Multivariate Analysis of Alpine Snow-Patch Vegetation Cover Near Milner Pass, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, USA
Helm D. 1982. Multivariate Analysis of Alpine Snow-Patch Vegetation Cover Near Milner Pass, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, USA. Arctic and Alpine Research. 14(2):87-95
This study attempts to quantify alpine snow-patch vegetation-soil communities with respect to distance from the center of the snow patch on north and south sites. The species composition of contiguous vegetation stands along a transect were statistically different on a multivariate basis but few univariate differences were observed. Trifolium parryi occurred more in the inner stands of the south site while T. dasyphyllum had larger cover values in the other stands. On the north site, however, T. parryi, Artemisia norvegica, and Geum rossii had more cover in outer stands while Deschampsia casepitosa occurred more in inner stands. Vegetation differed between slopes, and validation stands could be properly assigned to aspects based on a discriminant function which contained pH or gravel percentage and cover for species with small amounts of cover, such as Lewisia pygmae, Thlaspi alpestre, or Solidago decumbens.
- Type
- Journal Article
- Authors
- Helm, Dot
- Units
- ROMO
- Keywords
- Alpine Zone, Ecosystems, Habitats, Plant Communities, Plant Studies