1. Improving Restoration Using CVS-Designed Web-Based Tools 7 October 2009 M. Forbes Boyle University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

2. GO OVER WEB-BASED TOOLS DEVELOPED BY CVS AND THEIR COLLABORATORS: 1)Vegetation of the Carolinas Website 2)NC Atlas of the SE US Flora OBJECTIVES

3. EEP-CVS Collaboration EEP wants to do a better job creating natural ecosystems. CVS provides improved reference data, target design, monitoring, and data management and analysis

4. Document reference conditions Derive restoration targets Design site-specific restoration plan Implement the plan Monitor change and assess success Employ adaptive management

5. How reference targets are generated: Currently, ~ 5000 high- quality vegetation plots in the CVS database DATA COLLECTED INCLUDE: -species occurrence (across multiple scales) -species importance values -woody stem diameter tally -environmental dataset: (soil nutrients, texture, geomorphology, etc.) **ALL PLOTS MAPPED TO FINE-SCALE COMMUNITY TYPE**

6. Resources for community composition Carolina Vegetation Survey website http://cvs.bio.unc.edu/ http://cvs.bio.unc.edu/ Mike Schafale & Alan Weakley. 1990. Classification of the natural communities of North Carolina. http://www.ncnhp.org/Images/Other%20Publications/class.pdf http://www.ncnhp.org/Images/Other%20Publications/class.pdf U.S. National Vegetation Classification (NVC)

7. CVS improvements over the past year have led to the development of a dynamic website: “Vegetation of the Carolinas” http://cvs.bio.unc.edu/vegetation.htm http://cvs.bio.unc.edu/vegetation.htm How can CVS help EEP more efficiently select, monitor, and evaluate contractor planting plans? Includes: -List of all vegetation types within Carolinas -Vegetation / environmental stats for all types based on CVS plot data -Hyperlinks to descriptions of each type -Distribution maps

8. Currently, web site is set up to improve upon restoration projects by: 1)Providing contractors a more ecologically meaningful species / planting list (CVS dataset is in perfect position for this, now that vegetation types are now available on-line and linked to plot floristics) 2)Developing evaluation tools that EEP can use that will save time and $$

9. http://cvs.bio.unc.edu/

10. Physiognomic Great Group http://cvs.bio.unc.edu/vegetation.htm

11. Formation Sorts types based on dominant growth form, successional status, site units, etc. Ecological Sorts types based on watershed size, geology, soil chemistry, dominant vegetation, etc. NVC Association -Lowest type in the hierarchy. -Typically floristic- driven -Understanding of types improves with MORE DATA

15. CVS Plot Summary Data Page!!!

16. The Future of the “Vegetation of the Carolinas” Page - Include decision tree (dichotomous key) that navigates to groups - General description of fine-scale groups: Quercus pagoda - Quercus phellos - Quercus lyrata - Quercus michauxii / Chasmanthium latifolium Forest (CEGL007356) » Description: flat, large floodplains found within the Triassic Basin of the Piedmont; geomorphologically similar to Coastal Plain floodplains, but restricted to the Triassic Basin. (NC) » 4th approx: Piedmont Swamp Forest » Links: CVS Plot Summary | NatureServe Explorer | VegBankCVS Plot SummaryNatureServe ExplorerVegBank - Include print-friendly versions of these pages to use in the field - +/- keys to show/hide lower groups and vegetation tables

17. SE Flora Atlas http://herbarium.unc.edu/seflora/firstviewer.htm

18. SE Flora Atlas Carya carolinae-septentrionalis, Radford et al. 1968 How to integrate new sources of data?? http://herbarium.unc.edu/seflora/firstviewer.htm

19. Add dynamic access to NCU collection Carya carolinae-septentrionalis NCU RAB

20. Carya carolinae-septentrionalis NCU RAB USDA CVS Add USDA PLANTS records & CVS vegetation plot data

21. Community types with the concept

22. These are the “beginning” stages of the development of web-based tools that will soon be AUTOMATED: FOR PROJECT PLANNING: -Environmental -Spatial Project Manager Enters: Community CVS Website Delivers: Species List DB Planting List Community Types Linked To: Environmental Dataset

23. These are the “beginning” stages of the development of web-based tools that will soon be AUTOMATED: FOR PROJECT EVALUATION: -Species List -Density Contractor Supplies: Density/BA Thresholds CVS Website Checks: Correct Species Other measures of success/failure CVS Website Delivers: PROJECT SCORE

24. Links Carolina Vegetation Survey http://cvs.bio.unc.edu NCU Atlas of the SE flora http://herbarium.unc.edu/seflora/firstviewer.htmThanks EEP, NSF (SEEK, VegBank), NC Bot. Garden

25. QUESTIONS? - COMMENTS