2010 Vegetation Survey of the Fort Niobrara National Wildlife Refuge (Final Report to the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Sandhills Prairie Refuge Association)

Authors

Robert F. Steinauer

Date of this Version

1-16-2011

Citation

Steinauer, Robert F. January 16, 2011. 2010 Vegetation Survey of the Fort Niobrara National Wildlife Refuge. Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. 42 pp.

Abstract

Fort Niobrara National Wildlife Refuge (FNNWR) is located on the Niobrara River in north central Cherry County, NE. There is little detailed information available documenting the vegetation of FNNWR. Tolstead (1942) studied the grasslands of northern Cherry County, (including FNNWR) with a focus on describing the dominant species of grassland types and determining the relationships between vegetation distribution and environmental variables and management practices. Churchill et al (1988) described the vascular flora of The Nature Conservancy’s nearby Niobrara Valley Preserve. Fiest et al (2010) conducted vascular plant surveys on portions of the FNNWR in 2009 and compiled a partial vascular plant species list for the refuge. The purposes of this study were to provide the following for FNNWR: 1) an updated vascular plant species list, 2) definitions and descriptions of native plant communities, and 3) vegetation management recommendations.