Riparian wetland vegetation transitions into blue spruce forest along San Antonio Creek.
NPS/Sarah Hall
Valles Caldera National Preserve's elevation range between 8,000 and 11,254 feet fosters a diversity of plant communities. This topographic mosaic of expansive valley meadows, lush forested volcanic domes, riparian wetlands, and old growth Ponderosa pine groves are in striking contrast to the arid New Mexico landscapes at lower elevations.
Plant Communities
Riparian wetlands at Valles Caldera include the marshy meadows, fens, bogs, vernal pools, springs, and seeps that occur in the large, open, low-gradient landscape areas. About 8% of Valles Caldera's land area can be classified as wetlands. A variety of sedges (Carex spp.), cinquefoil (Potentilla spp.), rushes (Juncus and Eleocharis spp.), and longleaf pondweed (Potamogeton nodosis) comprise Valles Caldera's wet meadows.
According to Muldavin and Tonne (2003), the edges of the intermittent and perennial streams at Valles Caldera support a diverse layer of over 40 grasses and forbs, most of which are aquatic plants. The most common ones are Canada reedgrass (Calamagrostis canadensis), Fendler's waterleaf (Hydrophyllum fendleri), seep monkeyflower (Mimulus guttatus), Columbian monkshood (Aconitum columbianum), and Fendler's cowbane (Oxypolis fendleri).
The rolling montane grasslands, or valles, are the reason for Valles Caldera's name.
NPS/L. Ray
Montane grasslands or meadows contain predominantly grass and grass-like species. Trees are usually absent or rare. However, montane grasslands are vulnerable to encroachment of trees due to changing climate, historic grazing practices, and the absence of low-severity and frequent fires. Montane grasslands will often burst with wildflowers during the warmer months when sunshine and rainfall are abundant. At Valles Caldera, the greatest variety of wildflowers can be found in July and August.
Approximately 22% of Valles Caldera is classified as lower elevation montane grassland. Upland bunch grasses dominate, but scattered stands of trees or shrubs are present where disturbances have occurred or where a low fire incidence exists.
A quaking aspen grove on Rabbit Mountain.
NPS/L. Ray
Montane forests of the American Southwest are generally divided into four forest types based on the dominant tree species. With increasing elevation, they include three coniferous forests: ponderosa pine forest, mixed conifer forest, and spruce-fir forest. The fourth forest type is quaking aspen forest, a deciduous forest that grows in areas of past disturbance, primarily at the elevation of mixed conifer forest. Valles Caldera National Preserve contains all four montane forest types with the following percentages of land area covered:
Ponderosa pine forest: ~10%
Mixed conifer forest: ~40%
Spruce-fir forest: ~8%
Quaking aspen forest: ~6%
The mid-elevation mixed conifer forests occupy the largest area of Valles Caldera and include dry and moist mesic forests and woodlands, as well as blue spruce (Picea pungens) stands that occur along the fringes on north aspects of mountain slopes. The ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) forests, which are between the mixed conifer forests and upper montane grasslands, occupy the forest zone’s lower elevations.
Felsenmeer rock fields areexposed rock outcrops or scree fields that make up only about 1% of Valles Caldera National Preserve's land area. A felsenmeer is a unique environment characterized more by rocks than by plants. Growing conditions for plants are harsh because the poorly developed soils don’t hold much water. This community provides some of the best habitat at Valles Caldera for the American pika (Ochotona princeps), a cute, but climate-sensitive, mammal.
Species Checklist
Species Attribute Definitions
Definitions
Occurrence
Occurrence values are defined below. One or more Occurrence Tags may be associated with each Occurrence value.
Present: Species occurs in park; current, reliable evidence available.
Probably Present: High confidence species occurs in park but current, verified evidence needed.
Unconfirmed: Species is attributed to park but evidence is weak or absent.
Not In Park: Species is not known to occur in park.
Occurrence Tags
Adjacent: Species is known to occur in areas near to or contiguous with park boundaries.
False Report: Species was reported to occur within the park, but current evidence indicates the report was based on misidentification, a taxonomic concept no longer accepted, or other similar problem of error or interpretation.
Historical: Species' historical occurrence in park is documented. Assigned based on judgment as opposed to determination based on age of the most recent evidence.
Abundance
Abundant:
Animals: May be seen daily, in suitable habitat and season, and counted in relatively large numbers.
Plants: Large number of individuals; wide ecological amplitude or occurring in habitats covering a large portion of the park.
Common:
Animals: May be seen daily, in suitable habitat and season, but not in large numbers.
Plants: Large numbers of individuals predictably occurring in commonly encountered habitats but not those covering a large portion of the park.
Uncommon:
Animals: Likely to be seen monthly in appropriate habitat and season. May be locally common.
Plants: Few to moderate numbers of individuals; occurring either sporadically in commonly encountered habitats or in uncommon habitats.
Rare:
Animals: Present, but usually seen only a few times each year.
Plants: Few individuals, usually restricted to small areas of rare habitat.
Occasional:
Animals: Occurs in the park at least once every few years, varying in numbers, but not necessarily every year.
Plants: Abundance variable from year to year (e.g., desert plants).
Unknown: Abundance unknown
Nativeness
Native: Species naturally occurs in park or region.
Non-native: Species occurs on park lands as a result of deliberate or accidental human activities.
Unknown: Nativeness status is unknown or ambiguous.
List Differences
The Checklist contains only those species that are designated as "present" or "probably present" in the park.
