Poster presented - New Jersey Audubon Society

Nellie Tsipoura, Ph.D. 1, Jay Kelly, Ph.D. 2, Mike Allen 1, Kelly Wenzel 1
1 New Jersey Audubon Society, Bernardsville, NJ; 2Raritan Valley Community College, North Branch, NJ
Fig. 2. Student practice presentations in March 2015
Introduction
Methods
This project engages community college students and citizen
scientists in the assessment of forest health in central New Jersey.
One of the most important questions we face is how to maintain the
health of our forests and other natural areas in the context of a
heavily developed urban and suburban landscape. More acres of
forests are being lost each year in New Jersey than any other land
use type; 45,000 acres were lost between 2002 and 2007 alone
(Hasse and Lathrop 2010). Urban land uses have made the greatest
increases and now cover nearly 30% of the state (1.5 million acres),
propelled in large part by suburban sprawl. Although 1.2 million
acres of land have been successfully protected by open space
preservation, little has been done to protect and maintain the quality
of these and other natural areas from other threats such as invasive
species and deer herbivory.
In the first year, students were taught principles of forest ecology and
conservation as well as applied research methods in their General Ecology,
Field Botany and Environmental Field Study classes. These courses are
interconnected and intersect with NJ Audubon citizen science activities (Fig.1).
Working with NJ Audubon, students created materials to train and lead teams
of citizen science volunteers on invasive species identification and survey
methods as part of their forest bird surveys (Fig. 2-3). Students and citizen
scientists then began conducting research on the condition of selected forest
areas (Fig. 4), and the significance of deer browse and invasive species to
them, all under the guidance of their RVCC professors and NJA staff. Study
sites included 90 forest stands in the Raritan River Watershed in the Piedmont
Province of central New Jersey (Fig. 5). Sites were classified according to
forest position in the landscape (floodplain, upland, mountain),
Fig. 1. Flow chart of student and citizen science
age (>80 years, <80 years), and other landscape and land use
engagement in assessing forest health in NJ
factors (e.g., population density, patch size, etc.).
New Jersey has some of the highest densities of deer and invasive
plant species in the United States (Drake et al. 2002, Kartesz 2011).
More than a third of the plant species present in New Jersey today
are non-indigenous species (Snyder and Kaufman 2004), and many
of these species are transforming our local ecosystems. Densities of
deer in central New Jersey are more than 10x the historic
background rate, averaging 78 deer/mi2 and in some places are as
high as 202 deer/mi2 (NJ Audubon 2012). The overabundance of
deer has led to devastating effects on forest understories, in which
the herb, shrub and sapling layers are completely absent in many
places. The result is a slow process of ecosystem decay and the
loss of many native species and habitat niches. Without intervention
to protect, maintain, and improve New Jersey’s natural resources,
loss of ecosystem function and habitat is inevitable.
Fig. 3. Students training citizen
Scientists with NJAudubon in April 2015
Figure 5. Locations of forest study sites in
central New Jersey
We are integrating a research project on forest health into
community college curricula and citizen science programs,
increasing environmental interest, awareness and engagement of
students and local residents, and providing information and outreach
that will hopefully contribute to better management and improved
forest health in central New Jersey.
Fig. 6. Example of
data collected by
Citizen Scientists.
In Spring/Summer 2014, citizen scientists completed bird
surveys at 192 points, and four student interns conducted
intensive vegetation studies of 12 forest plots. Results
were analyzed by ecology students in Fall 2014. Based on
these analyses, students developed and presented
recommendations for improving forest health to local
officials (Fig. 7), who voted unanimously to revise their
deer management policies. In Spring/Summer 2015, data
were collected at over 60 additional bird points and 74
forest vegetation plots. In addition, students conducted
individual research projects on deer density and site use,
the effects of invasive shrubs on microclimate, and tick
density, which will be incorporated into Ecology and
Environmental Science classes in 2015-2016.
Fig. 7. Students presenting recommendations to local
officials in Readington Twp in April 2015.
Literature cited
Drake, D., M. Lock and J. Kelly. 2002. Managing New Jersey’s Deer Population. Rutgers
Agricultural Experiment Station, Rutgers University Press.
Hasse,J. and R. Lathrop. 2010. Changing Landscapes in the Garden State: Urban Growth and
Open Space Loss in NJ 1986 thru 2007. Executive Summary. Rowan University Geospatial
Research Lab, Department of Geography, and Center for Remote Sensing and Spatial
Analysis, Rutgers University.
Kartesz, J.T., The Biota of North America Program (BONAP). 2011. North American Plant Atlas
(http://www.bonap.org/MapSwitchboard.html). Chapel Hill, N.C.
New Jersey Audubon. 2012 (draft). Excessive White Tailed Deer Herbivory. Issue 1, Forest
White Paper Series. New Jersey Audubon.
Snyder, D. and S. R. Kaufman. 2004. An overview of nonindigenous plant species in New
Jersey. New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Division of Parks and Forestry,
Office of Natural Lands Management, Natural Heritage Program, Trenton, NJ. 107 pages.
Acknowledgments
Funding was provided by NSF-SENCER, with additional funding RVCC Foundation and
Environmental Club. Support was also provided by RVCC and NJ Audubon. Special thanks
to Dale Rosselet and Joyce Fajnor of NJ Audubon, Monica Devanas, Ellen Mappen and
Hailey Chenevert of SENCER, and Ronnie Weyl, Director of the RVCC Foundation.
Fig. 8. Results of student pre- and post-assessment on
issues of forest health in Spring 2014
Fig. 4. Student interns measuring forest structure in 2014-2015
The results will also
be used for further
community outreach
and as baseline data
to measure the
effectiveness of deer
exclosures being
installed at RVCC,
Rutgers, and
Readington Twp.
Peter Massas / Wikipedia