Baca National Wildlife Refuge Floristic Inventory 2012, 2013 Saguache County, Colorado Prepared by Denver Botanic Gardens Research and Conservation Department January 1, 2014 Baca National Wildlife Refuge Floristic Inventory 2012, 2013 By Denver Botanic Gardens’ Research & Conservation Department TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction 1 Plant Collection 1 Floristic Summary 2 Areas of Note 3 Noteworthy Species 7 References 12 Species List 13 Contact Information Pam Regensberg Kathryn Kalmbach Herbarium Curatorial Assistant 720-865-3561, [email protected] Melissa Islam Associated Director of Research & Head Curator of Gardens’ Herbaria 720-865-3589, [email protected] Denver Botanic Gardens – Research & Conservation Department 909 York Street Denver, CO 80206 Baca NWR Floristic Inventory, p. 1 INTRODUCTION Denver Botanic Gardens undertook a floristic inventory of the Baca National Wildlife Refuge in 2012 and 2013 to build on Pam Regensberg’s 2006 inventory of the refuge. Our recent inventory combined with the earlier inventory (Regensberg 2007) should provide land managers a plant diversity baseline for the refuge. Regensberg (2007) provides thorough and detailed descriptions of climate, geology, soils, water resources and the vegetation communities on the refuge. Therefore, we will not repeat that information in this report but rather focus on areas of note or noteworthy species of particular interest based on recent field work. We also provide an updated species list available in multiple formats including an online checklist, which is the most valuable for helping identify species on the property. PLANT COLLECTION Surveys of the property were led by Melissa Islam and Pam Regensberg. We conducted two site visits each year and targeted the most species rich areas of the refuge, areas not previously collected, and several areas recommended by Ron Garcia (USFWS) and Corinna Hanson (USFWS) (Fig. 1). Figure one is provided electronically with this report as a kml file (Google Earth) with locality, species name, year collected, and habitat for each specimen. Individual plants or parts of plants were collected to document plant occurrences. Only plants that exhibited those characters required for identification were collected. Below these collections are referred to as specimens. Figure 1. Each circle represents a collecting site. 2006 – green; 2012 – yellow; 2013 – red. We along with several volunteers collected approximately 404 specimens. We identified plants by using a variety of floras, including Colorado Flora Eastern Slope (Weber & Whittmann 2012), Intermountain Flora (Holmgren & Holmgren 1972+), Flora of North America (FNA 1993+), and The Flora of Colorado (Ackerfield 2013). For scientific nomenclature, we generally used Checklist of Vascular Plants of the Southern Rocky Mountain Region (Snow 2009) or Ackerfield (2013). For common names, we followed United States Department of Agriculture Plants Database (plants.usda.gov). All specimens have been or will be deposited at the Kathryn Kalmbach Herbarium (KHD). Duplicates were or will be sent to the University of Colorado Herbarium (Boulder). An image of each specimen and Baca NWR Floristic Inventory, p. 2 accompanying label data for all 2012 and 2013 specimens may be accessed, mapped, and downloaded electronically from SEINet ( http://swbiodiversity.org ). Physical specimens may be viewed at KHD, Denver Botanic Gardens, 909 York Street, Denver, Colorado, 80206. FLORISTIC SUMMARY To provide an accurate summary of species diversity, we combined collections from 2012 and 2013 with the 2006 collections (Regensberg 2007). Sixty-five plant families were documented on the refuge. Most of those families (90%) are represented by less than ten species. The six families with the highest species diversity are Amaranthaceae, Asteraceae, Brassicaceae, Cyperaceae, Fabaceae, and Poaceae (Fig. 2). A total of 320 species were documented as occurring on the refuge. Regensberg (2007) documented nearly 80% (251) of those species. We added an additional 47 new species in 2012 and 21 new species in 2013. About 75% of the species are native. Of the non-native species 16 are on the noxious species list (see species list). 