Case Study: Generalizing Ecological Site Concepts of the Colorado Plateau for Landscape-Level Applications

Abstract

On the Ground • Numerous ecological site descriptions in the southern Utah portion of the Colorado Plateau can be difficult to navigate, so we held a workshop aimed at adding value and functionality to the current ecological site system. • We created new groups of ecological sites and drafted state-and-transition models for these new groups. • We were able to distill the current large number of ecological sites in the study area (ca. 150) into eight ecological site groups that capture important variability in ecosystem dynamics. • Several inventory and monitoring programs and landscape scale planning actions will likely benefit from more generalized ecological site group concepts.