Laserfiche WebLink
<br />ECOLOGICAL OVERVIEW. PART 1. VEGETATION INVENTORY )j <br />2/ <br />Paula V. Krebs - , David P. Groeneveld, J. Page Spencer <br /> <br /> <br />ABSTRACT <br /> <br />Vegetation maps provide a daca base for an ecological <br />overview of the San Juan Ecology Project. Three types <br />of maps were derived from aircraft and satellite <br />coverage collected in 1972-73: 14 detailed vegetation <br />maps at a scale of 1:24,000; a color generalized vege- <br />tation map at a scale of 1:120,000; and a l~gogramatic <br />map of generalized vegetation for a 9644 km area. <br />The areal extent of cover types was estimated from <br />planimetric measurements of the detailed vegetation <br />maps, and from computer-aided analysis of LANDSAT-I <br />satellite data for a 63 quadrangle area of the San <br />Juan Mountains. Descriptive categories of major plant <br />communities may indicate ecological units for detailed <br />analysis. A generalized vegetation map indicates the <br />distribution of the major units from which areas <br />potentially subject to environmental alteration could <br />be selected for specific study. <br /> <br />ASPECT <br />Distribution on <br />J2,000 FT. <br /> <br />II <br /> <br />10 <br /> <br />9 <br /> <br />8 <br /> <br />7 <br /> <br />6 <br /> <br />5,000 FT. <br /> <br />INTRODUCTION <br /> <br />Vegetation is one of the most obvious features of any <br />landscape. There is a direct relationship between <br />plant communities and their environment. Mapping <br />vegetation is an effective method to present the <br />ecological order of our living space. This is so <br />because a map can show the geographical location, <br />extent, and distribution of plant communities <br />objectively and in a meaningful way (Kuchler 1974). <br /> <br />In the San Juan Mountains, exposure, slopes, and <br />other factors affect the elevational zonation of <br />vegetation (Figure 1). Broad, open valleys or <br />mountainsides tend to support more vegetation <br />characteristic of lower elevational belts than do <br />steeper and narrower ones. <br /> <br />Slop. <br />3658 m <br /> <br />SUBALPINE <br />FIR <br /> <br />1524 m <br /> <br />Figure 1. Distribution of forest species relating to elevation and slope aspect. <br /> <br />l/ In Steinhoff, Harold W. and Jack D. Ives (Eds.) 1976. Ecological Impacts of Snowpack Augmentation in <br />the San Juan Mountains, Colorado. Final Report, San Juan Ecology Project, Colorado State University, Publ., <br />Fort Collins. <br />~/ Present Address: INSTAAR, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado 80309. <br /> <br />81 <br />