Waterton Lakes National Park ELC Vegetation Plot Resurvey Data

This dataset includes data from 98 vegetation plots in Waterton Lakes National Park, Alberta, Canada. Parks Canada researchers surveyed over 300 vegetation plots in the mid- to late-1990s as part of the Ecological Land Classification (ELC) project. In 2019 and 2020, MSc student Jed Lloren and field assistants re-located and re-surveyed 98 of these plots. For each of these 98 plots, we have (1) data on the presence and estimated percent cover of all vascular plant species in the first survey in the 1990s, and in the second survey in 2019/2020; (2) data on environmental conditions at each plot, for example elevation and aspect; (3) data on the characteristics of each species, for example whether it is native or exotic and its maximum height. The purpose of the research was to quantify changes in plant community diversity and composition that have occurred between the two surveys. In particular, we aimed to assess the effect of a major wildfire that burned a large portion of Waterton Lakes National Park in 2017. The data form the basis for Jed Lloren's MSc thesis and subsequent publications.