Topic 18- The Foothills: Mountain Shrub & Pinyon-Juniper

Mesa Verde Field Trip

Foothill Communities:

                        Mountain Shrub

                                    disturbance frequency = ~100 yrs

                                    re-sprouting of oaks & other shrubs right after fire

                        Pinyon-Juniper Woodland

                                    pinyon “masting” (what is it? why do it?), a way to "trick" seed

                                                predators

                                    pinyon mortality over last 1-2 years - Ips beetle

                                    fire frequency ("return interval") in old growth PJ

Mesa Verde

            Fire ecology

            How old are these PJ forests?  when did they begin to become established?

            human ecology (climate & ecological change @ Mesa Verde)