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Tundra Vegetation of Three Cirque Basins in the Northern San Juan Mountains, Colorado

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Tundra Vegetation of Three Cirque Basins in the Northern San Juan Mountains, Colorado Great Basin Naturalist Volume 45 Number 1 Article 12 1-31-1985 Tundra vegetation of three cirque basins in the northern San Juan Mountains, Colorado Mary Lou Rottman University of Colorado, Denver Emily L. Hartman University of Colorado, Denver Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/gbn Recommended Citation Rottman, Mary Lou and Hartman, Emily L. (1985) "Tundra vegetation of three cirque basins in the northern San Juan Mountains, Colorado," Great Basin Naturalist: Vol. 45 : No. 1 , Article 12. Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/gbn/vol45/iss1/12 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Western North American Naturalist Publications at BYU ScholarsArchive. It has been accepted for inclusion in Great Basin Naturalist by an authorized editor of BYU ScholarsArchive. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. TUNDRA VEGETATION OF THREE CIRQUE BASINS IN THE NORTHERN SAN JUAN MOUNTAINS, COLORADO Mary Lou RottmaiV and Emily L. Haitman' Abstract.— The vegetation of three alpine cirque basins in the northern San Juan Mountains of southwestern Col- orado was inventoried and analyzed for the degree of specificity shown by vascular plant communities for certain types of habitats identified as representative of the basins. A total of 197 vascular plant species representing .31 fami- lies was inventoried. Growth forms of all species were noted and a growth form spectrum for all of the communities was derived. The caespitose monocot and erect dicot growth forms are the most important growth forms among the communitv dominants. The most common growth form among all species is the rosette dicot. Since the early 1900s a number of ecologi- and Mather 1932). Sharp pinnacles, rounded cal studies have been undertaken in the al- crests, serrate ridges, and broad upland ero- pine tundra of the Front Range of Colorado sional surfaces characterize the alpine zone (Cooper 1908, Holm 1923, Cox 1933, Osburn of these mountains. The elevation of the San 1958, Marr 1961, Willard 1963, Komarkova Juans ranges from 1524 m in the southwest 1976, Flock 1978, May and Webber 1982). corner to 4358 m at the summit of Uncom- However, the alpine tundra of central and pahgre Peak. They are composed largely of southwestern Colorado remains relatively un- Tertiary volcanic tuffs and lavas that lie un- known (Langenheim 1962, Johnson 1969). A conformably over metamorphic sedimentary floristic study was done by Michener (1964) and volcanic intrusive rocks of Precambrian in the subalpine and alpine zones of the age as well as sediments of Paleozoic, Meso- Needle Mountains in the southern San Juan zoic, and early Cenozoic age (Casadwall and Moimtains. Another major study in the south- Ohmoto 1977). Broad regional ice fields and em San Juan Mountains, an analysis of snow- transection glaciers occurred during the pack augmentation by Steinhoff and Ives Pleistocene, producing cirques, basins, tarns, (1976), included the alpine zone as well as hanging valleys, and broad U-shaped valleys. the forest ecosystems below. There is no pub- Today periglacial features such as active pat- Hshed botanical work on the alpine vegeta- terned ground, active rock glaciers, and per- tion of the northern San Juan Mountains. In sistent ponds indicate the occurrence of spo- this study the vegetation of three alpine radic or discontinuous permafrost (Ives and cirque basins in the northern San Juans was Fahey 1971, Barsch 1978). inventoried and analyzed for the degree of Three alpine cirque basins, representative specificity shown by individual species and of the northern San Juan Mountain tundra, aggregations of species for certain types of were studied. American Basin, Hinsdale habitats. County, is characterized by a well-developed moist turf mantle interrupted by areas of Study Area bedrock outcrops, talus deposits, and pat- The San Juan Mountains are a dis- terned ground features. The vegetation in continuous section of the Southern Rocky this basin reflects a more moist climatic re- Mountains situated along the Continental Di- gime than in the other two basins, as evi- vide in southwestern Colorado. They are lo- denced by the predominance of moist mead- cated between 106 and 108 degrees west lon- ows, absence of dry meadows, and minimal gitude and 36 degrees 30 minutes and 38 occurrence of fell-fields. The elevational degrees 15 minutes north latitude (Atwood range of this basin is 3536-3962 m. 'Department of Biology, University of Colorado, Denv , Colorado 80202. 