Project Overview:
The MaMA Monitoring Plots Network project is one of four distinct citizen-science projects of the Ecological Research Institute (ERI) Monitoring and Managing Ash (MaMA) program aimed at conserving ash and achieving local EAB mitigation. In this project, participants designate naturally occurring mature native ash trees (that haven’t been treated with insecticide) to monitor for EAB-induced mortality. These plots are crucial to ash conservation because they are used to detect the onset of mortality thresholds that trigger the nearby search for potentially EAB-resistant “lingering ash”, which offer great hope for ash conservation and restoration. Also, by revealing spatial variation in ash mortality due to EAB, they enable ash management to be tailored to the degree of threat posed by EAB locally. In particular, data from these plots are crucial to developing the MaMA Action Maps that prioritize particular actions for locations depending upon their EAB invasion history and level of ash mortality.
The monitoring plots can be of any shape and of flexible size (0.5 acre to 10 acres), as long as the ash trees within them meet the project’s criteria. After establishing them, the plots just need to be checked once each year (typically taking a few hours at most).
ERI has taken the highly successful monitoring plot protocol developed by Dr. Kathleen Knight of USDA US Forest Service and her collaborators and modified it (as approved by Dr. Kathleen Knight and Dr. Jennifer Koch of the US Forest Service EAB Resistance Breeding Program) to make its use easier for citizen-scientists and land managers.
Because ERI’s MaMA Monitoring Plot Network project is scientifically rigorous and the data must be highly accurate, before joining this project you’ll need to either attend an in-person MaMA training workshop or to register online to view the following three training webinars: 1) overview of the MaMA program; 2) how to recognize ash and EAB signs; 3) how to set join the MaMA Monitoring Plots Network.
The major tasks in the MaMA Monitoring Plot Network project comprise designating a group of ash trees for mortality and health assessment and then performing this assessment once annually until the relevant mortality threshold is met.
Monitoring plot criteria:
A monitoring plot must have at least 40 mature (at least 4” diameter at breast height), naturally occurring, native ash trees, spread over an area of 0.5 acre to 10 acres. The shape of the plot does not matter. Make sure to exclude from the monitored ash trees any individuals that have been chemically treated against EAB. Also, exclude any trees that are likely to be cut before they die.
When to do this project:
All data collection for this project must be done when ash trees are fully leafed out, but before autumn leaf drop has started. Therefore, the period to do this is June-September. Indeed, surveying later in fall would be unreliable because trees that are stressed (from EAB or other factors) can lose leaves earlier than usual, making them appear dead when still living.
How often you’ll need to report data for this project:
For this project, you’ll need to report the data for each monitoring plot once a year until either of the following mortality thresholds is reached: 1) 50% of the eligible ash trees in the plot have died from EAB or; 2) 95% of the eligible ash trees in the plot have died from EAB. The 50% threshold is typically reached before the 95% threshold; however, in areas where EAB has long been established, the 50% threshold has likely already been reached before you establish the monitoring plot. In this case, you’ll need to detect when the 95% threshold is reached.
After the plot is established and you complete its initial assessment, the subsequent annual assessments of the plot’s ash should typically each take a few hours at most. Moreover, at long-infested sites where the initial assessment (done while establishing the monitoring plot) reveals that the 95% mortality threshold has already been reached, you will not need to do monitoring in future years (i.e., these sites are “one and done”).
Knowledge and abilities needed for this project:
You’ll need to be able to distinguish ash from other trees – this is not difficult, and for this particular project it is helpful, although not required for you to be able to distinguish between ash species. You’ll also need to know the definitive signs of EAB infestation, which are also easy to learn. as well as how to quickly assess the health class of ash trees, how to measure tree diameter, and how to the report the data for this project through the Anecdata citizen-science platform (which is free). All of these topics will be covered in the required training webinars.
In choosing where to establish a plot and which ash trees within it are suitable for data collection, you’ll need to know if the trees were planted vs. naturally occurring (i.e., woodland vs. street/landscaping trees), and know whether the trees have been or will be chemically treated against EAB (only rarely done on naturally occurring trees), which would exclude them from this project.
Equipment/materials needed for this project:
Aside from a smartphone or tablet (or a computer plus a GPS unit plus printed data forms) to record and report data, the materials needed for this project are quite modest, including string to measure the girth of some of the ash trees in your plot, and metal tags to mark some trees. Use of binoculars and tick protection are highly encouraged, and you should also consider wearing a hardhat to offer some protection from falling twigs and branches in areas of dying and dead ash, although it will not protect you from a direct hit by a trunk or limb (see Hazard Warning/Assumption of Risk).
Because this project requires reporting of detailed, accurate data, we strongly encourage recording the data in pencil on printed data sheets available here, and then reporting the data on a computer, smartphone or tablet using Anecdata when you are back from the field. This way you can carefully check your data before entering it. As you’ll see, there are different forms for the first time you enter data for the project vs. subsequent years because much less data is required after the initial plot setup. Detailed instructions for data recording are provided on each of the forms; however, for the general instructions for this project, please make sure to view the required workshops, especially the one on how to join the plot network.