70 60 50 40 30 # species 20 10 0 Figure 2. Number of species are charted for the six most species diverse plant families on the refuge. Baca NWR Floristic Inventory, p. 3 AREAS OF NOTE For a thorough assessment and description of plant communities see Regensberg (2007). Here we describe particular unique areas on the refuge within known plant communities. Ephemeral Wetland Location. Ca. 3.7 miles west southwest of Crestone and 0.5 miles south of County Road T off the old Baca Grande Airport Road. 37.98109, -105.76749 (WGS84). Fig. 3. Crestone Creek widens into this small ephemeral wetland with deep channels just west of where Baca Grande Airport Road crosses the creek. The wetland though small is rich with many native aquatic and emergent plant species, including Carex pellita, C. utriculata, Saggitaria cuneata, Juncus arcticus var. balticus (dominant throughout the refuge), Alisma triviale, and Ranunculus aquatilis. Unfortunately, Canada thistle (Cirsium arvense ) colonies are also abundant at this site and unless eradicated will crowd out the native vegetation and reduce overall species diversity. Stabilized Dunes The stabilized dunes on the eastern side of the refuge represent native intact communities with few if any non-natives. Ericameria nauseosus var. oreophila (synonym Chrysothamnus nauseosus ssp. consimilis ) is the dominant cover intermixed with a variety of grasses and herbs, including Tripterocalyx micranthus, Machaeranthera spp., Achnatherum hymenoides, Astragalus ceramicus, Yucca glauca , and many other species with a patchy distributions. Stabilized dunes just south of the old headquarters on the eastern edge Baca NWR Floristic Inventory, p. 4 of the refuge include larger populations of non-natives. Non-natives become more scarce about one and half miles south of County Road T. Figure 5. Stabilized dune. Top-overview. Left- Tripterocalyx micranthus . Right- Astragalus ceramicus . Baca NWR Floristic Inventory, p. 5 Deadman’s Camp Wetland Location. Ca. 11.5 air miles south, southwest of Crestone. Heading to Antelope Springs, just north of internal gate at flowing well. 37.844115, -105.786135 (WGS84). The flowing well at Deadman’s Camp creates a large, shallow wetland surrounded by stabilized dunes. Common species in the alkaline areas bordering the water’s edge are Spartina gracilis, Distichlis stricta, Salsola australi, Suaeda calceoliformis, and Cleome multicaulis (G2G3/S2S3) . Within the water, Eleocharis palustris creates large, dominant colonies intermingled with Bidens cernua and Hordeum jubatum. Sarcobatus vermiculatus, rabbitbrush and Baltic rush are in the sandier, upland areas nearby. In 2012, Aliciella micromeria was abundant on the salt-crusted sand but was not present in 2013. Figure 6. Deadman’s Camp wetland. Top-Overview. Left-Cleome multicaulis . Right- Aliciella micromeria . Inset- Aliciella micromeria flower. Baca NWR Floristic Inventory, p. 6 Antelope Springs Wetland. Location: Ca. 12 air miles south, southwest of Crestone. Antelope Springs well ca. 1.2 miles west of eastern edge of refuge. Ditch ca. 350’ north of Antelope Springs well. 37.830718, -105.740569 (WGS84). Fig. 7. Water from Antelope Springs enters into a narrow, shallow channel with native aquatic and emergent plant species. Lemna minor, Zannichellia palustris, Mimulus glabratus, and Schoenoplectus pungens Figure 7. Location of Antelope Springs Wetland. occupy the water and the banks of the channel. Carex simulata, Spartina gracilis and Deschampsia caespitosa occur on the drier banks of the channel. The surrounding uplands above the ditch are dominated by rabbitbrush and Sarcobatus vermiculatus interspersed with Baltic rush and various native grasses. Figure 8. Ditch near Antelope Springs Wetland. Baca NWR Floristic Inventory, p. 7 NOTEWORTHY SPECIES Aliciella micromeria (dainty gilia, Fig. 6) is an annual herb in the Phlox plant family. The species prefers alkaline and sandy soils. We collected this species only twice on the refuge (M. Islam 12-266 and P. Regensberg 1522), and the two collections are nearly eight miles apart despite plenty of potential habitat. Given the species is an annual with a tumbleweed-like seed dispersal mechanism, the species is likely to occur in many other areas of the refuge. Our first collection in 2012 (M. Islam 12-266) is the first known collection of this species in Saguache County making it a county record. Additionally, Regensberg’s collection (1522) in 2013 is only the second known collection of this species in Alamosa County and the fifth in the state. The first known collection in Alamosa County was June 1921 (I.W. Clokey #4248, University of Colorado Herbarium). Chrysothamnus greenei (Green’s rabbitbrush) is a small, woody shrub – up to 50 cm – that branches from the base. It prefers open, dry areas with sandy to gravelly soils. Because Chrysothamnus greenei resembles the larger rabbitbrush that dominates the stabilized dunes, this species is easily overlooked and likely under collected. In general, the shrub has been collected only on the periphery of the valley floor, with the exception of a collection made east of Alamosa. We collected this species at the very eastern edge of the refuge border near Crestone Creek. Cleome multicaulis (slender spiderflower, Fig. 6) is an annual herb restricted to saline or alkaline soils