INVASIVE PLANT MAPPING OF FORESTED AREAS IN VALLEY FORGE NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK

Valley Forge National Historical Park (VAFO) is located in southeast Pennsylvania. The park is committed to the restoration and protection of the native forest and biodiversity that coexist within the area as promoted in their General Management Plan. Invasive species are one of the largest threats to the park’s native biodiversity, coming second to the main threat of habitat alteration inside the park. Exotic plants are highly present within the park, the Mid-Atlantic Exotic Plant Management team (MA-EPMT) and VAFO Natural Resource Management (NRM) staff combined have reported twenty six high priority forest invasive plants that threaten the parks forest areas. Data will be collected regarding the abundance and distribution of invasive plants in VAFO forest areas. Mapping of the forest invasive plants began in summer of 2014(Mathis, 2014) using the Daubenmire class and an abundance method for NRM reference to continue ongoing commitment with forest restoration at VAFO. This summer 2015, the invasive mapping continues following an order of high priority areas, established by Valley Forge Staff.