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classic, steep-sloped form of this community was also present. <br />Classic expression of this community typically contains very weak <br />shrub and herbaceous understories. Transitional samples include <br />greater amounts of big sagebrush or perennial grasses. <br />Sampling results do not reveal a large departure in species <br />identities between the Juniper-pinyon woodland and the other two <br />major communities. Woody plants contribute the largest portion of <br />total vegetative cover (66.8 %), with Utah juniper (Sabina <br />osteosperma) leading all plant species with 56.0 ~ relative cover. <br />Needle-and-thread grass is the second most common plant species <br />(15.2 ~ relative cover). Perennial grasses contribute 26.7 ~ of <br />total vegetative cover, while perennial forbs and annual plants <br />contribute 2.5 % and 4.0 $ respectively. Rock cover was <br />dramatically greater at 14.3 % than in the other major communities <br />• or their reference areas. <br />Not unexpectedly, herbaceous production is very low for this <br />community and is lower than for any of the other major communities <br />or their reference areas. Less than 1$ of the total production is <br />contributed by annual plant species. <br />Though big sagebrush contributed the bulk of the woody stem <br />counts, Utah juniper was the visually dominant plant species. Few <br />large Pinyon pine individuals were encountered, which serves to <br />explain both its low cover values and the community designation of <br />"Juniper-pinyon" rather than the more familiar "Pinyon-juniper". <br />- 12 - <br /> <br />