Vegetation Monitoring at Santa Mounica Mountains National Recreation Area (SAMO) by the Mediterranean Coast Inventory and Monitoring Network (MEDN) 2014-2025 : Data Package

The Mediterranean Coast Inventory and Monitoring Network (MEDN) has been monitoring vegetation at Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area (SAMO) as a “vital sign” of ecosystem health since 2014. The goal of the program is to provide timely information on the status and trends in key communities and taxa for resource managers at National Park units. This data release report (DRR) contains a summary of methods used in field data collection and rigorous data verification and validation processes that led up to the creation of the data package, as well as information about the quality and responsible use of the data. The SAMO Vegetation Monitoring data package comprises 11 CSV files that contain information on: (1) the location and characteristics of transects surveyed as part of the monitoring program, (2) taxa encountered during survey efforts, and (3) results of surveys documenting vegetation height, soil cover, tree density, shrub density, and species richness along 315 fixed transects. Thus, the data package contains files and EML metadata that provide comprehensive information on the terrestrial vegetation at SAMO from 2014-2025. This publicly available information is crucial for tracking changes in plant communities and informing management decisions in a highly biodiverse ecoregion.