Proceedings Pinyon Juniper Conference

This proceedings contains 50 papers including an overview of shrubland ecosystem dynamics in a changing environment and several papers each on vegetation dynamics, management concerns and options, and plant ecophysiology as well as an account of a Jornada Basin field trip. Contributions emphasize the impact of changing environmental conditions on vegetative composition especially in the Jornada Basin and Chihuahuan Desert but also in other parts of western North America and the world.

A hierarchical framework for the classification of Great Basin pinyon-juniper woodlands was based on a systematic sample of 426 stands from a random selection of 66 of the 110 mountain ranges in the region. That is, mountain ranges were randomly selected, but stands were systematically located on mountain ranges. The National Hierarchical Framework of Ecological Units (ECOMAP) was used for the highest levels of classification, subdividing the Great Basin into nine relatively environmentally homogeneous Sections. The remaining levels are vegetation-based, focusing on the relative composition and dominance of pinyon and juniper and the dominant shrub and perennial grass species present. This approach will allow managers to better relate the results of previous, as well as new studies and management experiences.