The Vegetation of White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico1
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The Vegetation of White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico Volume I Handbook of Vegetation Communities The Vegetation of White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico1 Volume I: Handbook of Vegetation Communities Esteban Muldavin, Yvonne Chauvin, and Glenn Harper2 2000 ________________________________________________________________________________________________ SUMMARY A vegetation classification and a vegetation map from satellite imagery were developed for White Sands Missile Range of southern New Mexico to be used in environmental review (NEPA and Endangered Species Act) and for general natural resources planning. Volume I, Handbook of Vegetation Communities, outlines the vegetation classification for White Sands Missile Range and provides detailed ecological descriptions of the vegetation communities. Volume II presents a vegetation map of WSMR based on the vegetation classification along with details of map production, an annotated legend, and map unit descriptions. The vegetation classification presented in this volume is based on 1,739 ground survey points collected from 1991 through 1995. Using the species and environmental data from these plots, the classification was developed using agglomerative cluster analysis and table sorting techniques. It is structured in conformance with the National Vegetation Classification System data standard and the New Mexico Vegetation Classification. A total of 193 plant associations were described from among 52 Alliances. Of these, 71 were major associations with relatively wide distribution on White Sands Missile Range and typically were primary components or inclusions in map units presented in Volume II. An additional 122 were minor associations with limited mapped distributions. The majority of the plant associations (124) were well documented with data from White Sands Missile Range or elsewhere in the Southwest and are now considered established types in the NMNHP New Mexico Vegetation Classification. Sixty-nine remain provisional and are documented by less than five data plots, and there is little or no reference to them in the literature. Many of the provisional associations were new records for the state and Southwest. Each association was evaluated for its conservation status, and 22, mostly grassland associations were considered globally imperiled. Details of the classification are presented in handbook form with dichotomous keys for identification of associations in the field along with detailed descriptions of the vegetation composition, physical setting, and ecology. A complete list of species found during the survey is also provided along with a crosswalk to the map units of Volume II. This links the vegetation classification and vegetation map units in a comprehensive, ecology-based vegetation analysis system. The maps and vegetation classification are available in digital form and can be used in a geographic information system (GIS) as a powerful and dynamic tool for natural resources management applications. Cover: View of the Tularosa Basin from Workman Canyon (Yvonne Chauvin) 1Final Report for Cooperative Agreement No. 14-16-002-91-233 White Sands Missile Range, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, The Nature Conservancy, and the University of New Mexico. 2Esteban Muldavin, Principal Investigator and Ecologist, Yvonne Chauvin, Assistant Ecologist, and Glenn Harper, Assistant Ecologist are with New Mexico Natural Heritage Program (NMNHP), Biology Department, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico. TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION .....................................................................................................................................3 Scope......................................................................................................................................................3 Background............................................................................................................................................3 Acknowledgements................................................................................................................................4 STUDY AREA ..........................................................................................................................................4 Location .................................................................................................................................................4 Climate...................................................................................................................................................4 Landscape ..............................................................................................................................................4 Vegetation..............................................................................................................................................6 METHODS................................................................................................................................................7 Field Sampling.......................................................................................................................................7 Sampling Strategy..............................................................................................................................7 Vegetation Plots.................................................................................................................................7 Data Processing and Analysis................................................................................................................9 Database.............................................................................................................................................9 Vegetation Classification System ......................................................................................................9 Natural Heritage Conservation Ranking System .................................................................................10 RESULTS................................................................................................................................................12 Vegetation Community Classification .................................................................................................12 Conservation Status .........................................................................................................................13 Vegetation Keys and Descriptions.......................................................................................................25 Key to Major Sections (Classes)......................................................................................................27 Woodlands ...........................................................................................................................................27 Oneseed Juniper Alliance ................................................................................................................29 Pinyon Pine Alliance .......................................................................................................................42 Ponderosa Pine Alliance ..................................................................................................................53 Shrublands and Dwarf Shrublands.......................................................................................................55 Montane and Chaparral Shrublands ...................................................................................................55 Gambel’s Oak Alliance....................................................................................................................56 Mountain Mahogany Alliance .........................................................................................................58 Shrub Live Oak Alliance .................................................................................................................68 Plains and Desert Shrubland and Dwarf Shrubland.............................................................................75 Catclaw Mimosa Alliance................................................................................................................77 Creosotebush Alliance .....................................................................................................................80 Fourwing Saltbush Alliance.............................................................................................................90 Hoary Rosemarymint Alliance ........................................................................................................94 Honey Mesquite Alliance ................................................................................................................96 Littleleaf Sumac Alliance ..............................................................................................................102 Mariola Alliance ............................................................................................................................105 Ocotillo Alliance............................................................................................................................107 Pickleweed Alliance ......................................................................................................................110 Sand Sagebrush Alliance ...............................................................................................................113 Tarbush Alliance............................................................................................................................118