SC State Parks ATBI
ATBI stands for All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory - an intense inventory of all species in a defined area, such as a state park. The mission for the South Carolina State Park Service's (SCSPS) All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory (ATBI) is to discover, locate, and monitor the species within SCSPS properties in order to promote science, resource stewardship and public education.
An ATBI is an important component of managing the South Carolina State Parks because it:
- Supplies current and future decision makers with the data needed to make informed management decisions.
- Provides valuable information for educating the next generation of land stewards.
- Helps scientists and managers understand and predict how disease and insect infestations will affect the state parks, with a more biologically diverse system being better able to recover.
- Protects tax dollar investments. A well managed and maintained park is more valuable than a park that is not managed or is managed with incomplete information.
- Enables the state park system to coordinate with other agencies, universities, and individuals to combine finances, manpower, and other resources for research.
- Insures current and future research projects have an integrated and standardized approach so all the data collected is useful and beneficial to the park system and the people of South Carolina.
The Resource Management Section of SCSPS is tasked with organizing and leading this ATBI project. However, this ATBI also involves the participation and support of research scientists, citizen volunteers, educational institutions, SCSPS’s Discover Carolina program, and additional state and federal agencies. Working groups and committees are also critical parts of this project, with Taxonomic Working Groups (TWIGs) providing expertise on specific plant and animal groups. The project’s overall structure is outlined in detail in its Implementation Plan.
Species will be systematically sampled to gain information on species occurrence and distribution on the various state park properties. ATBI related research will fall under the guidelines and requirements of the SCSPS research permitting process.
The mission and goals of this ATBI include development of a species inventory for the SCSPS properties. Other goals include creating and maintaining a centralized agency database, facilitating more informed land management, and promoting conservation of the state’s natural resources through interpretation and education.
SCSPS operates 47 parks located throughout the state. Five Pilot Parks, have been selected for initial implementation of this ATBI. These parks were selected because of their geographical diversity, research opportunities, staffing, and the significance of their natural resources. Over time, however, the ATBI will be expanded beyond the five pilot parks to eventually encompass all park properties.
Additionally, the information resulting from this ATBI effort will be made publically available, including photographs, individual properties’ species lists, and new and exciting discoveries.
Questions/comments pertaining to SCSPS's ATBI may be directed to atbi@scprt.com.