The Full List includes all the checklist species in addition to species that are unconfirmed, historically detected, or incorrectly reported as being found in the park. The full list also contains species that are "in review" because their status in the park hasn't been fully determined. Additional details about the status of each species is included in the full list.
The checklist will almost always contain fewer species than the full list.
Visit NPSpecies for more comprehensive information and advanced search capability. Have a suggestion or comment on this list? Let us know.
A prescribed burn in the Jemez Mountains.
Photo courtesy of USGS
Fire Ecology
Native plant communities across the Jemez Mountains have evolved alongside periodic fire for eons. Wildland fire can deter invasive species from taking hold and provide further ecosystem benefits like nutrient cycling, boosting soil fertility, stimulating new plant growth, promoting seed germination, and improving habitat for fire-adapted native species. However, as Anglo-European settlement burgeoned across North America in the 19th and 20th centuries, naturally-occurring fires were often suppressed to protect life and property. This altered native plant communities across the Jemez Mountains and beyond.
Today, Valles Caldera National Preserve implements prescribed forest treatments (controlled burns) that are meant to mimic a natural fire interval. To learn more about wildland fire's role in the restoration of Valles Caldera's native plant communities, visit our Wildland Fire webpage.
Locations:Antietam National Battlefield, Appalachian National Scenic Trail, Big South Fork National River & Recreation Area, Booker T Washington National Monument, Catoctin Mountain Park, Cedar Creek & Belle Grove National Historical Park, Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park, Chickamauga & Chattanooga National Military Park, Congaree National Park, Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, Flight 93 National Memorial, Fort Necessity National Battlefield, Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania National Military Park, Friendship Hill National Historic Site, Gateway National Recreation Area, George Washington Birthplace National Monument, Gettysburg National Military Park, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Harpers Ferry National Historical Park, Little River Canyon National Preserve, Mammoth Cave National Park, Manassas National Battlefield Park, Marsh - Billings - Rockefeller National Historical Park, Minute Man National Historical Park, Monocacy National Battlefield, Natchez Trace Parkway, National Capital Parks-East, New River Gorge National Park & Preserve, Petersburg National Battlefield, Richmond National Battlefield Park, Rock Creek Park, Saratoga National Historical Park, Shenandoah National Park, Stones River National Battlefield, Valley Forge National Historical Park, Weir Farm National Historical Park, Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Artsmore »
During 2024 scouting for a large eastern grassland restoration project funded by IRA and BIL, several old growth remnant grasslands were identified in National Capital and Northeast Region parks that were previously unknown. These remnants preserve the genetic integrity of the original grassland flora of the eastern US and are true unexpected treasures that in some cases, were hidden in plain sight.
Offices:Natural Resource Condition Assessment Program
Researchers at Yosemite National Park and the Desert Research Institute have developed planning tools for park managers to better understand how forest management can benefit water availability and make forests more resilient.
Locations:Golden Gate National Recreation Area, Muir Woods National Monument
One Tam partners released the first-ever assessment of the health of Mt. Tamalpais. It was the first time that over 60 One Tam partner staff and scientists from across the region came together to look at indicators of health. We analyzed these indicators, such as special wildlife species and plant communities, at a landscape-scale to develop an overall picture of health for the mountain.
Offices:Inventory and Monitoring Division, Natural Resource Stewardship and Science Directorate, Northern Colorado Plateau Inventory & Monitoring Network
At Dinosaur National Monument, long-term vegetation monitoring provides park managers with useful information for decisionmaking on topics including climate change, grazing, and fire management. A recent report summarizes 10 years of monitoring in sagebrush and pinyon-juniper communities and provides management recommendations for their conservation.
On one of John Muir's many journeys to the Sierra Nevada mountains, as the story goes, he wrapped a small giant sequoia in a moistened handkerchief and brought it down from its high mountain grove to his home. When a fungus affected the giant sequoia, the NPS took steps to clone the tree. While logging no longer poses the same threat, the cloned saplings and their high mountain relatives continue to face new challenges in the ever changing conditions of our environment.
Offices:Inventory and Monitoring Division, Natural Resource Stewardship and Science Directorate, Northern Colorado Plateau Inventory & Monitoring Network
Although groundwater levels remain shallow enough to support mature cottonwood trees, the Fremont River in Capitol Reef National Park may be at risk for progressively lower flows over time—reducing the flooding needed for new cottonwood recruitment. Find out why—and what else the Northern Colorado Plateau Network is learning about the park’s riparian systems—in this article.
Locations:Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site, Appomattox Court House National Historical Park, Blue Ridge Parkway, Bluestone National Scenic River, Booker T Washington National Monument, Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, Fort Necessity National Battlefield, Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania National Military Park, Gauley River National Recreation Area, Gettysburg National Military Park, Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site, New River Gorge National Park & Preserve, Petersburg National Battlefield, Richmond National Battlefield Park, Valley Forge National Historical Parkmore »
Offices:Inventory and Monitoring Division
Much of the forest in the eastern United States is around the same age, regrowing after widespread land clearing that peaked between the 1880's and 1920's. Throughout the twentieth century, forests began to regenerate, eventually spreading onto abandoned agricultural lands.
Offices:Natural Resource Condition Assessment Program
Myotis bats experienced population declines after white-nose syndrome appeared in Acadia National Park in 2011–2012. The bats, however, are hanging on. You can read about (and hear!) these flying mammals, how they’re doing now, and park efforts to monitor them, including through the use of acoustic recordings.
