Saguaro National Park FFI Fire Effects Monitoring Data

This database is fire effects monitoring data collected at Saguaro National Park in the Rincon Mountains of southern Arizona. The data were collected with standard NPS FMH protocols during spring/summer/fall field seasons from 1990-2025. Data collected from shrub/herbaceous transects are 50 meter point intercept data to obtain cover. Shrub density was also measured using brush belts along the same transect. Photographs are taken to document change. Data collected from 50 x 20 m forest plots include tree inventory to obtain density and basal area. Saplings and seedlings were measured in nested subplots. Fuel load was measured using Brown's method for inventorying surface fuels. An ocular estimate of canopy cover was added late in this period. Due to decreased staffing and issues with some data collected, some protocols were dropped in later years, especially seedling and shrub density and shrub/herbaceous cover. Significant errors corrected from previous versions. Some problems remain. See Notes section. Monitoring types include Ponderosa Pine (PIPO), Arizona white oak (QUAZ), Silverleaf oak (QUHY), Chihuahua Pine (PILE), and Douglas Fir/mixed conifer (PSME). In the data, Arizona pine (P. arizonica) is not differentiated from Ponderosa pine (P. ponderosa). Plots were installed for prescribed burns, but some were also burned in wildfires.

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[
  "Arizona",
  "Biota",
  "Ecological Framework: Landscapes | Fire and Fuel Dynamics | Fire and Fuel Dynamics",
  "FFI",
  "FIRE",
  "Fire Effects",
  "Fuels",
  "Madrean oak woodland",
  "Monitoring",
  "PINE",
  "Rincon Mountains",
  "Saguaro National Park",
  "Vegetation",
  "mixed conifer"
]

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