Vegetation Research and Monitoring

Plant Community Assessment Program (PCAP)

 

Cleveland Metroparks’ plant communities face increasing amounts of stress caused by human disturbances including urbanization and habitat fragmentation as well as from environmental disturbances such as the introduction of forest pest and pathogens, overabundant deer and invasive plant species. In order to understand the possible changes in the future, plant communities are evaluated across the park district through the Plant Community Assessment Program (PCAP).

PCAP was initiated in 2010 with 400 plots sampled throughout the park district over 4 years and continues on a 5-year repeat cycle. Every year two crews of 4 seasonals work to complete the sample. This long-term vegetation monitoring project reports on the composition and existing condition of plant communities in Cleveland Metroparks and identifies how these communities change over time.
In addition to documenting vegetation community composition and structure, PCAP monitoring assessments provide estimates of invasive plant species distributions, the extent and species preference of deer browse, and potential threats to forest infrastructure by forest pests and pathogens (i.e. emerald ash borer, gypsy moth, beech bark disease) by documenting distribution of susceptible species.  Over time, results will be used to assess the impact of management, wildlife, invasive species, and the surrounding urban matrix on the Park District’s natural infrastructure. Information attained from this program provides context to guide and prioritize future conservation and restoration programs in subsequent years.

Beyond the program’s in house management, multiple research collaborations have been established using the PCAP experimental design and data. These collaborations provide Cleveland Metroparks with expanded data analysis. Results of such collaborations reveal patterns in ecological processes which can be used by the Division of Natural Resources to modify land management techniques to optimize ecosystem function.

Technical Reports:

• Plant Community Assessment Program (PCAP) Baseline Report 2010-2013. Cleveland Metroparks Technical Report 2013/NR-04
• Long-term Terrestrial and Aquatic Resource Monitoring and Assessment Program for Cleveland Metroparks v. 1.0. Cleveland Metroparks Technical Report 2008/NR-04
• Assessing Cleveland Metroparks Tree Cover. Part 1 Urban Tree Canopy, Part 2 i-Tree Eco system Analysis

Open-Source Collaboration Documents:

• Catella, S. A., Eysenbach, S. R., & Abbott, K. C. (2019). Novel insights into how the mean and heterogeneity of abiotic conditions together shape forb species richness patterns in the Allegheny plateau ecoregion. Ecology and Evolution. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.5508
• Cope, C. G., Eysenbach, S. R., Faidiga, A. S., Hausman, C. E., Medeiros, J. S.,  Murphy, J. E., and Burns, J. H.. 2021. Potential interactive effects between invasive Lumbricus terrestris earthworms and the invasive plant Alliaria petiolata on a native plant Podophyllum peltatum in northeastern Ohio, USA. AoB PLANTS. 13(1): 1-10. plaa073. https://doi.org/10.1093/aobpla/plaa073

ACACIA RESTORATION MONITORING

Cleveland Metroparks acquired Acacia County Club and golf course in 2012 from The Conservation Fund with the intention of restoring the 155-acre golf course to a natural state. Acacia Reservation had been managed as a golf course since 1921. In 2013, 40 permanent monitoring plots were set up throughout Acacia Reservation to track changes during the restoration process. Annual surveys of these plots were conducted from 2013 to 2018. In 2023, a 10-year resurvey is planned to determine restoration success and plant community changes.

Restoration management activities that have occurred throughout Acacia Reservation include the removal of drainage tile, plowing/tilling for seeding or tree plantings, and the restructuring of Euclid creek and its floodplain. In unmanaged areas, sod-forming grasses create a thick, dense mat that is hard  for early successional species to breach. As a result, species richness and diversity at 6 years did not increase or only increased slightly. On the other hand, restored areas show substantial increases in species richness and diversity even when limited to planting one tree. It is important to note that invasive plant management conducted every year was essential for maintaining lower levels of Canada thistle throughout the reservation.

Publications:

• Acacia Vegetation Monitoring Webinar on June 22, 2019, for Interagency Ecological Restoration Quality Committee (IERQC).
• Acacia Reservation: Ecological Restoration Master Plan May 2014-BioHabitats

A View of Acacia Restoration Changes Over Time

Exclosures

An exclosure is an enclosed area with fencing eight feet or more in height to keep deer out. Exclosures in natural areas are one management tool our natural resources staff use to protect restoration efforts such as tree plantings and provides an opportunity to study forest health and regeneration without the pressure of deer browse.

Native ecosystems and high-quality habitats support a delicate balance among various flora, fungal, and wildlife populations. Deer are an important part of that ecosystem biodiversity. They survive on a diet of readily available plants including leaves, twigs, fruits, and nuts. However, deer populations have increased significantly due in part to an expanded amount of forest edge habitat and loss of natural predators.

High levels of browse take place gradually and over a long period of time and can result in a reduction of regeneration, smaller stunted plants, and a loss of species diversity. This selective browse means that certain tree species are targeted often to the point where they can no longer survive, halting forest regeneration and shifting the makeup of future forests. The resulting forest has a more open understory with clear browse lines that is vulnerable to invasion by non-native plants such as Japanese barberry and multiflora rose. Over-browsing not only affects young trees and wildflowers, there is a ripple effect. Any wildlife dependent on these plants for food, cover or nesting are also adversely impacted.
 
Exclosures have been utilized for more than a decade across the park district in a variety of sizes and for multiple objectives. Several small exclosures are regularly monitored to look at differences in forest understory and evaluate the recovery of forest vegetation as we work to manage our natural areas. These areas were carefully selected based on different plant community types, species composition, and amount of deer browse pressure. Larger exclosures are used as part of restoration projects and reforestation efforts, protecting hundreds of newly planted trees and natural seedlings. Other exclosures are used to protect specific management practices such as forest thinning to encourage the growth of tree species such as oak or bigtooth aspen.

Exclosures have proven to be an effective resource for plants by increasing diversity, supporting forest regeneration, and providing protection during initial vegetation establishment of restoration projects. By eliminating deer browse pressure, woody and herbaceous plant communities have responded in significant ways. Monitoring results show taller plants, larger populations of plants, greater number of species, and higher diversity in woody plants. The suppression of deer browse also appears to limit the influence of invasive plant species.