Ecosystems
in Illinois are deteriorating, their natural functions disrupted
by fragmentation and stress. So concluded The Changing Illinois
Environment: Critical Trends, a state-of-the-environment report
published in 1994 by the Illinois Department of Energy and Natural
Resources (now the Department of Natural Resources). This first
“Critical Trends” report recommended that the state
begin collecting statewide data on both the extent and condition
of its ecosystems in order to determine the most effective and
economical natural resources policy. The report quoted Abraham
Lincoln: “If we could
first know where we are and whither we are tending, we could better
judge what we do and how to do it...”
To
learn “where we are and whither we are tending,” the
Critical Trends Assessment Program (CTAP) at the Illinois Department
of Natural Resources developed the data collection tools and programs
needed to monitor trends in Illinois ecosystems. Over the past
several years, the CTAP team has completed an atlas of Illinois
land cover, an inventory of resource rich areas, 30 regional watershed
assessments, and several years of ecosystem monitoring. The team
consists of staff from IDNR’s Office of Realty and Environmental
Planning, the Illinois Natural History Survey, State Geological
Survey, State Water Survey, Illinois State Museum, and Illinois
Waste Management and Research Center.
Ecosystem
Monitoring
CTAP monitors the condition of forests, wetlands, grasslands,
and streams throughout the state. These data provide a baseline
from which we can compare regional and site-specific patterns
and assess changes in ecological conditions. Data is collected
by professional scientists at the Illinois Natural History
Survey (INHS).
CTAP
professional scientists monitor 600 randomly-selected
sites in each of the four habitats (150 of each; 30 sites per
habitat per year) on both public and private land. In forests,
wetlands, and grasslands data on herbaceous and woody vegetation,
bird, and insect data are collected. They measure ecological indicators
such as the presence of threatened and endangered species, species
richness, species diversity, and dominance of native vs. non-native
species. In streams, aquatic insects are the primary assemblage
used as indicators of condition.
Data collected by CTAP scientists provide a snapshot of the quality and quantity of our
ecosystems. This information is vital to protecting, preserving
and enhancing Illinois forests, wetlands, grasslands, and streams.
CTAP
Links
The
Changing Illinois Environment: Critical Trends (1994)
Illinois
Land Cover: An Atlas (1995)
Land
Cover of Illinois 1999 - 2000 (2001)
Inventory
of Resource Rich Areas in Illinois (1996)
Critical
Trends in Illinois Ecosystems (2001)
CTAP
2001 Report
CTAP
2002 Report
Invasive
Plants in Illinois Forests (2003)
CTAP
on-line data
Regional
Watershed Assessments
CTAP
2003/2004 Annual Report (2.52 mb Acrobat file)
