The Role of the All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory (ATBI)

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is a ~2,200 sq. km reserve (800 sq. miles) that straddles the mountainous divide between the states of Tennessee and North Carolina.
The Park contains some of the highest peaks in eastern North America, and has a very complex geology.
Known for its temperate forest richness and extensive old-growth forests, the Park is beset with a number of threats to its ecological integrity.
These threats include: invasive, exotic organisms in both terrestrial and aquatic systems; very high depositions of nitrogen and sulfur, as well as high ozone levels; increasing insularity as a result of human development and fragmentation of adjacent natural areas.
At right, a Halictidae bee pollinates a Nodding pogonia along the Grapeyard Ridge Trail. The purple substance on the back of the bee is pollen from the pogonia.

Halictidae bee pollinates a Nodding pogonia

Click photo to enlarge.
Photo by Charles Wilder.

"If you see the nodding pogonia in bloom, consider yourself extremely lucky. The plant spends several years growing underground, storing food and energy until conditions for flowering are optimal. Then, even when it does bloom, each flower only lasts a day or two."

From Wildflowers of the Smokies by Peter White.

	Progress Reports 2006 Annual Report 2006 4th Quarter Report 2006 3rd Quarter Report 2006 2nd Quarter Report 2006 1st Quarter Report 2005 Annual Report
	Prologue - Full Text Managing the natural systems of national parks unimpaired, and accessible for present and future generations, has inherent intellectual challenges as well as implications for society that are larger and more fundamental than Congress could have realized. To fulfill this mission, a logical place to start is to know what we manage— the species that live in national parks.
	The ATBI in the Smokies: An Overview - Full Text or Executive Summary THERE IS A FUNDAMENTAL FLAW in how most parks and other natural reserves have been managed. In general, we have ignored a basic principle that would be fatal in the competitive world of business: we have never attempted a comprehensive inventory of our resources.
	The Science Approach to the Smokies ATBI - Full Text or Executive Summary WHEN THE SMOKIES ATBI OFFICIALLY BEGAN ON EARTH DAY, 1998, procedures for conducting a comprehensive inventory of life in a diverse natural landscape were not available. The science committee of the ATBI, therefore, developed a Science Plan to guide our initial efforts.
	Science Education Programs with the ATBI - Full Text or Executive Summary THE ALL TAXA BIODIVERSITY INVENTORY (ATBI) in Great Smoky Mountains National Park has been, since its inception in 1998, a compelling and exciting project to benefit science, stewardship, and education.
	Implications of an ATBI for Reserve Stewardship - Full Text or Executive Summary SINCE THE 1980S, CONSERVATION HAS FOCUSED INCREASINGLY ON BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY as a fundamental goal. We can trace this focus to many causes. Interest in biological diversity has been heightened by the rapid loss of tropical rainforests, which are great centers of diversity.
	Scientific Findings, Success Stories, Lessons Learned, and an Alliance of ATBIs - Full Text or Executive Summary THE MOST FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTION ABOUT THE ALL TAX BIODIVERSITY INVENTORY (ATBI) is “How many species have you found?” This is to be expected, as the ATBI is an inventory. The answer is presented in the “Taxa Table”.
	ATBI Science Plan The ATBI Science Plan was written in 2000 by the Science Committee and reviewed by Park Staff and the DLIA Advisory Panel, including Dr. Dan Janzen, Dr. Peter Raven, and Dr. E.O. Wilson.