Measurements from twelve permanent vegetation plots in the Moquah Barrens Research Natural Area: 1979 and 1996

Vegetation measurements were made on a sets of three (3) plots in each of twelve (12) stands located within the Moquah Barrens Research Natural Area in Bayfield County, Wisconsin. The plots were established and the first set of measurements were made in 1979. In 1996, all thirty-six plots were relocated and remeasured. Each of the twelve selected stands represented major forest types and age classes in the research natural area. The stands were classified into 5 vegetation types (jack pine, oak-pine, aspen-oak-birch complex, aspen, and open (pine savanna)). Sampled trees had their species and diameter at breast height (DBH) recorded. Two sets of progressively smaller plots were nested in the tree plots to count saplings, shrubs, and herbs. For saplings, species and DBH were recorded; for shrubs, species and number of individuals were recorded; for herbs, species and percent ground cover were recorded. During the springs of 2012-2014, 3 trips were taken by a U.S. Forest Service and University of Wisconsin-Madison research team to re-locate the center points associated with each stand and establish GPS coordinates. All vegetation stand locations were originally estimated within a GIS using the 1980 report by Dunn and Stearns. Only three of the twelve center points were successfully re-located. Points were not located due to loss of the wooden stakes used to mark the center points. Estimated or actual GPS locations are provided for future use.
The objectives of the work were to: 1. Install permanent sample plots to monitor vegetation changes over time 2. Describe the timber types present on the research natural area 3. Determine possible vegetation changes in the absence of fire [fire had been excluded from the research natural area since its establishment in 1935], and the future implications for an (unspecified) management plan
This study complements a set of 1978 vegetation plot measurements collected by Paul E. Matthiae and Forest W. Stearns conducted within the Moquah Barrens Wildlife Management Area. An unpublished report (included in this publication) on the results of the 1979 measurements was provided to the North Central Forest Experiment Station in 1980. The report characterizes the measurements as “baseline”; this needs to be interpreted loosely, as 44 years of vegetation development had already occurred since the research natural area was created in 1935. Neither the 1979 nor the 1996 measurements have ever been presented in a peer-reviewed scientific paper. Original metadata date was 09/30/2015. Minor updates on 10/02/2015. Minor metadata updates on 12/15/2016.