A Classification of Riparian Plant Associations of the Rio Grande and Closed Basin Watersheds, Colorado
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A Classification of Riparian Plant Associations of the Rio Grande and Closed Basin Watersheds, Colorado Prepared for: The Colorado Department of Natural Resources and the Environmental Protection Agency, Region VIII Denver, Colorado Prepared by: Colorado Natural Heritage Program Gwen Kittel, Erika VanWie, Mary Damm, Renée Rondeau, Steve Kettler and John Sanderson March, 1999 This report should be cited as: Kittel, G., E. VanWie, M. Damm, R. Rondeau, S. Kettler, and J. Sanderson. 1999. A Classification of Riparian Plant Associations of the Rio Grande and Closed Basin Watersheds, Colorado. Unpublished report prepared by the Colorado Natural Heritage Program, Colorado State University, Ft. Collins, CO. For more information please contact: Deb Mellblom, Colorado Department of Natural Resources 1313 Sherman St., Room 718, Denver, CO 80203, (303) 866-3311. Sarah Fowler, Environmental Protection Agency, Region VII, 999 18th St., Denver CO 80202- 2405, (303) 312-6312. Colorado Natural Heritage Program, 254 General Service Building, Colorado State University, Ft. Collins, Colorado 80523. (970) 491-1309 www.cnhp.colostate.edu ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Financial support for this study was provided by a grant from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region VIII, through the Colorado Department of Natural Resources, with in- kind services from the Colorado Natural Heritage Program. Additional funding was provided by Rio Grande National Forest and the use of a field vehicle, the Bureau of Land Management's Colorado Office, the Bureau of Reclamation, and the Denver Water Board. We’d like to thank Karen Hamilton and Dale Vodenahl of the EPA, Doug Robotham of the Colorado Department of Natural Resources, Brenda Mitchell of the Bureau of Land Management. We'd also like to acknowledge all Riparian Task Force members for their support and technical assistance, and for making this project a success. The Riparian Task Force is a cooperative group of 14 agencies joined by a Memorandum of Understanding and dedicated to the development of a state wide riparian classification for Colorado (see Appendix 2). We must thank several people in the valley for help with land owner contacts, maps, directions, hot food, hot showers, and a place to escape from the rain and mosquitoes. The riparian survey would not have happened with out the help of Dean Erhard (USFS), Nancy and Chuck Werner (TNC), Mike Cassel (BLM), Fred Bunch (NPS), John Koshak (San Luis Lakes), and Hobey Dixon (Adams State College). Special thanks go to the hard working field crew Marti Aitken, and Erika VanWie in 1995; Erika VanWie, Mary Damm, and Bill Grantham in 1997. They not only collected all the field data, they identified hundreds of plant specimens, fixed flat tires, broken-down vehicles, trained volunteers, dealt with rain, heat, and bugs, happily entered the data into the computer, and contributed to and edited the community descriptions in this report. A big thank you is owed to CNHP Volunteers spending many hours in the field and at the office: Carol Adair, Liz Philips, Colorado, and many others. Extra big thank you goes to the friendly and helpful landowners who gave us permission to access your beautiful ranches. I am sure I am forgetting many other wonderful individuals, it’s not intentional. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ........................................................................................................... iii SUMMARY ....................................................................................................................................1 INTRODUCTION..........................................................................................................................2 STUDY AREA................................................................................................................................4 General Description ............................................................................................................4 Land Use ........................................................................................................................... 19 Rio Grande National Forest Stream-Channel Stability Conclusions................................ 19 Stream Flow...................................................................................................................... 20 Hydrological Modifications.............................................................................................. 20 METHODS .................................................................................................................................. 21 Pre-Field Site Selection..................................................................................................... 21 Ariel Photograph Interpretation Criteria..............................................................25 Field Data Collection ........................................................................................................ 26 Site Ranking Criteria .............................................................................................27 Data Analysis and Classification Development................................................................ 28 United States National Vegetation Classification............................................................. 29 RESULTS and DISCUSSION ....................................................................................................32 DICHOTOMOUS KEY to RIPARIAN PLANT ASSOCIATIONS .......................................42 USER GUIDE to the PLANT ASSOCIATION DESCRIPTIONS ................................. 54A-D PLANT ASSOCIATION DESCRIPTIONS..............................................................................55 CDOW GAP: Forest Dominated Wetland/Riparian Type: Mountain Coniferous Riparian..........55 USNVC: Seasonally Flooded/Saturated Temperate Needle-leaved Closed Tree Canopy ...........55 Abies lasiocarpa-Picea Engelmannii Alliance ........................................................................55 Abies lasiocarpa-Picea engelmannii/Alnus incana ...........................................................55 Abies lasiocarpa-Picea engelmannii/Mertensia ciliata.....................................................60 Abies lasiocarpa-Picea engelmannii/Ribes spp.................................................................65 Abies lasiocarpa-Picea engelmannii/Salix drummondiana...............................................69 Picea pungens Alliance............................................................................................................74 Pseudotsuga menziesii Alliance...............................................................................................76 Pseudotsuga menziesii/Cornus sericea..............................................................................76 Pseudotsuga menziesii/Betula occidentalis .......................................................................78 USNVC: Seasonally Flooded/Saturated Mixed Needle-leaved-Evergreen-Cold Deciduous Open Tree Canopy...................................................................................................................................81 Abies concolor Alliance...........................................................................................................81 iv Abies concolor-Picea pungens-Populus angustifolia/Acer glabrum.................................81 Populus angustifolia Alliance..................................................................................................85 Populus angustifolia-Picea pungens/Alnus incana ..........................................................85 Populus angustifolia-Juniperus scopulorum .....................................................................90 USNVC: Seasonally/Temporarily Flooded Cold-Deciduous Open Tree Canopy.........................95 CDOW GAP: Forest Dominated Wetland/Riparian Type: Mountain Deciduous Riparian ..........95 Populus angustifolia Alliance..................................................................................................95 Populus angustifolia/Alnus incana ....................................................................................95 Populus angustifolia/Cornus sericea...............................................................................101 Populus angustifolia/mixed Salix species........................................................................106 Populus angustifolia/Rhus trilobata ................................................................................110 Populus angustifolia/Salix drummondiana-Acer glabrum ..............................................114 Populus angustifolia/Salix exigua....................................................................................118 Populus angustifolia/Salix lucida var. caudata ...............................................................121 Populus angustifolia Sand Dune Forest...........................................................................125 Miscellaneous Unclassified Populus angustifolia Stands......................................................128 Populus tremuloides Alliance................................................................................................130 Populus tremuloides/Alnus incana ..................................................................................130 Populus tremuloides/Betula occidentalis.........................................................................134 Populus tremuloides/Tall Forbs.......................................................................................136