SFCN Forest Monitoring Protocol Data Package (2020 - 2025) Version 1
Whelan KR , Herrmann KR , Andrews CM . 2026. SFCN Forest Monitoring Protocol Data Package (2020 - 2025) Version 1. National Park Service. Fort Collins CO https://doi.org/10.57830/2321117
Forest vegetation monitoring is conducted by the National Park Service (NPS) to assess the status and trends of forest resources and inform their long-term management and conservation. The South Florida/Caribbean Network (SFCN), part of the NPS Southeast Region, monitors forest vegetation in seven national park units: Big Cypress National Preserve, Biscayne National Park, Buck Island Reef National Monument, Dry Tortugas National Park, Everglades National Park, Salt River Bay National Historical Park and Ecological Preserve, and Virgin Islands National Park. The primary monitoring objective is to detect meaningful changes in species composition and vegetation structure within focal forest communities and determine whether these changes are correlated with trends in key environmental stressors. Focal forest communities include mangrove forests, coastal hardwood hammocks, pinelands, cypress forests, and tropical dry and wet forests. This data package contains forest vegetation monitoring data collected across the seven park units between 2020 and 2025. Data include canopy cover, coarse and fine woody debris measurements, vascular plant species composition and cover, seedling and sapling measurements, tree measurements, and event records associated with plot establishment, reconnaissance, quality assurance/quality control, and plot revisits. Together, these data support assessment of forest vegetation status and change across SFCN parks. Data were collected according to the SFCN Forest Vegetation Monitoring: Standard Operating Procedures. Additional Resources: South Florida/Caribbean Network. 2020. SFCN Forest Vegetation Monitoring: Standard Operating Procedures. National Park Service https://irma.nps.gov/DataStore/Reference/Profile/2267809 Whelan KR, Shamblin RB, Prats M, Patterson JM, Londono M, Muxo R. 2020. South Florida/Caribbean Network forest vegetation monitoring: Protocol implementation plan. Natural Resource Report. NPS/SFCN/NRR—2020/2064. National Park Service. Fort Collins, Colorado https://irma.nps.gov/DataStore/Reference/Profile/2271719
- Type
- Data Package
- Authors
- Whelan, Kevin; Herrmann, Katherine; Andrews, Caitlin
- Date of Issue
- 2026-10
- Publisher
- National Park Service
- DOI
- 10.57830/2321117
- Units
- BICY , BISC , BUIS , DRTO , EVER , SARI , VIIS
- Keywords
- Canopy Cover, Coarse Woody Debris, Coastal Hardwood Hammocks, Cypress, Duff, Fires, Forests, Fuel, Hammock, Herbs, Landscapes | Extreme Disturbance Events | Extreme Disturbance Events, Litter, Manchineel, Mangrove, Non-coastal Hardwood Hammock, Pinelands, Saplings, Seedlings, Shrubs, Trees, Tropical Dry Forest, Tropical Moist Forest, Woody Debris
- Subjects
- Ecological Framework: Geology and Soils | Geomorphology | Coastal/Oceanographic Features and Processes , Ecological Framework: Biological Integrity | Focal Species or Communities | Wetland Communities , Ecological Framework: Biological Integrity | Focal Species or Communities | Grassland/Herbaceous Communities , Ecological Framework: Biological Integrity | Focal Species or Communities | Forest/Woodland Communities , Ecological Framework: Biological Integrity | Focal Species or Communities | Vegetation Complex , Ecological Framework: Landscapes | Fire and Fuel Dynamics | Fire and Fuel Dynamics
- License
- Public Domain