Chapter 3 North Carolina’s Species
3.13.8.2 Monitoring Long-term monitoring is critical to assessing species and ecosystem health over time and gauging the resilience of organisms to a changing climate. Studies should identify population trends, as well as assess impacts from conservation or development activities. These efforts will inform species and habitat management decisions. Monitoring plans should be coordinated with other existing monitoring programs where feasible. Priority Conservation Action, Examples of Focal Species or Focal Habitats • Long-term monitoring sites need to be identified and monitoring protocols developed for all priority plant species. • At the site or population level, monitoring activities should include annual (or regular) observations of area of occupancy with an emphasis on changes in this area (both contractions and expansions), relative vigor (often recorded as the reproductive proportion of the population), and notable concerns such as disease or other impacts.
• At the species level, monitoring activities should help describe or calculate short-term trends for several populations. This level of monitoring often involves demographic data collection and can be very time and resource intensive.
3.13.8.3 Research Research topics that facilitate appropriate conservation actions include natural community preferences, fecundity, population dynamics and genetics, propagation and transplant methods for the most imperiled species, and food web dynamics. All studies should provide recommendations for mitigation and restoration. Priority Conservation Action, Examples of Focal Species or Focal Habitats • Increased understanding of life histories and population statuses helps determine the vulnerability of priority species to further imperilment, in addition to identifying possibilities for improved management and conservation.
• Evaluate the impacts of climate change on biodiversity of important natural communities.
2025 NC Wildlife Action Plan
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