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Abstract
This paper explores the question "is there a relationship between seasonal precipitation amounts and vegetative cover at a specific site near Grants, New Mexico?" Several hypotheses will be investigated. One is that the organizing factor for vegetation response to precipitation is the amount of summer precipitation from convective thunderstorms. The variable winter precipitation (high in El Nino years and low in La Nina years) does not provide a dependable amount of moisture, and plant cover or basal areas are not well correlated with it. Alternatively, winter or annual precipitation amount may be the organizing factor for vegetation response. Otherwise, factors such as land use activities, soil type, geological features, temperature, etc., could be the primary organizers of vegetation pattern within the study site. A Geographic Information System (GIS ARC/INFO) vector data structure will be used to organize, analyze and display the data. Final products will include GIS thematic maps of the study area that display precipitation and vegetation data. The results of statistical and spatial operations such as linear regressions, interpolations and kriging will be presented and discussed in a subsequent publication.
Parent Publication
Citation
Potter, Deborah Ulinski; Gorman, Susan M. 1996. Spatial relationships among lightning, precipitation and vegetative cover in watersheds of the Rio Puerco Basin: An introduction. In: Shaw, Douglas W.; Finch, Deborah M., tech coords. Desired future conditions for Southwestern riparian ecosystems: Bringing interests and concerns together. 1995 Sept. 18-22, 1995; Albuquerque, NM. General Technical Report RM-GTR-272. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station. p. 113-127.
