Uncompahgre Plateau Landscape Vegetation Classification Scheme

Vegetation can be classified in a great many ways, each classification system being most useful in a particular context. The vegetation of the UPL region has been previously classified both in very general ways (e.g., Daubenmire 1945, Costello 1954, Bailey 1995) and in great detail (e.g., Johnston and Huckaby 2001). No previous classification system was entirely suitable for the purposes of RMLANDS, however, so we developed a new system tailored to the needs and capabilities of RMLANDS. This new classification was based initially on our own field observations and experience in southwestern Colorado, and then was revised and improved by discussions with land managers who work in the UPL area. We recognized 23 distinct vegetation types ("cover types") in the UPL and surrounding area for the purposes of RMLANDS simulations, plus "Agriculture", "Urban" and “Roads” which are needed as cover types for simulation purposes (depending on the disturbance scenario) but obviously do not represent natural cover types. Not all of these vegetation types occur within the UPL boundary (see below). These vegetation types are broadly distributed along an elevation gradient. At the lowest elevations, the vegetation is dominated by semi-desert grasslands and savannahs and various kinds of pinon-juniper woodlands (primarily Pinus edulis and Juniperus osteosperma). In the foothills and on tops of broad plateaus and mesas, the vegetation ranges into ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) forest interspersed with shrublands dominated by Gambel oak (Quercus gambelii). The middle slopes are covered by a mosaic of mixed-conifer species (primarily Pinus ponderosa, Psuedostuga menziesii, Abies concolor, Picea pungens, Pinus strobiformis) and quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) stands, broken by occasional meadows and grasslands. At the highest elevations are extensive spruce-fir forests (primarily Picea engelmannii and Abies lasiocarpa), subalpine meadows, and treeless alpine communities on the highest peaks. Running through all these types are riparian woodlands and meadows along the borders of perennial rivers and streams. Each of these types has a unique ecological setting and history (Romme et al. 1992; Spencer and Romme 1996; Floyd-Hanna et al. 1996; Jamieson et al. 1996), as well as distinctive human impacts and changes since Euro-American settlement. See Romme et al. (2003) for a complete description of these cover types.