Meesia Monitoring on Angora Fen

Meesia spp., rare moss species of the Western United States, monitoring was conducted in the Angora Fen on the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (LTBMU) in 2011. According to Shana Gross of the LTBMU ecology staff, the monitoring question was, “What is the status of Meesia populations in Angora fen where both sod collection and the Angora fire occurred?”

Meesia uliginosa, Angora Fen, Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit. Photo by Carl Wishner.

The following photos are of the 20-centimeter square frame used to take cover estimates. These were taken along transects that were placed in the fen.

The results of the monitoring were that no impacts were detected from the sod harvest or from the Angora wildfire. Transects were established after sod harvest, so direct impact of Meesia removal may have occurred, but remaining plants were not impacted. The sod collection occurred without knowledge that the area was a fen. However, when that was realized, the sod collection stopped. As of 2011, there was no detectable change in the cover of Meesia triquetra, averaged across all four transects since the initial survey.