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Continuity and Canopy
We collected data on continuity
of vegetation and the height of woody plant
canopy to help us estimate the age, extent and
quality of different habitat types. Our vegetation continuity
types range from areas with no woody vegetation to areas
of woody vegetation both continuous and dense like a forest.
Canopy height measured in 2000 ranged from 0-34 meters
above the ground.
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- 2.6% of the area surveyed along both
banks of the Allegheny River, the Monongahela and Ohio had
no vegetation.
- Conversely, 40.9% of the areas surveyed
had a 75% or better coverage of continuous and dense vegetation.
- Six Mile Island has the tallest average
canopy height of any area we sampled in 2000.
- The most mature forests in the Pittsburgh
Pool are along the Allegheny River where woody vegetation
is the tallest.
- The shortest canopy heights are found
on Brunot Island and on the banks of the Ohio. This is also
where Japanese
knotweed is the most abundant species.
Over 88% of the riverbanks in
the Pittsburgh Pool are currently not managed. Incorporating a
broader representation of citizenry into planning discussions
will be of paramount importance in the near future.
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