1. Kim Tarde Vegetation Ecology Summer 2014 Mountain Research Station, University of Colorado, Boulder

2. Ponderosa Pine Most widely distributed species in North America (Little, 1971) Characterized by open grassland interspersed with widely spaced trees Several species have an association with Ponderosa Pines Spike Fescue, Needle-and- Thread (Alexander, 1988)

3. Grass Species Spike Fescue Native, indicator of community climax with wind dispersal (Bradley et. al., 1992) Needle-and-Thread Native, mid-successional species with wind dispersal Cheat Grass Invasive, originally from Europe and parts of Asia The number and size of infestations increased dramatically over twenty years (Mosely et. al., 1999) Smooth Brome Invasive, originally from Eurasia Highly adaptable

4. Orientation There is a correlation with the orientation of aspen and kinnikinnik surrounding Ponderosa when looking at the roots of the species (Berndt et. al., 1954) Microhabitats for grass species have a suggested pattern in regions with foraging hens (Rumble et. al., 1996)

5. Question What is the orientation of grass species around Ponderosa Pines and how may canopy cover affect these species? Null Hypothesis: There is no pattern within the grass species orientation or canopy cover of a Ponderosa Pine. Alternative Hypothesis: There is a pattern within the grass species orientation and canopy cover of a Ponderosa Pine.

6. Plot Set-up Cover Classes: Class 1: 0-5% Class 2: 5-25% Class 3: 25-50% Class 4: 50-75% Class 5: 75-95% Class 6: 95-100% Randomly chose Ponderosas Pseudoreplication Three trees in the same area 10m diameter

7. Orientation: Spike Fescue and Needle-and- Thread P-Values Spike Fescue: 0.043 Needle-and- Thread: 0.115 Significant relationship between spike fescue and a N+NE orientation Indication of a relationship between needle-and-thread and a S+SW orientation

8. Orientation: Native vs. Invasive Species Compared the two native species (spike fescue and needle- and-thread) with two invasive species (Cheat Grass and Smooth Brome) P-value: 0.713 NNE: N+NE SSW: S+SW

9. Canopy Cover: Cheat Grass Canopy Cover <50%>50% 021 124 235 314 420 Species Cover Class P-value: 0.765 Present in most plots No statistically significant difference in orientation around Ponderosa Pines

10. Orientation and Canopy Cover: Open Ground Plot Orientation NNESSW 0-127 2-472 Canopy Cover 0-30%70-100% 004 1-207 3-421 Ground Cover Class P-value: 0.018 P-value: 0.014 Significant relationship with more open ground to the N+NE Significant relationship showing less open ground with more canopy cover

11. Discussion Spike Fescue and Needle-and-Thread appear to have opposite orientations Needle-and-Thread adapted to drier conditions, Spike Fescue is not No difference in the distribution between native and invasive species Native species are found on separate sides of the tree, invasive species are found on all sides Cheat grass has no relationship with orientation or canopy cover Able to grow in many different conditions, almost impossible to get rid of Open ground was more likely to be found in plots with less canopy cover More sunlight, less moisture

12. Conclusions There could be a relationship between spike fescue, needle-and-thread, and orientation; and open ground and canopy cover For future research, you would need larger sample sizes and true replication

13. Sources Cited Alexander, Robert R. 1988. Forest vegetation on National Forests in the Rocky Mountain and Intermountain Regions: habitat and community types. Gen. Tech. Rep. RM-162. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station. 47 p. Berndt, H. W., & Gibbons, R. D. 1958. Root distribution of some native trees and understory plants growing on three sites within ponderosa pine watersheds in Colorado. Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station. Bradley, Anne F.; Noste, Nonan V.; Fischer, William C. 1992. Fire ecology of forests and woodlands of Utah. Gen. Tech. Rep. INT-287. Ogden, UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Research Station. 128 p. Frederick, B. A.; Klein, D. A. 1994. Nitrogen effects on rhizosphere processes of range grasses from different successional seres. Plant and Soil. 161(2): 241-250. Little, Elbert L., Jr. 1971. Atlas of the United States trees. Volume 1. Conifers and important hardwoods. Misc. Publ. 1146. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 320 p. Mosely, Jeffrey C.; Bunting, Stephen C.; Manoukian, Mark E. 1999. Cheatgrass. In: Sheley, Roger L.; Petroff, Janet K., eds. Biology and management of noxious rangeland weeds. Corvallis, OR: Oregon State University Press: 175-188. Rumble, M. A., & Anderson, S. H. 1996. Variation in selection of microhabitats by Merriam's turkey brood hens. USDA Forest Service/UNL Faculty Publications, 90.