Effects of OHV trails on dessert vegetation in western Mojave Desert
By: Keith Kevin, Heath McAllister
Contributors: McAllister, Heath, author; United States. Bureau of Land Management. Ridgecrest Field Office; United States. Bureau of Land Management. California State Office
Publisher: U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, California State Office
Published: 2003
Place of publication: Ridgecrest, Calif
Language: eng
Number of pages: 26
Subjects: Public lands; Biology; Fieldwork; Conservation biology; Off-road vehicles; Recreational use; Vegetation monitoring; Environmental aspects; All terrain vehicles
Other titles: Effects of off-highway vehicles on desert vegetation in western Mojave Desert
Description: The purpose of this monitoring is to quantify the effects of OHV trails on desert vegetation. Many kinds of disturbances can affect both the diversity and abundance of vegetation. OHV trails are linear disturbances where all vegetation has been removed. Besides the obvious loss of vegetation in the trail itself, there may also be subtler changes along the edge of the trail. These changes may include differences in total plant cover, as well as changes in the relative abundance of different species. OHV trails (many of them illegal) are one of the most obvious human disturbances in the Jawbone-Butterbredt ACEC. They are very easy to create (one rider can create a new trail), and very difficult to eliminate. This is a problem throughout the BLM Desert District, and, indeed, wherever motorized recreation takes place in the desert. This monitoring will help managers understand how these trails affect vegetation.
Notes: Separate title for part I : Protocol for the study of the effects of OHV trails on desert vegetation in the Jawbone-Butterbredt ACEC [Area of Critical Environmental Concern] : November 2002, Kevin Keith ; Heath McAllister.
Table of contents: title: Part I : the protocol.; title: Purpose --; title: Questions to be answered --; title: Sampling design --; title: Establishing the plots --; title: Monumenting the plots --; title: Data collection --; title: Datasheets --; title: Re-sampling the plots --; title: The database --; title: Statistical analysis --; title: Necessary equipment --; title: Sample data sheet --; title: Codes for desert shrub -- -- Part II : results summary.; title: SC5 trail segment --; title: SC51 Ex. 1 trail segment --; title: SC51 Ex. 2 trail segment --; title: SC56 trail segment --; title: SC65 trail segment --; title: SC175 trail segment -- -- Part III : raw data.; title: Rebar locations for all plots --; title: Sampling dates and scientists.