Vegetation Classification and Map Petroglyph National Monument
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National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior Natural Resource Stewardship and Science Vegetation Classification and Map Petroglyph National Monument Natural Resource Technical Report NPS/SCPN/NRTR—2012/627 ON THE COVER Petroglyph National Monument Photograph courtesy of the Southern Colorado Plateau Network Vegetation Classification and Map Petroglyph National Monument Natural Resource Technical Report NPS/SCPN/NRTR—2012/627 Esteban Muldavin, Yvonne Chauvin, Lisa Arnold, Teri Neville, and Paul Arbetan Natural Heritage New Mexico Division Museum of Southwestern Biology University of New Mexico Albuquerque, New Mexico Paul Neville Earth Data Analysis Center University of New Mexico Albuquerque, New Mexico Project Coordinators Anne Cully and Lisa Potter Thomas September 2012 U.S. Department of the Interior National Park Service Natural Resource Stewardship and Science Fort Collins, Colorado The National Park Service, Natural Resource Stewardship and Science office in Fort Collins, Colorado publishes a range of reports that address natural resource topics of interest and applicability to a broad audience in the National Park Service and others in natural resource management, including scientists, conservation and envi- ronmental 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 comprehensive 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 information is scientif- ically 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 collec- tion, 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 do not necessarily reflect views and policies of the National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior. Mention of trade names or commercial products does not constitute endorsement or recommendation for use by the U.S. Government. This project was funded by the National Park Service through Cooperative Agreement 1248-01-001, Task Agree- ment J2121060005/UNM-23. This report is available from the Southern Colorado Plateau Network (http://science.nature.nps.gov/im/units/ scpn), the Natural Resource Publications Management Web site (http://www.nature.nps.gov/publications/ nrpm/), and the USGS-NPS Vegetation Characterization Program website (http://www.usgs.gov/core_science_ systems/csas/vip/index.html) on the Internet. Please cite this publication as: Muldavin, E., Y. Chauvin, L. Arnold, T. Neville, P. Arbetan and P. Neville. 2012. Vegetation classification and map: Petroglyph National Monument. Natural Resource Technical Report NPS/SCPN/NRTR—2012/627. National Park Service, Fort Collins, Colorado. NPS 354/116998, September 2012 Contents Figures ............................................................................................................................................................................ iv Tables .............................................................................................................................................................................. vi Appendices .................................................................................................................................................................... vii Executive Summary ...................................................................................................................................................... ix Acronyms and Abbreviations ..................................................................................................................................... xiii 1 Introduction.................................................................................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Background, scope, and products ............................................................................................................................ 1 1.2 The USGS-NPS Vegetation Characterization/ Mapping Program ............................................................................... 1 1.3 Park environment .................................................................................................................................................... 2 1.3.1 Location and cultural setting .......................................................................................................................... 2 1.3.2 Climate .......................................................................................................................................................... 6 1.3.3 Geology and soils ........................................................................................................................................... 7 1.3.4 Previous botanical and vegetation studies ..................................................................................................... 10 2 Vegetation classification ........................................................................................................................................... 13 2.1 Classification method: The National Vegetation Classification Standard ................................................................. 13 2.2 Field methods ........................................................................................................................................................ 15 2.3 Vegetation analysis ................................................................................................................................................ 17 2.4 Classification results .............................................................................................................................................. 17 2.4.1 Grasslands .................................................................................................................................................... 22 2.4.2 Shrublands .................................................................................................................................................... 24 2.4.3 Woodlands ................................................................................................................................................... 27 2.5 Classification discussion ......................................................................................................................................... 28 2.6 Vegetation communities of conservation interest ................................................................................................... 28 3 Petroglyph National Monument Vegetation Map .................................................................................................. 29 3.1 Mapping process overview ..................................................................................................................................... 29 3.2 Mapping methods ................................................................................................................................................. 29 3.2.1 Data sources and processing ......................................................................................................................... 29 3.2.2 Vegetation map units and legend development ............................................................................................ 31 3.2.3 Final map development ................................................................................................................................ 33 3.3 Mapping discussion .............................................................................................................................................. 33 4 Accuracy assessment ................................................................................................................................................. 45 4.1 Accuracy assessment methods .............................................................................................................................. 45 4.2 Analysis methods ................................................................................................................................................... 46 4.3 Accuracy assessment results ................................................................................................................................... 47 5 Literature cited ........................................................................................................................................................... 53 Contents iii Figures Figure 1. Petroglyph National Monument is located in the Middle Rio Grande valley to the west of, and adjacent to, the city of Albuquerque. The inset on the lower left depicts the monument in the broader New Mexico context. ............................................................................................................................................................... 3 Figure 2. Petroglyph