Exhibit_07A_Method_for_Vegetation_and_Soil_Status_Trend_Monitoring.pdf

Exhibit 7A: Methods of Vegetation and Soil Status and Trend Monitoring Protocol

Methods Permanent vegetative trend monitoring transects are or may be established in any of these categories:

1. Areas occupied by TEPS and/or invasive plant species.

2. Burned areas, whether wildfire or prescribed fire, with or without TEPS and/or invasive plants

3. Unburned areas within or near the perimeter of wildfires or prescribed burns that are used as control sites against burned areas, with or without TEPS and/or invasive plants.

4. Treatment efficacy monitoring in areas infested with invasive plants that were or will be treated with biological control agents, herbicides, mechanical control, prescriptive grazing or some combination thereof to control weed infestations.

5. Insufficiently vegetated sites that are being or will be restored using active or passive restoration methods, to monitor vegetation re-establishment and soil stabilization.

6. Any other categories that SCNF, in the future, may determine require the use of permanent vegetation and soil trend monitoring.

Many permanent monitoring transects (see sample unit on page 6) have already been permanently established. These existing transects are identified with transect ID numbers that are prefixed with codes such as Clear Creek Fire = CC, BC = Biological Control, Herbicide Effectiveness = HE, etc.

Transects run perpendicular to the elevation contour and are permanently marked at both the zero-meter and 25-meter ends with (i) rebar topped with (ii) plastic caps (orange, red or yellow of varying sizes), (iii) orange-polka dot flagging wrapped around rebar below the cap and (iv) copper tags inscribed with the site ID number.

At each transect location, slope, aspect, and elevation has been recorded. Along each 25-m transect, canopy cover by species is estimated using 50 interceptions at 0.5-m intervals (see front side of field data form).

Shrub density (seedlings and older plants counted separately) is determined by counting the number of rooted stems within a 1 x 25-meter strip transect (see front side of field data form).

Surface soil erosion conditions within a 0.05-ha circular plot (25 m diameter) surrounding the transect are evaluated on an ordinal scale by 7 soil surface factors – soil movement, surface litter, surface rock, soil pedestals, flow patterns, rills, and gullies (see back side of field data form).

Field Equipment List

• GPS receiver

• Camera

• Compass

• Clinometer

• Area topographic maps/aerial photos

• Field data forms

• Pencils and Lead

• Metal tatum

• Whiteboard with eraser and pen

• Flagging (white with orange dots) to tie to rebar transect stakes

• Copper Tags to record transect # (tied to rebar)

• Permanent transect stakes (4’ lengths of 3/8” rebar)

• Sledge hammer

• Plastic caps to fit over rebar

• 50-meter metal nylon clad transect tape

• Two candy stripe plot pins to hold transect tape

• Laser point interception tool

• Extra batteries for LPI tool

• Meter stick (for shrub density transect)

• 2-meter cover pole (reference for photo)

• Plant and Invasive Species Identification Guides

Exhibit 7A

Placement of Transects

• Use the same slope, aspect, elevation and plant community for each of the four strata being monitored.

• Place transects outside the zone of road influence (i.e. more than ten meters from a road).

• Place transects no closer than 50 meters apart.

• Comparison transects should be within 100 feet elevation of each other.

• Place zero-meter end of transect on downhill end.

• Data is collected along the right side of the tape facing uphill from the zero-meter end. Therefore, to avoid crushing vegetation or disturbing the data line, DO NOT WALK ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE TAPE when setting up the tape.

• Provide written directions to each transect, noting landmarks or reference points and any potential access difficulties (i.e. locked gates, ditches, permission from private property owners, etc.)

Collecting Data Canopy Cover Interception:

• Take photograph first. Fill out whiteboard with transect number, location (i.e. name of transect), date and azimuth.

• To take photograph have person holding cover pole stand on left side of tape at the halfway point (i.e.

12.5 meters). The cover pole is held vertically with the base against the tape at 12.5 meters.

• Photograph is taken in portrait orientation from one meter below the zero-meter end of the tape, looking uphill to the 12.5 meter point. The white board, displaying transect number, location (i.e.

name of transect), date and azimuth, should be visible and legible at the bottom of the photo.

• Other photos may be taken as desired to show particular site conditions, changed conditions, etc.

