Analysis of vegetation changes in Rock Creek Park, 1991-2007

Jeff S. Hatfield; Cairn Krafft

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USGS · 70177143

Analysis of vegetation changes in Rock Creek Park, 1991-2007

Jeff S. Hatfield·Cairn Krafft

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Abstract

Vegetation data collected at Rock Creek Park every 4 years during 1991-2007 were analyzed for differences among 3 regions within the park and among years. The variables measured and analyzed were percentage of twigs browsed, percentage of canopy cover, species richness of herbaceous plants, number of tree seedlings in each of 7 height classes, tree seedling stocking rate for low deer density and high deer density areas, percentage of tree and shrub cover < 2 m in height, mean diameter at breast height (DBH) of trees > 1 cm DBH, number of tree stems > 1 cm DBH, species richness of trees and shrubs, and mean height of the 5 tallest trees in each plot quadrant. Repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to test for differences and, except for some differences in tree species composition among the 3 regions, no differences (P > 0.01) were found among the 3 regions in the variables discussed above. Many of the variables showed very significant differences (P < 0.01) among years, and causative factors should be investigated further. In addition, importance values were calculated for the 10 most important tree species in each region and changes over time were reported. Future sampling recommendations are also discussed.

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Jeff S. Hatfield, Cairn Krafft. 2009. Analysis of vegetation changes in Rock Creek Park, 1991-2007. https://pubs.usgs.gov/publication/70177143

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