• Address:
  705 Spear Street
  South Burlington, Vermont 05403
  United States of America
  
  Phone: (802) 391-4135
  Email: femc@uvm.edu
  Website: www.uvm.edu/femc

The Environmental Monitoring and Management Alliance (EMMA) is examining the effects of deer overabundance on forest regeneration at seven upland oak forest sites centered in the Hudson Valley. These data, coupled with deer management programs, will allow us to both assess the impact deer are having on the survival of native species and evaluate the effectiveness of various deer management strategies across the region.

• Label: Plot ID

• Description: The identification code for a plot.

• Storage Type: text

• Measurment Type: nominal

• Label: Treatment Type

• Description: Whether the sapling is in an exclosed or unexclosed plot

• Storage Type: text

• Measurment Type: nominal
• String Format: DD/MM/YYYY
• Number Type: -1

• Label: Treatment Number

• Description: Numeric code for unexclosed/exclosed

• Storage Type: int

• Measurment Type: nominal

• Custom List: Treatment Number
• Code: 1
• Definition: unfenced exclosure
• Code: 2
• Definition: fenced exclosure

• Label: Sapling ID Number

• Description: Sapling Identification Number. -999 indicates no saplings in the plot in question.

• Storage Type: int

• Measurment Type: nominal
• String Format: DD/MM/YYYY
• Number Type: -1

• Label: Species

• Description: The species of sapling

• Storage Type: int

• Measurment Type: nominal

• Species List: Sapling Species (WPR)
• • Code: ACSA
  • • Definition: ITIS #28757, silver maple (Acer saccharinum)
  • Code: BELE
  • • Definition: ITIS #19487, sweet birch (Betula lenta)
  • Code: QUAL
  • • Definition: ITIS #19290, white oak (Quercus alba)
  • Code: ACRU
  • • Definition: ITIS #28728, red maple (Acer rubrum)
  • Code: QUSP
  • • Definition: None #, Custom Species Code ( )
  • Code: HASP
  • • Definition: None #, Custom Species Code ( )

• Label: Integrated Taxonomic Information System code

• Description: The Integrated Taxonomic Information System code for the species of a sapling

• Storage Type: int

• Measurment Type: nominal
• String Format: DD/MM/YYYY
• Number Type: -1

• Label: Grid X coordinate

• Description: Distance of the sapling from the origin (a selected corner of the plot) along x axis

• Storage Type: decimal

• Measurment Type: interval
• Precision: 0.1
• String Format: DD/MM/YYYY
• Unit: meter
• Number Type: rational
• Bounds:
• Minimum: 0
• Maximum: 10

• Label: Grid Y Coordinate

• Description: Distance of the sapling from the origin (a selected corner of the plot) along y axis

• Storage Type: decimal

• Measurment Type: interval
• Precision: 0.1
• Unit: meter
• Number Type: rational
• Bounds:
• Minimum: 0
• Maximum: 10

• Label: Study year number

• Description: the number of years after the beginning of the study that the sapling was checked

• Storage Type: int

• Measurment Type: ratio
• Precision: 1
• Unit: year
• Number Type: whole

• Label: Sapling height

• Description: Height to tallest bud

• Storage Type: decimal

• Measurment Type: ratio
• Unit: centimeter
• Number Type: rational
• Bounds:
• Minimum: 50
• Maximum: 200

• Label: Deer browse presence/absence

• Description: Whether or not deer browse was present on the sapling in question

• Storage Type: text

• Measurment Type: nominal
• String Format: DD/MM/YYYY
• Unit: centimeter
• Number Type: -1

• Label: Notes

• Description: Notes

• Storage Type: text

• Measurment Type: nominal
• String Format: DD/MM/YYYY
• Unit: centimeter
• Number Type: -1

• Label: Measurement Date

• Description: The date that the measurements were taken

• Storage Type: datetime

• Measurment Type: datetime
• String Format: MM/DD/YYYY
• Unit: centimeter

• Label: Missing Value Codes

• Description: These codes will appear in the data for missing values instead of a blank cell.

• Storage Type: int

• Measurment Type: nominal
• String Format: DD/MM/YYYY
• Number Type: -1

• Custom List: Missing Value Codes
• Code: -999
• Definition: There is no extant data; null.
• Code: -555
• Definition: There should be data but it is missing.

• Plot Establishment
  • Started: 2013-01-01
    
  • Method Description: Three pairs of 10 m x 10 m permanent plots were established in two unique locations. The two locations are characterized by relatively level terrain with a mixed oak overstory. The paired plots are separated from one another by a 5m buffer. The unfenced and fenced treatments were randomly assigned to the plots at each location. Fenced treatment plots were enclosed by a 2.5m-tall fence. A small (~25cm x 25cm) hole was cut at ground level on each side of the fence to allow smaller animals access to the fenced area. To permanently identify the unfenced plots, all four corners were marked with metal fence posts. A corner of origin was identified (to facilitate locating trees, saplings, etc. in the following years using a grid system). Sampling occurs in the summer, ideally in July, on the year of installation and every 5 years afterwards.
  Instrumentation: compass, GPSQuality Control Measures: GPS points taken at plot corners.

• Sapling Layer
  • Started: 2013-01-01
    
  • Method Description: All individuals whose growth habits are designated as “tree” by the New York Flora Atlas, who are between 0.5 and 2 m tall with at least 50% of their stem(s) emerging from the ground inside of the plot will be evaluated in the sapling layer the year of exclosure installation and every 5 years afterwards. Each stem that emerges from the ground at a distinct location is considered a sapling. Saplings are tagged and assigned a number. The coordinate position (X and Y distance from the designated “origin”, in meters) is measured, primarily so that researchers can find saplings whose tags have fallen off between monitoring rounds. The presence/absence of browse, species, and undisturbed height (cm) to the tallest bud (without stretching the shoot) are measured.
  Quality Control Measures: Data is proofread two times after entering.