The National Capital Region Inventory & Monitoring Network monitors air quality, amphibians, birds, forest pests, vegetation, invasive plants, stream water, and stream fish and macroinvertebrates at Monocacy National Battlefield. The results of that monitoring provide park managers with scientific information for decision-making.
Monocacy National Battlefield is made up of 1,647 acres of rolling farmland, forest, and grasslands. Most park land is used for agriculture, with a small portion covered with mixed-oak deciduous forest.
The park’s main natural resource management concerns are surrounding land use, invasive plants and diseases, and overpopulation of deer. Stormwater management is a big concern for stream ecosystems. Regional air quality and land use patterns can have strong effects on park resources.
What's Happening in Monocacy
NCRN Monitoring at Monocacy by the Numbers
What We Monitor | Sites at Monocacy* | Monitoring Frequency | Information We Collect |
---|---|---|---|
Amphibians | 70 known wetland pools | Annual sampling on a subset of known wetlands Wetland sites are monitored twice per sampling period |
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Birds – forest and grassland | 15 (forest bird) 69 (grassland bird) |
Forest plots are monitored twice a year Grassland plots are monitored three times a year |
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Forest vegetation | 15 (forest vegetation) | Approximately a quarter of plots each year on a four-year cycle |
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Stream biota – fish and macroinvertebrates | At streams listed below | Periodic sampling 2007-2014, 2019-2023 |
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Stream water quality | 2 (stream site) on Bush Creek and Gambrill Mill Creek | Stream sites are monitored every other month |
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Last updated: May 11, 2023