Laserfiche WebLink
<br />VEGETATION <br />A sandsage-prairie sandreed plant association was the <br />only vegetation type mapped on the upland which is classi- <br />fied as a Deep Sand Range Site in the Soil Conservation <br />Service system and includes all of soil mapping units 1, 3, <br />4, and 5. A saltgrass-alkali sacaton meadow association <br />meanders through sections 30 and 31, this is classified as <br />a Sandy Meadow Range Site in the Soil Conservation Service <br />system and includes all of soil mapping unit 7. A complex <br />of Sandy Meadow and Deep Sand Range Sites is found in soil <br />mapping unit 6. <br />One hundred and five plant species (Table 1) were found <br />in the six sections surveyed (sections 30 and 31 of T.3N, <br />R.b3W. and sections 25, 26, 35, and 36 of T.3N., R.64W). <br />Specimens of most of the species were collected and mounted. <br />Identification of the mounted plants were verified by per- <br />sonnel of the Colorado State University herbarium. One of. <br />the species found in the meadow was tulip gentian (E'ustama <br />gradi;'Zorum) (found about 200 feet south of the windmill in <br />section 31), it is listed as rare in the computerized Plant <br />Information t7etwork of Colorado State University. However, <br />this species is not listed as rare on the Colorado or <br />national lists of rare or endangered species. <br />sandsage-Prairie sandreed Association <br />The sandsage-prairie sandreed association, which is <br />classified as a Deep Sand Range Site in the Soil Conserva- <br />tion service system, occurs on Valent Sand and Osgood Sand <br />soil series. Sub-site differences and variations in range <br />condition create much heterogeneity in the association. <br />The aspect is predominantly sandsage, which provides a <br />crown cover varying from near zero to about 208, and a <br />density up to about 3,000 plants per acre. sandsage is <br />absent to rare on some of the low-lying Valent Sand bor- <br />dering the meadow, and attains greatest cover and density <br />on well-stabilized deep sands. The areas lacking sandsage <br />constitute a small but distinctive sub-site, because the <br />. shrub generally is most abundant on Valent Sand. Shrub <br />stands generally are more consistent but less dense on <br />Osgood Sand than on Valent Sand. <br />