Laserfiche WebLink
• Total average vegetation cover for first hits was 67.1 percent. For herbaceous vegetation, total <br />average cover for first hits was 40.6 percent. Cover by standing dead, litter, bare soil and rock <br />averaged 3.4, 12.1, 17.4 and 0 percent respectively. Average species density was 28.2 species <br />per 100sq. m. <br />Production <br />(Table 14) <br />Total herbaceous production in 2008 was 961.8 pounds per acre. Native perennial forbs and <br />native perennial cool season grasses were the biggest producers, contributing 499.6 and 394.3 <br />pounds per acre, respectively. <br />DISCUSSION <br />Climatic Conditions of 2008 . <br />The year preceding 2008 sampling was characterized by a very wet fall and early winter <br />• (Precipitation in December of 2007 totaled a record 3.92 inches), an average late winter and early <br />spring, and a very wet May (Figure 2). But June and July were much below average. The high <br />cold- season precipitation created above average snowpack levels for the region. These wet <br />months combined with a dry summer left precipitation total for the 12 months preceding sampling <br />just above average (Figure 4b). 2008 was also a well below average year as regards <br />temperature — in fact it was the coolest year on record (started in 1986) (Figure 6). These cooler <br />temperatures likely acted to prolong the life of the snowpack into the drier summer months and <br />provided vegetation with much needed moisture, as the rest of the summer was characterized by <br />well below average precipitation (Figure 3b). It was clear in field observations, that the extremely <br />vigorous growth initiated in spring and early summer was left without support by the late July <br />observation period when wilted vegetation was fairly widely encountered. The effect of very dry <br />June and July conditions is reflected in the figures depicting precipitation of the six or four - months <br />preceding sampling (Figures 4b and 5b, respectively). From those figures it is clear that the <br />middle part of 2008 encountered below average precipitation which essentially acted to stunt <br />vegetation growth for the rest of the season. <br />• 24 <br />