Vital Signs

Appalachian Trail in Shenandoah National Park [Photo: U.S. National Park Service.] Forest Health
The Appalachian Trail (A.T.) passes through some of the largest and least fragmented forest blocks remaining in the eastern U.S. Monitoring forest health along the A.T. will help resource managers understand the overall condition of eastern forests.
Invasive insect, hemlock woolly adelgid, on Eastern hemlock branches. [Photo: Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station Archive, Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station]Invasive Species and Early Detection
Invasive exotic species are a significant and growing stressor with clear ecological relevance to terrestrial and aquatic systems throughout the A.T. corridor.
Gray's Lily along the Appalachian Trail. [Photo: U.S. National Park Service] Rare Plants and Exemplary Communities
Through monitoring, the A.T. Park Office wants to ensure that rare species and unique communities found on the A.T. remain viable.


The NBII Program is administered by the Biological Informatics Program of the U.S. Geological Survey
About NBII | Accessibility Statement | NBII Disclaimer, Attribution & Privacy Statement | FOIA
Science.gov Logo       USGS Logo       USAgov Logo