Fort Union Trading Post National Historic Site 2002 VEGETATION MAPPING PROJECT FINAL REPORT November 10, 2002 Technical Memorandum 8260-02-08 Remote Sensing and GIS Group Technical Service Center U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Reclamation Denver, CO USGS-NPS Vegetation Mapping Program Fort Union Trading Post National Historic Site U.S. Department of the Interior Mission Statement The mission of the Department of the Interior is to protect and provide access to our Nation’s natural and cultural heritage and honor our trust responsibilities to tribes. Mission of the Bureau of Reclamation The mission of the Bureau of Reclamation is to manage, develop, and protect water and related resources in an environmentally and economically sound manner in the interest of the American public. ii USGS-NPS Vegetation Mapping Program Fort Union Trading Post National Historic Site USGS-NPS VEGETATION MAPPING FORT UNION TRADING POST NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE David E. Salas CST Inc. Michael J. Pucherelli Bureau of Reclamation iii USGS-NPS Vegetation Mapping Program Fort Union Trading Post National Historic Site TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS ..................................................................................................I LIST OF TABLES ..........................................................................................................III LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................IV LIST OF CONTACTS....................................................................................................VI LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS ......................................................................................VIII EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .............................................................................................. 1 INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................. 2 PROJECT AREA.............................................................................................................. 3 LOCATION........................................................................................................................ 3 CLIMATE.......................................................................................................................... 5 GEOLOGY......................................................................................................................... 6 TOPOGRAPHY................................................................................................................... 7 SOILS ............................................................................................................................. 10 VEGETATION.................................................................................................................. 12 Species List................................................................................................................ 13 FIRE HISTORY ................................................................................................................ 14 METHODS ...................................................................................................................... 15 PLANNING AND SCOPING ............................................................................................... 15 PRELIMINARY DATA COLLECTION AND REVIEW OF EXISTING INFORMATION................ 16 AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHY ACQUISITION............................................................................ 16 FIELD SURVEY ............................................................................................................... 17 VEGETATION MAP PREPARATION .................................................................................. 19 Map Units.................................................................................................................. 20 Aerial Photography Interpretation ........................................................................... 20 Map Validation ......................................................................................................... 20 Digital Transfer ........................................................................................................ 20 CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM....................................................................................... 21 VEGETATION CLASSIFICATION AND CHARACTERIZATION.............................................. 21 INTRODUCTION TO THE INTERNATIONAL CLASSIFICATION OF ECOLOGICAL COMMUNITIES (ICEC) ................................................................................................... 21 DATA SETS .................................................................................................................... 31 RESULTS ........................................................................................................................ 34 VEGETATION CLASSIFICATION AND CHARACTERIZATION.............................................. 34 I. Forest ................................................................................................................ 36 II. Woodland .......................................................................................................... 38 III. Shrubland...................................................................................................... 54 V. Herbaceous Vegetation .................................................................................... 63 VII. Sparse Vegetation ......................................................................................... 90 PRAIRIE RESTORATION AREAS....................................................................................... 93 i USGS-NPS Vegetation Mapping Program Fort Union Trading Post National Historic Site VEGETATION RELATION TO SOIL TEXTURE ................................................................... 96 DISCUSSION .................................................................................................................. 98 BIBLIOGRAPHY......................................................................................................... 100 APPENDIX 1 – SPECIES LIST .................................................................................. 118 APPENDIX 2 – METADATA...................................................................................... 122 APPENDIX 3 – OBSERVATION POINT DATA FORMS...................................... 144 APPENDIX 4 – PARTIAL PICTORIAL FLORA .................................................... 145 ii USGS-NPS Vegetation Mapping Program Fort Union Trading Post National Historic Site LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Soil textures and acreages within mapping boundary and FOUS boundary. .... 12 Table 2. Vegetation alliances and associations within FOUS. ........................................ 34 Table 3. Acres of map units within mapping boundary and FOUS boundary................. 35 Table 4. FOUS Prairie restoration treatments.................................................................. 93 Table 5. Percent of soil textures within vegetation class................................................. 97 iii USGS-NPS Vegetation Mapping Program Fort Union Trading Post National Historic Site LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1a. Location map for Fort Union Trading Post National Historic Site .................. 3 Figure 2b. Location map for Fort Union Trading Post National Historic Site. ................. 4 Figure 3. Historical precipitation trend 1895 – 2002, North Dakota (National Climatic Data Center)................................................................................................................ 5 Figure 4. Historical temperature trend 1895 – 2002, North Dakota (National Climatic Data Center)................................................................................................................ 6 Figure 5. Geology map of FOUS end surroundings. ......................................................... 7 Figure 6. Topographic view of FOUS and surrounding areas........................................... 8 Figure 7. Three dimensional view of FOUS and surrounding areas.................................. 9 Figure 8. Soil texture map of FOUS and surrounding areas............................................ 11 Figure 9. Flight line and photograph centers for Fort Union Trading Post National Historic Site .............................................................................................................. 17 Figure 10. Observation points collected for vegetation characterization. ....................... 19 Figure 11. Green Ash / Chokecherry Woodland on floodplain....................................... 40 Figure 12. Green Ash / Chokecherry Woodland on floodplain....................................... 41 Figure 13. Green Ash / Chokecherry Woodland in upland. ............................................ 42 Figure 14. Green Ash / Chokecherry Woodland in upland. ............................................ 42 Figure 15. Green Ash / Chokecherry Woodland in upland. ............................................ 43 Figure 16. Eastern Cottonwood – (Peachleaf Willow) / Coyote Willow, Sandbar Willow) Woodland on the north bank of the Missouri River. ................................................ 47 Figure 17. Eastern Cottonwood – (Peachleaf Willow) / Coyote Willow, Sandbar Willow) Woodland on the north bank of the Missouri River. ................................................ 48 Figure 18. Eastern Cottonwood – (Peachleaf Willow) /