Invasive exotic plant monitoring at Colorado National Monument: 2019 field season

Abstract

Invasive exotic plant (IEP) species are a significant threat to natural ecosystem integrity and biodiversity, and controlling them is a high priority for the National Park Service. The North-ern Colorado Plateau Network (NCPN) selected the early detection of IEPs as one of 11 monitoring protocols to be implemented as part of its long-term monitoring program. This report represents work completed at Colorado National Monument during 2019. During monitoring conducted June 12–19, a total of 20 IEP species were detected on monitoring routes and transects. Of these, 12 were priority species that accounted for 791 separate IEP patches. IEPs were most prevalent along riparian areas. Yellow sweetclover (Melilotis officinale) and yellow salsify (Tragopogon dubius) were the most commonly detected priority IEPs along monitoring routes, representing 73% of all priority patches. Patches of less than 40 m2 were typical of nearly all priority IEP species except yellow sweetclover. A patch management index (PMI) was created by combining patch size class and percent cover for each patch. In 2019, a large majority of priority IEP patches were assigned a PMI score of low (46%) or very low (50%), indicating small and/or sparse patches where control is generally still feasible. This is similar to the numbers for 2017, when 99% of patches scored low or very low in PMI. Seventy-eight percent of tree patches were classified as seedlings or saplings, which require less effort to control than mature trees. Cheatgrass (Anisantha tectorum) was the most common IEP recorded in transects, found in 30–77% of transects across the different routes. It was the only species found in transects on all monitoring routes. When treated and untreated extra areas near the West Entrance were compared, the treated area had comparable or higher lev-els of IEPs than the untreated area. When segments of monitoring routes conducted between 2003 and 2019 were compared, results were mixed, due to the different species monitored in different time periods. But in general, the number of IEPs per 100 meters is increasing or remaining constant over time. There were notable increases in IEP patches per 100 meters on several routes in 2019: field bindweed (Convolvulus arvensis) along East Glade Park Road; Siberian elm (Ulmus pumila) in Red Canyon; yellow salsify along East Glade Park Road, No Thoroughfare Canyon, No Thoroughfare Trail, and Red Canyon; and yellow sweetclover in No Thoroughfare Canyon and Red Canyon. Network staff will return to re-sample monitoring routes in 2021.