State and Transition Models (STM) depict changes in plant communities resulting from both ecosystem dynamics and anthropogenic perturbations. Ecological Site Descriptions (ESD) are documents that summarize the natural range of variation in plant communities for a particular type of land, and within each ESD the STM describes alternative ecological states that occur on a particular ecological site. These changes in plant community may be due to natural and/or anthropogenic stressors, and result in altered plant community composition and habitat structure. The responses of wildlife to changing habitat in terms of species composition, abundance, relative abundance, and diversity have been documented across ecosystems in the southwestern United States. In an effort to incorporate these important and repeatable patterns of wildlife response to changing habitat, we have reviewed the literature which identify specific relationships between plant communities described in ESDs and the wildlife habitat requirements of species of the Colorado Plateau. Understanding the relationship between the floral and faunal community and how changes to either can affect the other allows for the development of habitat interpretations that can be used in decision support for planning managemnt actions.
Oral presentation and poster titles, abstracts, and authors from the Society for Range Management (SRM) Annual Meetings and Tradeshows, from 2013 forward.