Ecological Monitoring Network

image of a quadrat plot and a plant ecologist assessing plant species abundance

Ecological Monitoring Network

Improving land use decision-making and sustainable resource management through greater reliance on scientific knowledge

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources established the Ecological Monitoring Network (EMN) in 2017 to track ecological change throughout the state. We will provide data on how the state’s native plant communities are changing in the face of new challenges, such as climate change, invasive species and increasing habitat fragmentation. This effort is being led by the Minnesota Biological Survey, in collaboration with other DNR divisions and partners such as The Nature Conservancy, the University of Minnesota, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Products


Why Monitor?

Minnesota’s native grasslands, wetlands, and forests provide recreation, timber, water filtration, habitat for wildlife and pollinators, flood protection, carbon storage and other valuable ecosystem services to Minnesotans. These services are threatened by direct and indirect stressors, such as changes in climate and management, increases in non-native invasive species and pollution, and increased pressure on land and water use.

ecological monitoring in near Pembina, MNEcological monitoring near Pembina, MN

Bees and other insect pollinators are also facing similar environmental challenges, in addition to habitat loss and degradation and population declines related to parasites and disease. Pollinators are vital to maintaining the diversity and reproduction of flowering plants, which are essential components of grasslands, wetlands and forests. There is currently no comprehensive statewide monitoring network that consistently measures and evaluates changes in the vegetation that comprises native grasslands, wetlands, and forests. Without such information, it will be increasingly difficult to detect which factors are driving environmental changes

Goals

University, federal, and state scientists met to define specific goals for how the EMN will compliment other efforts, further scientific knowledge through long term monitoring and deliver results to stakeholders.

ecological monitoring in near Kertsonville, MN Ecological monitoring near Kertsonville, MN
  • Create a statewide vegetation monitoring network.
  • Provide information on the status and trends in structure, composition, and condition of native grasslands, wetlands, and forests. 
  • Design a scientifically rigorous monitoring approach that is fiscally responsible.
  • Provide information to managers and others in a timely manner so that inferences can be made about ecosystem health as a result of stressors.
  • Aid decision making by natural resource managers, legislators, local units of government, conservation organizations, and land owners to improve conservation, management, policy and land-use decisions.
  • Complement existing long-term monitoring projects in grasslands, wetlands and forests that span several agencies and organizations.
  • Design a monitoring network that can be used for research by ecologists, wildlife biologists, entomologists, and other scientists.   
  • Collect a baseline survey of selected groups of pollinating insect species occurring in targeted vegetation types and use this information to inform future monitoring of pollinators related to vegetation.

Objectives

Objectives are essential to research and analysis. They help determine specific metrics (i.e., deer browse pressure, plant species abundance, water conductivity, canopy cover) to quantify for analyses. The objectives below were defined in 2017 and are the foundation for all future EMN research. Preliminary analyses (where available) are linked to specific objectives.

Vegetation

Landscape Context

  • Determine relationships between landscape context (e.g., size of surrounding natural area and proximity of anthropogenic land use) and changes in native grassland, wetland, and forest vegetation.

Soils

Hydrology

  • Assess hydrology and its relationships to trends in wetland vegetation.
    • Document long-term changes in hydrology in select sites that represent a spectrum of wetland types.
    • Assess status and trends of pH in wetland vegetation.

Pollinators and Other Wildlife

  • Collect baseline surveys of select groups of pollinating insect species occurring in targeted vegetation types.
  • Document high priority vegetation characteristics related to wildlife habitat (e.g. snags and depth of leaf litter).

Pests and Pathogens

  • Assess the extent and degree of known pest and pathogen outbreaks.  

Field Methods

Data are collected along three 45-meter parallel transects. Woody plants in the tree canopy and subcanopy layer are sampled in a 45-by 10-meter subplot centered along each transect. Woody plants and vines in the shrub layer, and groundlayer plants, are sampled in 24, 1-meter² quadrats (includes a small nested plot) placed every 5 meters along each transect.

Depending on the habitat, various other components are added that are not shown, such as deer browse and coarse woody debris metrics, water chemistry or measurements of grassland structure. A few of the elements of this design are subject to change as we continue to refine our metrics to best capture the data. Details on EMN field methods may be found in the EMN Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).

Questions

Nathan Dahlberg, Project Coordinator
Ecological Monitoring Network
651-259-5726
[email protected]

Funding for this project was provided by the Minnesota Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund as recommended by the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCCMR). The Trust Fund is a permanent fund constitutionally established by the citizens of Minnesota to assist in the protection, conservation, preservation, and enhancement of the state’s air, water, land, fish, wildlife and other natural resources.

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