Vegetation Classification and Mapping Project Report
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National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior Natural Resource Program Center Vegetation Classification and Distribution Mapping Report Navajo National Monument Natural Resource Technical Report NPS/SCPN/NRTR—2010/298 ON THE COVER Views of vegetation-mapping plots, Navajo National Monument. Photos by Dave Wegner, EMI. Vegetation Classification and Distribution Mapping Report Navajo National Monument Natural Resource Technical Report NPS/SCPN/NRTR—2010/298 Authors David Salas Physical Scientist, Bureau of Reclamation, Remote Sensing and GIS Group Mail Code 86-68211 Denver Federal Center Building 67 Denver, Colorado 80225 Dave Wegner Ecosystem Management International, Inc. 2609 Columbine Avenue Durango, Colorado 81301 Cory Bolen Bureau of Reclamation, Remote Sensing and GIS Group Mail Code 86-68260 Denver Federal Center Building 56 Denver, Colorado 80225 Project Manager Anne Cully National Park Service, Southern Colorado Plateau Network P.O. Box 5765 Northern Arizona University Flagstaff, Arizona 86011 Editing and Design Alice Wondrak Biel National Park Service, Inventory & Monitoring Program, Intermountain Region 12795 West Alameda Parkway Denver, Colorado 80225 March 2010 U.S. Department of the Interior National Park Service Natural Resource Program Center Fort Collins, Colorado The National Park Service, Natural Resource Program Center publishes a range of reports that ad- dress natural resource topics of interest and applicability to a broad audience in the National Park Ser- vice and others in natural resource management, including scientists, conservation and environmental constituencies, and the public. The Natural Resource Technical Report Series is used to disseminate results of scientific studies in the physical, biological, and social sciences for both the advancement of science and the achievement of the National Park Service mission. The series provides contributors with a forum for displaying com- prehensive data that are often deleted from journals because of page limitations. All manuscripts in the series receive the appropriate level of peer review to ensure that the informa- tion is scientifically credible, technically accurate, appropriately written for the intended audience, and designed and published in a professional manner. This report received formal peer review by subject- matter experts who were not directly involved in the collection, analysis, or reporting of the data, and whose background and expertise put them on par technically and scientifically with the authors of the information. Views, statements, findings, conclusions, recommendations, and data in this report are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect views and policies of the National Park Service, U.S. Depart- ment of the Interior. Mention of trade names or commercial products does not constitute endorse- ment or recommendation for use by the National Park Service. Funding for this report was provided by the National Park Service, InteragencyAgreement F1242030485, modifications 2, 3, and 4. This report is available from the web sites of the Southern Colorado Plateau Network (http://www.nature.nps.gov/im/units/SCPN), NPS Natural Resource Program Center (http://www.nature.nps.gov/publications/NRPM), and USGS-NPS Vegetation Characterization Program (http://biology.usgs.gov/npsveg). Please cite this publication as: Salas, D. E., D. Wegner, and C. Bolen. 2010. Vegetation classification and distribution mapping report: Navajo National Monument. Natural Resource Technical Report NPS/SCPN/NRTR—2010/298. National Park Service, Fort Collins, Colorado. NPS 312/101500, March 2010 ii Vegetation Classification and Distribution Mapping Report: Navajo National Monument Contents � Acronyms ...................................................................................................................ix � Abstract .....................................................................................................................xi � Acknowledgments ..................................................................................................xiii � 1 Introduction .......................................................................................................... 1 � 1.1 Background ...............................................................................................................1 � 1.1.1 USGS-NPS Vegetation Mapping Program..................................................................... 1 � 1.1.2 Navajo National Monument vegetation mapping project ......................................... 1 � 1.2 Scope of work ............................................................................................................2 � 1.3 The National Vegetation Classification Standard ...................................................2 � 1.4 Natural Heritage Program methodology and element ranking ............................3 � 1.4.1 The Natural Heritage ranking system ........................................................................... 4 � 1.5 Project area ................................................................................................................5 � 1.5.1 Location and regional setting ....................................................................................... 5 � 1.5.2 Climate and weather ..................................................................................................... 5 � 1.5.3 Topography .................................................................................................................... 6 � 1.5.4 Geology .......................................................................................................................... 7 � 1.5.5 Wildlife ........................................................................................................................... 9 � 1.5.6 Vegetation .................................................................................................................... 10 � 2 Methods ............................................................................................................... 15 � 2.1 Planning and scoping ..............................................................................................15 � 2.2 Responsibilities and deliverables ............................................................................15 � 2.3 Preliminary data collection and review of existing information .........................15 � 2.4 Field survey ..............................................................................................................15 � 2.5 Aerial photography .................................................................................................15 � 2.6 Photointerpretation ................................................................................................16 � 2.7 Map units and polygon attribution .......................................................................16 � 2.8 Field photographs ...................................................................................................18 � 2.9 Digital transfer ........................................................................................................18 � 2.10 Plot data management and classification analysis ............................................. 18 � 2.10.1 Plot data management .............................................................................................. 18 � 2.10.2 Vegetation classification ........................................................................................... 18 � 2.11 Map verification ...................................................................................................18 � 3 Results .................................................................................................................. 19 � 3.1 Field data collection ................................................................................................19 � 3.2 Vegetation classification .........................................................................................19 � 3.3 Map units .................................................................................................................20 � 3.4 Vegetation alliances and associations ...................................................................20 � 3.4.1 Herbaceous vegetation ................................................................................................ 23 � 3.4.1.1 Aquilegia micrantha - Mimulus eastwoodiae Herbaceous Vegetation ......... 23 � 3.4.1.2 Eleocharis palustris Seasonally Flooded Herbaceous Alliance ........................ 26 � 3.4.1.3 Hesperostipa comata - Bouteloua gracilis Herbaceous Alliance .................... 29 � 3.4.1.4 Hesperostipa comata - Achnatherum hymenoides Herbaceous Vegetation. 32 � 3.4.2 Shrubland vegetation .................................................................................................. 34 � 3.4.2.1 Artemisia tridentata ssp. wyomingensis Shrubland Alliance ......................... 34 � 3.4.2.2 Artemisia tridentata ssp. wyomingensis / Hesperostipa comata Colorado Plateau Shrubland .......................................................................................................... 37 � Contents iii 3.4.2.3 Atriplex canescens Shrubland Alliance ............................................................ 39 � 3.4.2.4 Atriplex canescens / Sporobolus airoides Shrubland ....................................... 41 � 3.4.2.5 Ericameria nauseosa Shrubland Alliance ......................................................... 44