: <aq. MUJ«EyAjrtTR-93-( DC- Vascular Flora and Vegetation of Capitol Reef National Park, Utah Kenneth D. Heil, J. Mark Porter, Rich Fleming, and William H. Romme Technical Report NPS/NAUCARE/NRTR-93/01 at Northern Arizona University Digital image £ Utah State University Merrill-Cazier Library. All rights reserved. ^•nVEPAR* Nortbern Arizona University National Park Service Cooperative Park Studies Unit Northern Arizona University The National Park Service (NPS) Cooperative Park Studies Unit (CPSU) at Northern Arizona University (NAU) is unique in that it was conceptualized for operation on an ecosystem basis, rather than being restrained by state or NPS boundaries. The CPSU was established to provide research for the 33 NPS units located within the Colorado Plateau, an ecosystem that shares similar resources and their associated management problems. Utilizing the university's physical resources and faculty expertise, the CPSU facilitates multidisciplinary research in NPS units on the Colorado Plateau, which encompasses four states and three NPS regions—Rocky Mountain, Southwest, and Western. The CPSU provides scientific and technical guidance for effective management of natural and cultural resources within those NPS units. The National Park Service disseminates the results of biological, physical, and social science research through the Colorado Plateau Technical Report Series. Natural resources inventories and monitoring activities, scientific literature reviews, bibliographies, and proceedings of techni­ cal workshops and conferences are also disseminated through this series. Unit Staff Charles van Riper, III, Unit Leader Peter G. Rowlands, Research Scientist Henry E. McCutchen, Research Scientist Mark K. Sogge, Ecologist Charles Drost, Zoologist Elena T. Deshler, Biological Technician Paul R. Deshler, Technical Information Specialist Connie C. Cole, Editor Margaret Rasmussen, Administrative Clerk Jennifer Henderson, Secretary National Park Service Review Documents in this series contain information of a preliminary nature and are prepared primarily for internal use within the National Park Service. This information is not intended for use in open literature. This report has been reviewed and approved for dissemination by the National Park Service. Approval does not signify that the contents necessarily reflect the views and policies of the National Park Service nor does mention of trade names or commercial products constitute endorsement or recommendation for use. Copies of this report are available from the following. To order from the National Park Service, Technical Information Center, use the reference number on the bottom of the report's inside back cover. National Park Service National Park Service Cooperative Park Studies Unit Technical Information Center Northern Arizona University Denver Service Center P. O. Box 5614 P. O. Box 25287 Flagstaff, AZ 86011-5614 Denver, CO 80225-0287 (602) 556-7466 (303) 969-2130 al image £ Utah Stitle University Merrill-Cazier Library. All rights reserved. Vascular Flora and Vegetation of Capitol Reef National Park, Utah Kenneth D. Heil1, J. Mark Porter2, Rich Fleming1, and William H. Romme3 'San Juan College, Farmington, New Mexico 2Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden, Claremont, California 3Fort Lewis College, Durango, Colorado Technical Report NPS/NAUCARE/NRTR-93/01 September 1993 Cfu Illlllllllliilllillllllilll'illlllll'iilJiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii National Park Service Cooperative Park Studies Unit U.S. Department of the Interior at Northern Arizona University Digital image £ Utah State University Merrill-Cazier Library. All rights reserved. Technical Report NPS/NAUCARE/NRTR-93/01 Date Due „n«ed.nUSA NO. 23 233 6RODAR1 Capitol Reef National Park was established in 1971 as a 241,000 acre park in the heart of the Colorado Plateau. The law creating the park called for the immediate phase-out of livestock grazing. In 1982, controversy surrounding the required phase-out precipitated the passage of a second law which called for an extension of grazing activities. This law also called for the establishment of a comprehensive grazing research program, initially overseen by the National Academy of Sciences, to determine the effects of the activity on the park's natural and cultural resources. By 1991, with NPS funding, the Division of Resource Management and science at Capitol Reef National Park eventually shepherded to completion 11 separate studies as part of this effort. This document is the first report to be published as part of this grazing research series. Norman R. Henderson Chief, Resource Management and Science Capitol Reef National Park Digital image £ Utah State University Merrill-Cazier Librarv. Ail riilit; reserved. fJRTV Vascular Flora