Riparian Site Type 



The riparian site type is the area of land occupied or poten- 

 tially occupied by a specific riparian association (e.g., a 

 vegetation based ecological site type for riparian areas). 

 Each riparian site type represents a relatively narrow seg- 

 ment of environmental variation having a certain potential 

 for vegetation development. Although any given riparian 

 site type may support a wide variety of disturbance induced 

 or serai vegetation, the ultimate product of vegetational 

 succession anywhere within that riparian site type will be a 

 similar plant community. Therefore, the riparian site type is 

 an ecological site classification that uses the plant commu- 

 nity as an indicator of integrated environmental factors as 

 they affect species reproduction and plant community 

 development. 



Community Type 



A community type is an aggregation of all plant communi- 

 ties distinguished by floristic and structural similarities in 

 both overstory and undergrowth layers. Community types 

 are considered to represent serai stages. 



Site Descriptions 



Location and 



Riparian 



Landforms 



Presents typical elevation range and landforms associated 

 with each type. 



Floristic 

 Characteristics 

 of Sampled Stands 



Describes the vegetation on the site. 



Potential Natural 

 Community 



Used for serai stages (community types) and describes the 

 proposed successional pathway(s) to the climax vegetation. 



Soils 



Follows standard SCS taxonomy and description of moisture 

 regime. 



Adjacent 

 Communities 



Describes adjacent wetter or drier sites. This information 

 gives the user a mental picture of the "types" position on the 

 landscape. 



Management 

 Information 



The following management information is presented: 

 livestock, timber, wildlife, fisheries, fire, soil management 

 and rehabilitation opportunities, recreational uses and 

 considerations. In addition, the following information (by 

 species) is presented: 1) forage palatability (cattle, sheep, 

 and horses), 2) energy value, 3) protein value, 4) thermal or 

 feeding cover values (elk, mule deer, whitetail deer, upland 

 game birds, waterfowl, small nongame birds, and small 

 mammals), 5) food value or degree of use (elk, mule deer, 

 whitetail deer, antelope, upland game birds, waterfowl, small 



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