• Data will be read perpendicular to the tape at each 0.5-meter interception point with the base of the

LPI tool placed against the left edge of the tape. The laser beam will intercept on the right side of the tape. For this reason, to avoid crushing or disturbing the data line, DO NOT WALK ON THE

RIGHT SIDE OF THE TAPE!

• Begin intercept data collection at the 0.5-meter mark and collect interceptions every 0.5-meter for a total of 50 points.

• Align the LPI tool perpendicular to the transect line with the base just at the edge of the tape (not pushing against the tape). Level the LPI tool using the bubble level on top of the tool. Click the laser on and record intercepts working from the top layer of vegetation down through the plant canopy to the soil surface. Up to three layers may be recorded. Determining vegetative cover for plant recovery is a primary objective of the data collection. It is important to note the presence of all three plant canopy layers, if they exist.

• Record the top layer first in the first (left column) of the field data form. If necessary, carefully move the top canopy layer aside if it interferes with the laser beam reflecting off lower canopy layers. Do this very carefully to avoid moving the lower layers and changing the target of the interception.

• Non-plant codes (litter, rock, bare ground, etc.) are recorded only if there is less than three vegetative layers at an interception point or if no plants are present at that point.

• Bare ground will be recorded only if there is no basal plant cover (i.e. area occupied by root crown of plant), litter, cryptogamic crust, rock, etc. at the bottom layer.

• Both canopy and basal area cover are recorded. If the interception falls within the basal area (i.e. area occupied by the root crown), suffix the code with an uppercase B in parentheses [e.g. AGSPIC (B)].

If the interception is a canopy cover interception, record only the plant code.

Shrub Density Strip Transect:

• This data is collected along the right side of the tape line. It is easiest to leave the meter pole at the

25-meter end of the line when setting up the tape. Then when the canopy cover interception is completed, work back down the line to the zero-meter end collecting the shrub density data.

• Note that the meter pole is divided into bands (bare wood, white and orange). The pole is held at a bare wood end. The pole is then aligned perpendicular to the tape with the line between the white and orange paint running along the right edge of the tape. In this way, the pole and tape form a 1-meter by 25-meter strip transect along the line. The pole is moved along the tape and all shrubs rooted within the orange band are recorded in the appropriate column on the right hand table of the field data form.

• Record seedlings/sprouts in the seedling column, mature and decadent in the mature column.

• Although not displayed on the shrub table on the field data form, make an extra column in the margin for Dead shrubs to track mortality.

Soil Surface Factors Circular Plot:

• There are seven soil surface factors for the soil erosion indicator. This is a qualitative assessment based on observations of the existing condition for each of the seven factors within the 25-meter radius circular soil plot.

• Assessment of the first three factors (soil, litter and surface rock) is based on movement of these elements by water, primarily, wind, animals, vehicles, etc. versus accumulation in place and distribution.

• The fourth factor, soil pedestals, is based on evidence of erosion that leaves plants on pedestals, lichen lines on rocks, “balancing rocks”, etc.

• The last three factors are indicators of increasing water erosion, from small flow patterns that depict miniature debris outflows and fan deposits to rilling from sheet erosion to gullying. The presence of gullies is not necessarily an indicator of recent erosion. Gullies may have formed from an erosion event in the past and may now be stable with vegetation along the sides or even on the channel bed.

Active erosion (headcutting, sloughing, downcutting, etc.) along with vegetation loss is the indicator of an unstable gully.

What to Record A number of plant species are to be recorded specifically, such as certain native grass species or noxious weeds species (refer to list of codes below for these species). Other plant species are only recorded as part of a group of plants, such as Native Herbaceous Species or Woody Species (refer to list of codes below for these groupings). There are also codes for bare ground, cryptogammic crusts, moss or lichen, plant litter and rocks.

Codes Native Grass Species Specifically Tracked:

All native grasses must be identified to species unless instructed otherwise.

