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Plains rough fescue (Festuca hallii) grassland mapping - central parkland natural subregion of Alberta

Description

The project objectives were as follows: · to inventory and map plains rough fescue grassland remnants within the Central Parkland Natural Subregion; · to document the condition of each plains... More ≫

Description

The project objectives were as follows: · to inventory and map plains rough fescue grassland remnants within the Central Parkland Natural Subregion; · to document the condition of each plains rough fescue grassland remnant using field-checks; · to characterise each plains rough fescue grassland remnant according to the preliminary classification, noting those that do not fit into the preliminary classification; · to provide digital coverages to be used in the development of a comprehensive inventory of native vegetation in the Central Parkland Natural Subregion. Essentially, this inventory provides resource managers with hierarchical data with respect to: · the extent and distribution of native vegetation in the Central Parkland, · the extent and distribution of native grasslands, and · the extent and distribution of rough fescue grasslands. This baseline data contributes to our understanding of the temporal dynamics of native grasslands in the Central Parkland and provides support...

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Preliminary classification of silver sagebrush (Artemisia cana) community types

Description

The Nature Conservancy has developed a standardised hierarchical system to facilitate the identification and classification of vegetated terrestrial communities (Schneider et al. 1997; NatureServe... More ≫

Description

The Nature Conservancy has developed a standardised hierarchical system to facilitate the identification and classification of vegetated terrestrial communities (Schneider et al. 1997; NatureServe 2000). The upper hierarchical levels (class and subclass) are based on vegetation structure, height and leaf form; the middle levels (group and formation) are based on climate, hydrology and leaf form; the lowest levels (alliance and association) are based on floristic composition of the uppermost strata (alliance) and total floristic composition (association). An important aspect to the classification is that the community elements are related to a set of environmental factors rather than to a particular site, allowing the classification to have ecological meaning over a broad geographical range. The lowest level of the hierarchy (the plant association) has a definite floristic composition and uniform physiography, and represents uniform habitat conditions. Habitat refers to the...

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Preliminary classification of plains rough fescue (Festuca hallii) community types within the central parkland subregion of Alberta

Description

This preliminary classification will focus on native grassland community types containing plains rough fescue and less than 25% shrub cover. Disturbances such as over-grazing, mowing, breaking of... More ≫

Description

This preliminary classification will focus on native grassland community types containing plains rough fescue and less than 25% shrub cover. Disturbances such as over-grazing, mowing, breaking of the soil, etc. can alter the species composition of grasslands, introducing a variety of non-native grasses and forbs and shifting the dominance of native species. Due to the wide array of community types that could result, such disturbed (modified) grasslands have not been included in this classification. Following phase III, which includes the field verification of remnant plains rough fescue grasslands, such modified fescue associations may be described.

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