long-term forest monitoring protocol and assessing methods for deer browse. In both projects, all deliverables were produced in a timely manner and were of high quality.
Office: National Park Service
Lead Grants Management Specialist
Phone 4026611662
