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https://hdl.handle.net/11681/6481| Title: | Floristic index for establishing assessment standards : a case study for Northern Ohio |
| Authors: | Andreas, Barbara K. Lichvar, Robert |
| Keywords: | Coefficient of conservatism Exotic species Disturbance Natural areas assessment Environmental management Ecosystem management Wetlands Wetland plants Floristic Quality Assessment System |
| Publisher: | U.S. Army Engineer Waterways Experiment Station |
| Series/Report no.: | Technical Report (Wetlands Research Program (U.S.)) ; no. Technical Report WRP-DE-8 |
| Abstract: | The Floristic Quality Assessment System was developed as a tool to provide a numerical value (Floristic Quality Assessment Index) for a natural area evaluation based on plant species present. The index allows for objective numerical comparison of two unrelated plant community types. A numerical rating, called the coefficient of conservation was assigned to 2,063 species of plants and 30 interspecific hybrids (Appendix A). Appendix A contains a checklist of the vascular flora of 31 Ohio counties, including those counties present within the Buffalo District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Native species were assigned coefficient of conservatism values of 0 to 10. The rank of 0 was assigned to native taxa that are opportunistic invaders of natural areas and those that are typically part of ruderal communities. Rankings of 9 to 10 were used for those taxa that exhibit relatively high degrees of fidelity to a narrow range of synecological parameters. All alien (nonnative) taxa were assigned a value of 0. The Floristic Quality Assessment Index (I) can be determined for any natural area from the tabulation of the coefficient of conservatism values. A higher index value expresses a natural area containing mostly native species, whereas a lower index value reflects human disturbance by taking into account the presence of alien (nonnative) taxa. |
| Description: | Technical Report |
| Gov't Doc #: | Technical Report WRP-DE-8 |
| Rights: | Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited. |
| URI: | http://hdl.handle.net/11681/6481 |
| Size: | 89 pages |
| Types of Materials: | |
| Appears in Collections: | Technical Report |
