James Vanderhorst
| Organization | |
|---|---|
| State | West Virginia |
| Title/Position | Vegetation Ecologist |
| Department | Natural Heritage Program |
| Send e-mail | |
| US Eco Regions | Ozark/Ouachita-Appalachian Forests |
| Wildland Fires |
I am a vegetation ecologist for the Natural Heritage Program in the Wildlife Section of the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources. My team develops vegetation and ecosystem classifications based on thousands of plot samples across the state. We use multivariate statistics to analyze plant species composition and abundance in relation to environmental and disturbance gradients across the landscape. We also survey and map occurrences of natural communities and rare plants and produce comprehensive GIS vegetation maps for selected areas. We maintain information on plant species and vegetation taxonomies, plot samples, and occurrence data in tabular and spatial databases. Using standards developed by NatureServe and the network of Natural Heritage Programs, we assign rarity/imperilment ranks for native species and vegetation associations and we assign occurrence ranks to estimate the viability of individual populations and stands.
