[PCA] TRAINING: Vegetation Monitoring in a Management Context

[Olivia Kwong]

Vegetation Monitoring in a Management Context
Date: March 1-6, 2010
Location: Archbold Biological Station, Lake Placid, Florida
Fee: $875.00 (includes registration, materials, lodging and meals)
Course Coordinators: Doria Gordon, The Nature Conservancy and Rob Sutter, 
Enduring Conservation Outcomes, LLC

This workshop is a practical step-by-step guide to establish and manage 
monitoring protocols for plant community work. Participants learn to:

  Develop sampling designs for well-defined objectives.
  Determine monitoring priorities in an adaptive management context.
  Implement techniques in the field.
  Interpret and manipulate data for presentation.

"I have attended .'egetation Monitoring in a Management Context,' and I 
can only describe it as excellent; one of the best training sessions I've 
participated in nearly 14 years!" Andi Christman, Florida Park Service

For more information and on-line registration please visit the Natural 
Areas Training Academy web site at: http://nata.snre.ufl.edu/

Vegetation Monitoring in a Management Context Sample Agenda - Subject to 
Change

Monday, March 1, 2010
Morning 10:00 Registration Starts
  11:00 Welcome
  11:15 Workshop Objectives, Introduction of Participants
  12:00 Lunch
Afternoon 1:00 Introduction to Ecological Monitoring and Monitoring in an 
Adaptive Management Context
  2:15 Management Objectives and Sampling Objectives
  3:45 Levels of Monitoring
  4:30 Developing Monitoring Protocols
Evening 6:00 Dinner
  7:00 Management and Monitoring Priorities Exercise

Tuesday, March 2, 2010
  Sampling Design Lectures (AM)
  Morning 8:00 Introduction to Sampling Design and Statistical Terms and 
Concepts Essential to Sampling Design
  9:40 Non-sampling and Sampling Errors
  11:10 Setting Sampling Objectives
  12:00 Lunch
Afternoon 1:00 Sampling Methods
  2:45 Field Demonstration and Exercise: Sampling Abundance and Composition
Evening 6:00 Dinner
  7:00 Sampling Design Exercise

Wednesday, March 3, 2010
  Sampling Design Lectures (continued)
Morning 8:00 Selecting Sampling Units
  9:45 Placement of Sampling Units
  12:00 Lunch
Afternoon 1:00 Placement of Sampling Units continued
  1:15 Number of Sampling Units
  2:45 Long-term Change Detection: Data Sources and Analysis
  3:15 Vegetation monitoring underway at ABS
  4:15 Photographic Monitoring
Evening 6:00 Dinner
  7:00 Sample Size Exercise

Thursday, March 4, 2010
Morning 8:00 Monitoring Plant Populations, Communities, and Landscapes
  9:15 Interpreting Monitoring Data
  12:00 Lunch
Afternoon 1:00 Field Exercise: Sampling Community Structure
Evening 6:00 Dinner
  Develop monitoring protocols (on your own)

Friday, March 5, 2010
Morning 8:00 Field Exercise: Developing Sampling Designs and Collecting 
Data for Plant Populations, Communities and Landscapes
  12:00 Lunch
Afternoon 1:00 Field Exercise continued
  4:00 Return from Field and Analysis of Field Exercise Data
Evening 6:00 Dinner
  7:00 Analysis of Field Exercise Data continued

Saturday, March 6, 2010
  Morning 8:00 Team Presentations of Field Exercise Data
  10:00 Discussion of Monitoring Protocols
  12:00 Lunch
Afternoon 1:00 Data Collection and Data Management
  2:00 Final Comments and Evaluation
  3:00 Depart

Instructors may include: Doria Gordon, Rob Sutter and Jodi Slapcinsky from 
The Nature Conservancy and guest speakers from Archbold Biological 
Station.

Accommodations at Archbold are in cabins with shared bedrooms and 
bathrooms.

For more information and on-line registration please visit the Natural 
Areas Training Academy web site at: http://nata.snre.ufl.edu/