and Vegetation of Capitol Reef National Park, Utah Table of Contents „ Page List of Figures iv List of Tables v Abstract 1 Introduction 1 Previous Work: Floristics 2 Previous Work: Vegetation 3 Location 5 Geology 5 Climate 5 Specific Objectives 6 Methods 6 Inventory of Vascular Plants 6 Inventory of Threatened and Endangered Taxa 7 Habitat Relationships of Rare Plants 7 Field Sampling of Community Composition 7 Community Classification 8 Gradient Analysis of the Vegetation 8 Vegetation Mapping 9 Results 9 Vascular Flora 9 Threatened and Endangered Taxa 9 Habitats of Rare Plant Species 10 Plant Community Classification 10 Gradient Analysis of the Vegetation 14 Elevational Patterns 14 Substrate Patterns 15 Community Patterns 16 Effects of Livestock Grazing 19 Overall Vegetation Patterns in CARE 22 Discussion 26 Vascular Flora 26 Threatened and Endangered Taxa 27 Patterns of Rarity in CARE 27 Critical Areas for Rare Plant Conservation in CARE 28 Patterns of Endemism 29 Interpreting Anomalous Plant Distributions in CARE 32 Plant Communities of Special Concern 33 Vegetation Patterns in Capitol Reef National Park 34 Random and Deterministic Patterns in Community Composition 34 Discrete and Continuous Patterns in Community Composition 35 Distribution of Communities along Environmental Gradients 35 The Role of Natural Disturbances in the Vegetation of CARE 36 Long Term Stability of Vegetation in CARE 37 Effects of Grazing on the Vegetation of CARE 38 Acknowledgements 40 Literature Cited 41 Appendix I: Annotated Checklist of Vascular Plants, Capitol Reef National Park, Utah 47 iii Digital image £• Utah State University Merrill-Cazier Library. All riahts reserved. Technical Report NPS/NAUCARE/NRTR-93/01 List of Figures Figure 1. Detailed map of Capitol Reef National Park with inset of location map of Capitol Reef National Park within the Colorado Plateau Physiographic Region 2 Figure 2. Relative abundance of rare plant taxa north and south of the Bitter Creek Divide in Capitol Reef National Park 11 Figure 3. Principal component ordination (PCA) of stands containing rare plant taxa in relation to geologic substrate in Capitol Reef National Park 13 Figure 4. Compositional patterns in pinyon-juniper woodlands in relation to elevation in Capitol Reef National Park 15 Figure 5. Patterns in minimum total grass cover within grassland stands along an elevational gradient in Capitol Reef National Park 16 Figure 6. Compositional patterns in pinyon-juniper woodlands in relation to geologic substrate in Capitol Reef National Park 17 Figure 7. Patterns in minimum total grass cover in relation to geologic substrate in grassland stands in Capitol Reef National Park 17 Figure 8. Patterns in species richness among plant community types in Capitol Reef National Park.... 18 Figure 9. Patterns in grazing intensity among plant community types in Capitol Reef National Park. .20 Figure 10. Patterns in minimum total grass cover in relation to elevation and grazing intensity in grassland stands in Capitol Reef National Park 21 Figure 11. Patterns in species richness of grassland stands in Capitol Reef National Park 21 Figure 12. Patterns in relative abundance of increaser (grazing tolerant) and decreaser (grazing intolerant) species in relation to grazing intensity in grassland stands in Capitol Reef National Park 22 Figure 13. Patterns in presence or absence of two especially sensitive grazing intolerant species (decreasers) in relation to grazing intensity in grassland stands in Capitol Reef National Park 24 Figure 14. Patterns in relative abundance of increaser (grazing tolerant) and decreaser (grazing intoler­ ant) species in relation to grazing intensity in waterpocket communities in Capitol Reef National Park 24 Figure 15. Relative abundance (% of species in a stand) of exotic (non-native) species in relation to elevation in grassland stands in Capitol Reef National Park 25 Figure 16. Overall patterns in distribution of plant community types in Capitol Reef National Park in relation to elevation and soil type 26 IV Digital image £ Utah State University Merrill-Cazier Library. All right Vascular Flora and Vegetation of Capitol Reef National Park, Utah List of Tables Table 1. List of plant species which appear on federal lists of threatened, endangered, candidate species, and species no longer candidates for listing from Capitol Reef National Park 4 Table 2. Key locations of endangered, threatened and other plants of concern in Capitol Reef National Park 11 Table 3. Geologic substrates associated with species which appear on federal lists of threatened endangered, candidate species and species no longer candidates for listing 12 Table 4. Matrix of correlations among geologic formations in relation to the presence of rare plants at CARE 13 Table 5. Summary of community