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Measuring Rangelands
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Measuring Rangelands. Uplands vs Riparian Vs Wetlands Uplands = Drier areas on landscape that are only wet for short periods after precipitation events.

Jan 12, 2016

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Donna Evans
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Page 1: Measuring Rangelands. Uplands vs Riparian Vs Wetlands  Uplands = Drier areas on landscape that are only wet for short periods after precipitation events.

Measuring Rangelands

Page 2: Measuring Rangelands. Uplands vs Riparian Vs Wetlands  Uplands = Drier areas on landscape that are only wet for short periods after precipitation events.

Uplands vs Riparian Vs Wetlands Uplands = Drier areas on landscape that are

only wet for short periods after precipitation events.

Page 3: Measuring Rangelands. Uplands vs Riparian Vs Wetlands  Uplands = Drier areas on landscape that are only wet for short periods after precipitation events.

Uplands vs Riparian Vs Wetlands Riparain = Vegetation adjacent to surface

waters, such as streambanks and shorelines. Greener vegetation because of water sources

Page 4: Measuring Rangelands. Uplands vs Riparian Vs Wetlands  Uplands = Drier areas on landscape that are only wet for short periods after precipitation events.

Uplands vs Riparian Vs Wetlands Riparian Categorization:

Lotic = associated with flowing water

Lentic – associated with standing water.

Page 5: Measuring Rangelands. Uplands vs Riparian Vs Wetlands  Uplands = Drier areas on landscape that are only wet for short periods after precipitation events.

Uplands vs Riparian Vs Wetlands Wetlands = Areas with “hydric” soils that are

permanently or seasonally saturated by water.

Page 6: Measuring Rangelands. Uplands vs Riparian Vs Wetlands  Uplands = Drier areas on landscape that are only wet for short periods after precipitation events.

Vegetation Attributes Plant Species or Type Frequency Density Biomass Cover Structure

Page 7: Measuring Rangelands. Uplands vs Riparian Vs Wetlands  Uplands = Drier areas on landscape that are only wet for short periods after precipitation events.

Plant Species or Type Plant Species = genetically unique and closely

related plants. Life Form

Grasses Grass-likes Forbs Shrubs Trees

Jen Peterson

K. Launchbaugh

K. Launchbaugh

Page 8: Measuring Rangelands. Uplands vs Riparian Vs Wetlands  Uplands = Drier areas on landscape that are only wet for short periods after precipitation events.

Frequency How often a plant occurs within a sampled

area Proportion (%) of times a plant occurs in the

total number of plots examined.

Example: If dandelions occur in 2 out of 5 plots examined = Frequency of 40%

Page 9: Measuring Rangelands. Uplands vs Riparian Vs Wetlands  Uplands = Drier areas on landscape that are only wet for short periods after precipitation events.

Density Number of individuals per unit area

Plants/ft2

Plants/hectare Etc.

Page 10: Measuring Rangelands. Uplands vs Riparian Vs Wetlands  Uplands = Drier areas on landscape that are only wet for short periods after precipitation events.

Biomass Total weight of living organisms, including

plants and animals, for a given area Usually expressed as kg/ha or lbs/acre In range assessment refers to just plants, does not usually

include weight of animals per area.

Determined by clipping and weighing

Page 11: Measuring Rangelands. Uplands vs Riparian Vs Wetlands  Uplands = Drier areas on landscape that are only wet for short periods after precipitation events.

Biomass – can vary substantially

Page 12: Measuring Rangelands. Uplands vs Riparian Vs Wetlands  Uplands = Drier areas on landscape that are only wet for short periods after precipitation events.

Cover Amount of ground surface covered by vegetation or

other objects including: rocks, litter (dead plant matter) moss bare ground

Measured with points or plots

Page 13: Measuring Rangelands. Uplands vs Riparian Vs Wetlands  Uplands = Drier areas on landscape that are only wet for short periods after precipitation events.

Structure Three-dimentsonal arrangement of a plant

community. Relates to:

Hiding Cover Thermal Cover Wildland Fuels

Page 14: Measuring Rangelands. Uplands vs Riparian Vs Wetlands  Uplands = Drier areas on landscape that are only wet for short periods after precipitation events.

Plant Composition

A calculation based on proportions of biomass or cover.

Proportion (%) of various plants (or life form) in relation to total plant biomass or cover

Species Lbs/ac Composition

Sagebrush 150 25%

Wheatgrass 400 67%

Lupine 30 5%

Yarrow 20 3%

Page 15: Measuring Rangelands. Uplands vs Riparian Vs Wetlands  Uplands = Drier areas on landscape that are only wet for short periods after precipitation events.

Vegetation Attributes Plant Species or Type Frequency Density Biomass Cover Structure … Composition