Spring Hill Ranch and the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve

Interobserver error in grassland vegetation surveys: sources and implications

Journal of Plant Ecology ◽

10.1093/jpe/rtaa051 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 13 (5) ◽

pp. 641-648

Author(s):

Lloyd W Morrison ◽

Sherry A Leis ◽

Michael D DeBacker

Keyword(s):

Species Composition ◽

Spatial Scale ◽

Tallgrass Prairie ◽

Estimation Error ◽

Observer Error ◽

Plot Size ◽

Interobserver Error ◽

Vegetation Surveys ◽

Actual Change ◽

National Preserve

Abstract Aims Observer error is an unavoidable aspect of vegetation surveys involving human observers. We quantified four components of interobserver error associated with long-term monitoring of prairie vegetation: overlooking error, misidentification error, cautious error and estimation error. We also evaluated the association of plot size with pseudoturnover due to observer error, and how documented pseudochanges in species composition and abundance compared with recorded changes in the vegetation over a 4-year interval. Methods This study was conducted at Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve, Kansas. Monitoring sites contained 10 plots; each plot consisted of a series of four nested frames (0.01, 0.1, 1 and 10 m2). The herbaceous species present were recorded in each of the nested frames, and foliar cover was visually estimated within seven cover categories at the 10 m2 spatial scale only. Three hundred total plots (30 sites) were surveyed, and 28 plots selected at random were resurveyed to assess observer error. Four surveyors worked in teams of two. Important Findings At the 10 m2 spatial scale, pseudoturnover resulting from overlooking error averaged 18.6%, compared with 1.4% resulting from misidentification error and 0.6% resulting from cautious error. Pseudoturnover resulting from overlooking error increased as plot size decreased, although relocation error likely played a role. Recorded change in species composition over a 4-year interval (excluding potential misidentification error and cautious error) was 30.7%, which encompassed both pseudoturnover due to overlooking error and actual change. Given a documented overlooking error rate of 18.6%, this suggests the actual change for the 4-year period was only 12.1%. For estimation error, 26.2% of the time a different cover class was recorded. Over the 4-year interval, 46.9% of all records revealed different cover classes, suggesting that 56% of the records of change in cover between the two time periods were due to observer error.

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Factors Affecting Transformer Plant Species Distribution in Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve

Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science ◽

10.1660/062.112.0208 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 112 (1/2) ◽

pp. 57 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Craig C. Young ◽

Lloyd W. Morrison ◽

Jennifer L. Haack

Keyword(s):

Plant Species ◽

Species Distribution ◽

Tallgrass Prairie ◽

Factors Affecting ◽

National Preserve

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Eating While the Eating’s Good: How Fire Creates a Magnet for Grazing Animals

Frontiers for Young Minds ◽

10.3389/frym.2021.622451 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 ◽

Author(s):

Sherry A. Leis ◽

Carol E. Baldwin

Keyword(s):

Plant Growth ◽

Tallgrass Prairie ◽

Management Team ◽

Microbial Life ◽

Burned Areas ◽

Wildlife Species ◽

Pyric Herbivory ◽

National Preserve

Tallgrass prairie is disappearing because farming and development have replaced it. This ecosystem is home to a unique group of plants, animals, and microbial life. The processes of fire, grazing by animals, and drought are important to the tallgrass prairie. They can influence each other and prairie life. For example, pyric-herbivory is the interaction of fire and grazing on the landscape. Burned areas attract herbivores (plant eaters) like a magnet. After fires, plant growth is nutritious and easy to find. Herbivores prefer grazing recently burned areas, creating patches of different habitats that support many other wildlife species, too. You can see pyric-herbivory in action at the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve, where fire, cattle, and bison are a part of the preserve’s management team! Healthy tallgrass prairie needs both fire and grazing.

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