Current and planned tools and resources

Multi-institutional collaborative program Established in 1988 to document the composition and status of natural vegetation of the Carolinas. Provides data services & analysis to EEP and its contractors

Public Carolina vegetation plot database Revision & documentation of the National Vegetation Classification (NVC) to better serve NC users Tools for identification and prediction of existing and potential vegetation Reference information on all vegetation types of the Carolinas

Flexible in application Multi-scaler Most cited paper in Castanea. Basis for new national protocols for EPA and NEON. Informed and consistent with the FGDC & ESA standards for vegetation sampling and classification (Ecol. Monogr. 2009)

Available data include - Species frequency - Species importance - Woody stem diameters - Site data - Soil data - Maps of occurrences - Descriptions ~5200 High-quality NC reference sites (8250) ~230 NC community types with >= 4 plots (337) ~420 NC community types with >= 1 plot (680) ~2800 NC species (3300)

EEP contractors can use plot & NVC data to establish site-specific restoration targets. Cheaper and better than the traditional approach Growers can better predict material needs. EEP can better evaluate plans and anticipate significantly higher success.

Traditional EEP restoration method Consult brief habitat-based plant lists or visit a nearby quasi-natural reference site Consult brief habitat-based plant lists or visit a nearby quasi-natural reference site Create a restoration plan Create a restoration plan Implement the plan Implement the plan Monitor survival of planted stems for 5 yrs Monitor survival of planted stems for 5 yrs Replant if needed Replant if needed

Exploit a broad array of reference plots to derive site-specific restoration targets (cheaper and more accurate) Design site-specific restoration plan (site variables increase likelihood of success) Implement the plan Monitor change and continuously predict likelihood of success Employ adaptive management along the way

Detailed, justifiable, & efficient generation of restoration targets. State-of-the-art predictions that satisfy the most stringent current and future restoration guidelines.

Phase 1 – Web tool for documenting reference conditions by NVC types (partially implemented). Phase 2 – Constrain NVC types and plots by geographic region (in development). Phase 3 – Web tool for predicting a target from site conditions (prototype complete -- future development). Better, cheaper, more defendable restoration targets

Physiognomic Group

Coming soon (in the order shown) Flagging of exotic species Export function Links to the NC Heritage Program community descriptions User ability to constrain summary table to plots in a specific region Embedded key to guide navigation Expert systems to predict type based on site variables

Evaluation of proposed species using the SE Atlas

NVC Community distribution of candidate species

CVS proposes to develop a tool that draws on multiple datasets to aid in selection and evaluation of species for planting designs. This will help:  Design firms in selecting planting materials,  EEP in evaluating proposed planting materials,  Growers to better predict demand.

Dataset 1: Community composition, as documented in the Vegetation of the Carolinas database, Dataset 2: Geographic distribution, as documented in the SE Floristic Atlas, Database 3: Species environmental tolerance, as documented in the CVS reference plot database.