LeeAnna Young, Leanne Penry, Liz Montgomery, Johnathan Sutton, John Atkinson

Why are exotic invasives important? Exotic invasive vegetation can severely impact native vegetation by consuming precious resources such as light, water, nutrients, and space and eventually leave healthy native plants susceptible to disease (The H. John Heinz III Center for Science, Economics and the Environment, 2008).

To create a method for measuring the extent of exotic invasive species. To make this method user-friendly for volunteers of Triangle Land Conservancy. Demonstrating how our method can be used in several test areas, including NCSU main and centennial campus and Schenck Forest.

Our Method Materials: Various colored pin flags (3 colors- two of each) Rope with premeasured lengths (2m, 5m) and stake attached Clipboard with transect data sheet, plot layout sheet, and pencil Metric tape measure (100m) Diameter tape (record units on data sheet)

To locate and set up plots: 1.Find starting point of stream segment. 2.Measure 8m from stream bank and place stake with attached rope in the center of your plot. 3.Hold rope taunt and place different color flags at the 2m and 5m markings at four equally spaced locations within the circle. 4.Survey this plot according to directions below and record data on datasheet. 5.Measure or pace 30m downstream from the center of plot 1 to determine center of plot 2. 6.Survey plot 2 and record. 7.Repeat for plots 3, 4, 5, and 6 (pacing 30m away for each plot). Our Method Cont.

To survey invasive exotic vegetation in the plots: 1.Refer to identification guide to determine acronym and identification characteristics. 2.Survey the invasive exotic grass and shrub vegetation in the 2m circle. Estimate percent cover and circle corresponding category on data sheet for each species. 3.Inside the 5m circle, locate exotic invasive trees using identification guide. Count how many of each tree species are within this circle and record. Measure each exotic invasive tree’s diameter. Record each tree diameter in a separate blank. Write the units of measurement inside parenthesis.