Laserfiche WebLink
Alkali Sagebrush Reference Area <br />(Photographs 13 through 16) <br />Cover (Table 10) <br />Native shrubs accounted for 53.9 percent of total vegetation cover. Alkali sagebrush contributed <br />more than one-half of this total. Douglas rabbitbrush and big sagebrush were more minor <br />contributors. Native perennial forbs contributed 15.8 percent of total vegetation cover. Yellow <br />stonecrop (Amerosedum lanceolatum) comprised the majority of this total. Carpet phlox (Phlox <br />hoodii ssp. canescens) and smallleaf pussytoes (Antennaria parvifolia) were relatively minor <br />components of the lifeform. Native perennial cool season grasses also contributed 15.8 percent <br />of total vegetation cover. Prairie jnegrass (Koeleria macrantha) and pinewoods needlegrass <br />(Achnatherum pinetorum) each accounted for more than one-third of this total. Thickspike <br />wheatgrass, mutton bluegrass, Sandberg bluegrass, and bluebunch wheatgrass were relatively <br />minor contributors. The lichen, Xanthoparmelia chlorochroa, contributed 14.5 percent of total <br />vegetation cover. Musk thistle (Carduus nutans ssp. macrolepis), an introduced biennial or winter <br />annual fort, and ball cactus (Pediocactus simpsoniQ, a succulent, were present but did not <br />contribute to measurable cover values. <br />Total vegetation cover averaged 33.0 percent. Average values for standing dead, litter, bare soil, <br />and rock were 6.8, 22.0, 34.4, and 3.8 percent respectively. Species density was observed to <br />average 14.5 species per 100 sq. m. <br />Production (Table 11) <br />Total annual production averaged 563.9 pounds per acre. Native perennial forbs accounted for <br />43.0 percent (242.7 Ib/acre) of all annual production. Yellow stonecrop contributed nearly three- <br />quarters of this total, The balance was contributed by carpet phlox, sulphur flower (Eriogonum <br />umbellatum), prickly gilia (Leptodactylon pungens), and longleaf phlox (Phlox longifolia). Native <br />shrubs accounted for 32.9 percent (185.6 Ib/acre) of total annual production. Rubber rabbitbrush, <br />alkali sagebrush were the major contributors. Big sagebrush also made measurable <br />contributions. Native perennial grasses contributed 24.0 percent (135.6 Ib/acre) of total annual <br />production. Junegrass accounted for slightly less than one-half of this total. Nine other species <br />made lesser contributions. <br />Sagebrush-Grass Reference Area <br />(Photographs 17 through 20) <br />Cover (Table 12) <br />Native shrubs contributed 54.6 percent of total vegetation cover. Big sagebrush was the major <br />contributor; Douglas rabbitbrush and alkali sagebrush also made measurable contributions. <br />Native perennial cool season grasses contributed 27.8 percent of total vegetation cover. Sun <br />sedge (Carex pensylvanica ssp. heliophila) and mutton bluegrass were the dominant species in <br />this lifeform. Ten other species made measurable contributions to cover and five species were <br />present but did not contribute to measured cover values. Native annual and biennial forbs <br />accounted for 11.0 percent of total vegetation cover. Although five species were present, Rocky <br />Mountain beeplant (Cleome serrulata) was the only one that contributed to measured cover <br />values. Native perennial forbs accounted for 5.7 percent of total vegetation cover. Sulphur flower <br />and rose pussytoes (Antennaria rosea) were the major contributors. Bluebells (Mertensia <br />lanceolata), Rocky Mountain penstemon, cinquefoil (Potentilla spp.), and Missouri goldenrod <br />(Solidago missouriensis) were present in relatively minor quantities. Eleven other species were <br />also present. Lichens contributed 0.9 percent of total vegetation cover. Japanese brome, an <br />introduced annual grass; Canada thistle, an introduced perennial forbs and moss were present <br />but did not contribute to measured cover values. <br />