Vegetation Classification Report Great Basin National Park
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National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior Mojave Desert Inventory and Monitoring Network Vegetation Classification Report Great Basin National Park ON THE COVER Mount Wheeler (from saddle between Bald Mountain) Photograph by: Keith Schulz Vegetation Classification Report: Great Basin National Park Keith A. Schulz NatureServe 4001 Discovery, Suite 2110 Boulder, CO 80303 Mark Hall NatureServe 4001 Discovery, Suite 2110 Boulder, CO 80303 March 2011 NatureServe Western Regional Office Boulder, Colorado Fort Collins, Colorado i Please cite this publication as: Schulz, K. A. and M. E. Hall. 2011. Vegetation Classification Report: Great Basin National Park. Unpublished Report submitted to USDI, National Park Service, Mojave Desert Inventory and Monitoring Network. NatureServe, Western Regional Office, Boulder, Colorado. 30 pp. plus Appendices A-H. ii Contents Page Figures............................................................................................................................................ iv Tables.............................................................................................................................................. v Appendices..................................................................................................................................... vi Acknowledgments......................................................................................................................... vii Introduction..................................................................................................................................... 1 National Park Service Vegetation Inventory Program ............................................................ 1 National Vegetation Classification Standard ........................................................................... 2 Mojave Desert Inventory and Monitoring Network ................................................................ 4 Great Basin National Park ....................................................................................................... 5 Natural Setting.................................................................................................................... 5 Vegetation ........................................................................................................................... 5 Methods........................................................................................................................................... 8 Planning, Data Gathering and Coordination............................................................................ 8 Roles and Responsibilities....................................................................................................... 9 MOJN Staff.......................................................................................................................... 9 GRBA Staff.......................................................................................................................... 9 NS (Western Regional Office) ............................................................................................. 9 Field Surveys ........................................................................................................................... 9 Vegetation Data collection .................................................................................................... 11 Vegetation Classification....................................................................................................... 15 Dataset Preparation................................................................................................................ 15 Data Analysis.................................................................................................................... 16 Results........................................................................................................................................... 20 Vegetation Classification....................................................................................................... 20 Discussion..................................................................................................................................... 27 Future Recommendations ...................................................................................................... 28 Research and Management Opportunities ............................................................................. 28 Literature Cited ............................................................................................................................. 29 iii FIGURES Page Figure 1. Map of Mojave Desert Network..................................................................................... 4 Figure 2. NPS Great Basin National Park location map. ............................................................... 6 Figure 3. Locations of vegetation sample sites within GRBA boundaries. Several sites occur in the Administrative Site outside the main park boundary near Baker, NV. ..................... 14 Figure 4. 3-D representation of GRBA dataset using Nonmetric Multidimensional Scaling (NMS) ordination. Note outliers which were identified and removed before underlining grouping could be seen. ................................................................................................................ 17 Figure 5. 3-D representation of GRBA dataset using Nonmetric Multidimensional Scaling (NMS) ordination. Note group of pinyon-juniper woodlands clearly identified from remaining unclassified plots. ........................................................................................................ 18 Figure 6. 2-D representation of GRBA dataset using Nonmetric Multidimensional Scaling (NMS) ordination of the first and third axes identifies the pinyon-juniper plots that can be removed for further analysis ......................................................................................................... 19 iv TABLES Page Table 1. Summary of NVCSv2 Revised Hierarchy Levels and Criteria for Natural Vegetation....................................................................................................................................... 3 Table 2. Plot Sizes Used for Classification Sampling at GRBA. ................................................. 10 Table 3. Cover classes and vegetation strata. ............................................................................... 10 Table 4. Summary of sample units by type, location and year of collection .............................. 13 Table 5. Conversion of strata from original data to final stratum used in analyses .................... 16 Table 6. Summary of the association level of rUSNVC for the GRBA Vegetation Classification. Associations and Park Specials are listed with the number of sites sampled by type within GRBA project area. The total number of plots, which includes nearby field samples outside of project area, is also provided for comparison. Plant communities with “*” have a local description written in Appendix G. Field data from outside the project area was used to augment the local descriptions. Other common vegetation types are described at the alliance or group level of the rUSNVC. .................................................................................. 22 Table 7. Conversion of strata from original data to final stratum used in analyses .................... 26 v APPENDICES Appendix A: Ecological System Gap Analysis and Sampling Design Review Appendix B: GRBA Field Data Forms Appendix C: GRBA Field Manuals Appendix D: GRBA Field Plot Crosswalk to Revised US National Vegetation Classification Associations Appendix E: GRBA Vegetation Classification in the revised US National Vegetation Classification Hierarchy Appendix F: Field Key to the Vegetation of Great Basin National Park, Nevada Appendix G: Plant Alliance and Association Descriptions for Great Basin National Park, Nevada Appendix H: Field Key to the Map Classes of Great Basin National Park, Nevada vi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The production of this vegetation inventory for this large, diverse and rugged national park site required the enthusiasm and energy of many people over several years. The dedication of all involved that helped to produce the product is gratefully acknowledged. We would specifically like to thank the following people for their efforts: Jeanne Taylor and Alice Chung-MacCoubrey, Vegetation Mapping Coordinators, National Park Service Mojave Desert Inventory & Monitoring Network for project coordination and financial support. Special thanks go to Jeanne, who shepherded this project along and was involved in all phases of the project from classification plot field data collection, field crew trainings, and review of draft and final products. Drs. Jan Van Wagtendonk and Peggy Moore from U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), and David Charlet, University Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV) for leading the 2003 research and the 2003 field crew members for collecting a significant portion of the vegetation field data. Special thanks goes to the natural resource staff at Great Basin National Park, especially Tod Williams, Gretchen Baker, Ben Roberts and Bryan Hamilton for sharing local knowledge, biological expertise and logistical and financial support. In addition, the GRBA provided the staff that collected most of the rapid assessment points during the 2009 field season, which greatly enhanced the completeness of the vegetation field sampling and the vegetation classification,