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Woody Riparian Vegetation in the Black and Sacramento Mountain Ranges, Southern New Mexico

1970; Southwestern Association of Naturalists; Volume: 15; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.2307/3670343

1943-6262

C. Edward Freeman, William A. Dick-Peddie,

Rangeland and Wildlife Management

A comparative study of woody riparian vegetation was conducted between the elevations of 1853 and 2463 meters on three slopes of the Black and Sacramento mountain ranges in southern New Mexico. These two north-south oriented ranges are 180 kilometers apart and the study areas were at nearly identical latitudes. East- and west-facing slopes of the Black Range and the west-facing slope of the Sacramento Mountains were sampled. Riparian vegetation on the slopes studied is generally similar and the elevational sequence of species is remarkably uniform. Floristic differences were noted, how- ever, with 23 species being found only in the Black Range study area and 23 species being found only in the Sacramento Mountains study area. Differences in soils may be responsible for many of these floristic differences. The vegetation zones of the Black Range appear to be approximately 150 meters lower than those of the Sacra- mento Mountains. There is a trend toward shrub dominance of riparian zones at lower and upper elevations in the study areas while trees dominate the intermediate elevations. The west-facing slopes show similarities in average basal area of trees, average numbers of shrubs, and in the ratio of the trees to shrubs per plot at each sampling elevation when compared to the east-facing slope. Information concerning mountain riparin vegetation is often valu- able ecologically because it not only represents a concentrated vegeta- tional type but usually reflects the patterns which may be found on upland sites at higher elevations. There are also a few species which tend to occur only in riparian situations and this fidelity enhances com- parisons from one riparian site to another. Little work has been done on mountain riparian vegetation in the Southwest. Early botanical investigators such as Bray (1901) and Blumer (1909) only incidentally refer to riparian situations. Watson (1915) described altitudinal succession of riparian communities in and near the Sandia Mountains of central New Mexico, and Standley (1915) described the vegetation of the Brazos Canyon near Tierra Amarillo along the northern border of New Mexico. Shreve (1915;