Grasses of particular interest include:

PSSP6 = Bluebunch Wheatgrass (Pseudoroegneria spicata) FEID = Idaho Fescue (Festuca idahoensis)

Native Shrub Species Specifically Tracked:

ARTR(SPP) = Artemisia tridentate spp. tridentata (ARTRTR), Artemisia tridentata spp. wyomingensis

ARTRW8), Artemisia tridentate spp. vaseyana (ARTRV) ARTR4 = Threetip Sage (Artemisia tripartite)

ERNA10 = Rubber or Gray Rabbitbrush (Ericameria nauseosa) CHVI8 = Green Rabbitbrush (Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus) CELE3 = Mountain Mahogany (Cercocarpus ledifolious) GLSP = Little Greenbush (Glossopetalon spinescens)

Native Forb Species Specifically Tracked:

BASA = Arrowleaf Balsamroot (Balsamorhiza sagittata) Lupinus sp. = All lupine species – record to genus only

Invasive Weed Species Specifically Tracked:

Species identified in Exhibit 5 - State of Idaho/Lemhi County Noxious weed list, and Lemhi County species of concern including Cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) and Tumblemustard (Sisymbrium altissimum).

Plant Group code:

NH = Native Herbaceous Species WS = Native Woody Species AS = Alien Species (other than specific weed species being tracked) I = Introduced (i.e. pasture grasses, forbs, erosion control)

Non-Plant Codes:

BG = Bare Ground CRY = Cryptogammic Crust NH = Native Herbaceous L = Litter WS = Woody Species R = Rock >4” AS = Alien Species (other than specific species being tracked) M = Moss I = Introduced (i.e. pasture grasses, forbs, erosion control) LN = Lichen

Definitions and Helpful Hints

Litter:

• Litter is defined as typically broken plant parts lying on the ground. Litter must be in contact with the soil surface.

• Exception: Litter can be a dead stem still attached to the main shrub, but with the stem in contact with the soil surface.

• Litter should be obvious without close scrutiny. If it is so small that you are not sure if it is litter or bare ground, record it as bare ground.

• If a plant was alive this year, but has cured, and is still standing (i.e. cheatgrass or an annual forb), it is NOT litter. Record these interceptions as cover by code (whether species specific or plant group).

Standing Dead

• Standing dead is NOT litter since it is NOT in contact with the soil surface.

• Standing D is a hit on a dead part of a standing (or partially standing) shrub, even if other parts of the plant are still alive.

• When you encounter standing dead as an interception along the cover transect, record it to species, if possible, if one of the species-specific plants and put an uppercase D in parentheses after the species code [i.e ARTRW8(D)]. If it is not possible to record to species because it has deteriorated too much or if it is a species to be recorded as a native woody species, record as WS with an uppercase D in parentheses [i.e. WS(D)].

Bare Ground

• Bare ground is defined as exposed soil or rock fragments less than one inch long that are not covered by litter, moss, lichen, cryptogamic crust or rock.

• The amount of bare ground is important because it relates to soil erosion potential. Exposed soil is more prone to erosion since it is not buffered by the energy dissipating protective cover of the basal area of plants or litter, rocks, etc.

Noxious Weeds

• Note the presence of noxious weed species that occur in the area, but not found along the tape line or not intercepted along the line.

• If the numbers are low, count individuals (e.g. you find six rush skeletonweed plants. Note the location of these six plants on the field data form). If the numbers are too high to count quickly, note the percent of the transect length covered by each species:

o T = trace (< 1%) o <25% = (1-25%) o >25%

• Also make a note if no weed species are seen in the vicinity of the transect.

Other Notes

• List in comments section or on back of form plant species observed in the area that were not intercepted along the transect.

• Note shrub vigor (i.e. vigorous, decadent, sprouting). Note if shrub seedlings are observed in the area, but not on the transect.

Monitoring unit layout: A 25-m line transect for vegetation canopy cover and a 1 x 25-m strip transect for shrub density nested within a 25-m diameter circular plot for soil erosion evaluation.

Processing and Summarizing Data

The Contractor will complete individual monitoring transect forms using either a hardcopy format or a digital format. Original, completed monitoring transect forms will be delivered in whatever format they were originally completed in, either digital or hardcopy. The Contractor will deliver photos in a digital .jpg format with all photos labeled to correspond with the correct monitoring transect forms. If the Contractor additionally provides hard copy photos, they must be stapled to the relevant monitoring transect forms.

Data will be entered by the Contractor into the master monitoring spreadsheet. The Contractor will then summarize the data and perform basic statistics calculations per spreadsheet instructions.

Shrub Density: 1 x 25-m transect;

count rooted stems

Permanent Marker Stake

Soil Erosion Indicators: 25-m circular plot; 7 soil surface factors

% Canopy Cover: 25-m transect;

50 point intercepts at 0.5-m