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<br />r. <br />! <br />I <br />I <br />, I <br />t <br />t <br />i <br />! <br />I <br />I <br /> <br />i <br />, <br />! <br /> <br />a. <br /> <br />PONDEROSA PINE <br /> <br />Physical Characteristics <br /> <br />(1) Physiographic Features: This forest type <br />occurs at elevations from 8,000 to 9,000 feet <br />(2,438 to 2,743 m) above sea level, generally <br />above the pinyon-juniper woodland, but below <br />the lodgepole or the spruce-fir forests. <br /> <br />(2) Climatic Features: Annual precipitation <br />averages above 16 inches (0.4 m) with an <br />average annual temperature of 33 to 430 F. <br />(0.56 to 6.10 C) and a frost-free period of 30 <br />to 100 days. <br /> <br />(3) Native Vegetation: This type is a woodland <br />plant community. Typically, this species <br />occurs in pure stands, but at the upper ele- <br />vations, it may contain Douglas-fir, white fir, <br />limber pine, or quaking aspen; and at lower <br />limits, it may also contain pinyon pine and <br />Rocky Mountain juniper. <br /> <br />(4) Associated Understory Plants: Ponderosa pine <br />understory vegetation in Southwestern Colorado <br />resembles the Arizona-New Mexico woodlands. <br />Plant communities associated with Ponderosa <br />pine, have therefore, an interesting collection <br />of diverse species. <br /> <br />Two grasses are common throughout the Ponderosa <br />pine zone. They are Arizona fescue and mountain <br />muhly. In addition to these dominants several <br />other grasses grow in moderate to sparse <br />abundance. Common among these are Parry oat- <br />grass, pine dropseed, muttongrass, Indian <br />ricegrass, western wheatgrass, blue grama, <br />little bluestem, prairie sandreed, needle- <br />grasses, sedges, Junegrass and big bluestem. <br /> <br />Forbs occur in minor amounts as measured by <br />percentage of ground covered or total yield. <br />Frequent forbs growing in the understory are <br />pussy toes, yarrow, wildbuckwheat (Eriogonum), <br />geranium, golden pea, penstemon, groundsel, <br />peavine, hairy goldaster, pasqueflower and <br />cinquefoil (Potentilla). <br /> <br />f< .' c;U <br />...." ' -. ;j, <br />Shrubby species to be expected in Ponderosa <br />pine understories include bearberry (Kinnikinniak), <br /> <br />B-12 <br />