GRSM SPRUCE FIR PLOTS

The purpose of this long-term project is to monitor vegetation changes and trends in Fraser fir regeneration in spruce-fir forests in Great Smoky Mountains National Park in response to balsam wooly adelgid infestation and climate change. Vegetation data are collected once every ten years from thirty-seven permanent monitoring plots, stratified into four stand canopy composition types. Plots were established in 1989-1990, near the summits of five mountains: Clingmans Dome, Mount Collins, Mount LeConte, Mount Guyot, and Mount Sterling. Plots were originally sampled in 1990 and 1991. Note that all GPS locations were resampled during the 2010-2011 sample years. The corresponding Integration of Resource Management Applications (IRMA) NPS Data Store reference is Great Smoky Mountains National Park Spruce Fir Plots.