Vegetation ecology in the Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area
Knight DH, Jones GP, Akashi Y, Myers RW. 1987. Vegetation ecology in the Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area. University of Wyoming. Laramie, WY
The ecology of terrestrial vegetation in the Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area (BCNRA) was studied during the period 1984-1986. Seventy-five stands, distributed throughout the BCNRA, were sampled for plant species cover and various environmental characteristics. A vegetation classification and map were developed, the data were analyzed using gradient analysis techniques, and the results were synthesized with those from other relevant studies in the region. In general, the vegetation of the BCNRA is 40% juniper/curlleaf mountain mahogany woodland, 16% riparian vegetation, 15% desert shrubland, 12% sagebrush steppe, 8% grassland, 6% coniferous woodland, 2% agricultural land, 1% marsh, and 0.1% Great Plains shrubland. Some of these general vegetation types were sub-divided, creating 21 types that are included on the black-and-white, 1:24,000 map. All types except marshes and agricultural land are discussed in this report, with the discussion focusing on adaptations of the dominant plant species, environmental factors affecting the distribution of each vegetation type, vegetation changes that have occurred and can be expected to occur in the future, certain aspects of weed ecology, and characteristics of the vegetation mosaic along the north-south axis of the Recreation Area. The riparian vegetation appears to be changing most rapidly, due in large part to flood control on the Shoshone and Bighorn Rivers. The suppression of fires and floods, combined with grazing and the creation of mudflats by fluctuating Bighorn Lake water levels, have produced ideal conditions in the riparian zone for the invasion of various exotic plants, saltcedar in particular. The report concludes with a section on using vegetation data to facilitate management activities. (Abstract by Knight et al as printed in the Final Report to U.S. National Park Service and the University of Wyoming).
- Type
- Unpublished Report
- Authors
- Knight, Dennis; Jones, George; Akashi, Yoshiko; Myers, Richard
- Date of Issue
- 1987
- Publisher
- University of Wyoming
- Units
- BICA , WRD
- Keywords
- Absence (Biodiversity), Abundance (Biodiversity), Clemson, Distribution (Biodiversity), Observations, Presence (Biodiversity), Vegetation Change, vegetation distribution, vegetation ecology