87 Great Basin Naturalist Vol. 45, No. 1 Burns Basin, San Juan County, has a north- occurs in scattered instances, and its presence west-southeast orientation. The convex or absence is inconsequential to the character slopes forming the perimeter of the main ba- of the commmiity in which it may occur. It is sin present an interesting contrast of moisture occasional in abundance and has a low con- regimes. The southwest-facing slope is char- stancy (20.1%-40%). A rare species is both acterized by a dry turf alternating with fell- rare in abundance and rare in constancy fields and imvegetated talus. The northwest- (1.0%-20%). facing slope consists of a series of tiers of The term habitat type in this study refers massive moist and wet ledges with adjacent to all of the area (sum of discrete units) that moist meadows. Midsection of the basin con- support one plant community. A habitat type sists of moist and wet meadows. The eleva- may be considered as the abiotic equivalent tional range of this basin is 3634-3932 m. of the stand-type in that the habitat type is a Both Bums and American basins have rock synthetic unit whose characteristics are ob- glacier complexes composed of tongue and tained by combining all the samples of a par- lobate units. ticular habitat. The habitat types defined are: Stony Basin, San County, is formed of Juan dry ledge, moist-wet ledge, rock crevice, three broad turf-mantled steps, each sepa- talus slope, patterned ground, fell-field, dry rated by a bedrock escarpment. Because of meadow, moist meadow, wet meadow, shrub its topographic position, the basin is contin- tundra, and krummholz. Nomenclature fol- ually buffeted by strong wind resulting in a lows Kartesz and Kartesz (1980). more severe climatic regime than is found in the other two basins. Islands of dry meadows and fell-fields interrupt the moist meadow of Results the upper two steps of the basin. The latter In the following description of habitat have an abundance of frost-associated fea- types and associated communities, only the tures including frost boils, patterned ground, dominant and secondary or more important ephemeral ponds, and rock debris islands. species are listed. The lower step is characterized by a shallow lake and hummocky wet meadow. The eleva- Habitat tional range of Stony Basin is 3764-3926 m. Ledge Type The rock ledge habitat consists of the bed- Methods rock outcrops which, as a result of jointing and weathering, form benches and channels Three field seasons, 1981-1983, were in- where windborne fines are deposited and or- volved in the study. One hundred ninety-nine ganic debris is accumulated to form a sub- habitats and their associated vascular plant strate for vegetation. The orientation of the commimities were sampled. The abundance bedrock and amount of protection provided of each species was estimated using the stan- by rock overhang are controlling factors in dard abimdance classes of Daubenmire the microenvironment of this habitat type (1968). As data from multiple samples of a (Younkin 1970). For purposes of vegetation particular habitat type accumulated, the in- ventoried species and their abundance ratings analysis, the ledge habitat is divided along a were analyzed on the basis of constancy of moisture gradient and includes dry ledges occurrence between samples (Mueller-Dom- and moist-wet ledges. Two communities are bois and Ellenberg 1974). The terms used in found in the dry ledge habitat and three in describing the species within a community, the moist-wet ledge habitat. dominant, secondary, frequent, occasional, Geinn rossii var. turbinattim and Selagi- and rare, are defined as follows. A dominant nella densa are frequent species in one of the species is very abimdant (abundance class) dry ledge communities. Other important spe- and occurs with a high constancy cies include Aquilegia coerulea, Cystopteris (80.1%- 100%). A frequent species is frequent fmgilis, Draha crassa, PotcntiUa subjuga var. in abundance and has an intermediate con- subjiiga, Silene acaulis var. subacauUs, and stancy (40.1%- 60%). An occasional species Smelowskia cah/rina. The other dry ledge January 1985 ROTTMAN, HaRTMAN: COLORADO TuNDRA VEGETATION 89 community is characterized by Carex hay- species show a high constancy for this habi- deniana, Cerastiitm earlei, Dmba crassa, Fes- tat: Angelica grayi, Aquilegia coerulea, Ceras- tuca brachyphyUa, Potentilla nivea, P. rubri- tium earlei, Claytonia megarhiza, Polemo- caulis, Saxifraga fkigellaris ssp. platysepala, nium viscosum, Senecio amplectens var. am- and Trifolium naniim. plectens, S. amplectens var. holmii, S. One of the moist-wet ledge communities is soldanella, and S. werneriifolitis. dominated by Geiim rossii var. turbinatum, heteroneura var. with Carex albonigra, C. Patterned Ground Habitat Type chalciolepis, Erigeron melanocephahis, and Saxifraga cespitosa ssp. delicatiila as impor- Washburn (1956) defines patterned ground tant associates. Another moist-wet ledge as, "a group term for the more or less sym- commimity has Salix reticulata ssp. nivalis as metrical forms, such as circles, polygons, dominant. Associated with this species are nets, steps and stripes, that are characteristic Carex albonigra, Salix arctica, Saxifraga ad- of, but not necessarily confined to, a mantle scendens ssp. oregonensis, and S. debilis. subject to intensive frost action." The forms Ledges with snowmelt water running of patterned ground found in the study basins through fissures in the rock constitute the are nonsorted circles (frost boils and frost third possible moist-wet ledge habitat.
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