Rare Species (RS)

The FIREMON Rare Species (RS) method is used to assess changes in uncommon, perennial plant species when other monitoring methods are not effective. This method monitors individual plants and statistically quantifies changes in plant survivorship, growth, and reproduction over time. Plants are spatially located using distance along and from a permanent baseline, and individual plants are marked using a permanent tag. Data are collected for status (living or dead), stage (seedling, nonreproductive, or reproductive), size (height and diameter), and reproductive effort (number of flowers and fruits). This method is primarily used for Threatened and Endangered species and uncommon grass, forb, shrub, and tree species of special interest.