부산대학교 도서관

In 1987 the US Department of Energy funded a formal, extensive monitoring program for the flora and fauna on the Nevada Test Site. The goal was to understand and record changes with time In the distribution and abundance of the plants and animals. The need to detect changes, rather than do a one-time characterization, required careful selection of parameters and the use of permanent plots to distinguish spatial from temporal variability. Repeated measurements of the same plots revealed errors and imprecision which required changes in training and data collection techniques. Interpretation of trends after several years suggested it will be important to monitor not only changes, but causes of change, such as soil moisture and herbivory. Finally, the requirement for records to be available over long periods of time poses problems of archiving and publication. This report consists of viewgraphs presenting the findings of the study.