Shrubland and Grassland Structural Conditions

The shrubland and grassland structural conditions are based upon the following attributes: 
    1) shrub height; 
    2) percent shrub cover (or percent grass/forb cover); and, 
    3) shrub age class. 
These attributes have the following values:

Shrub Height

Low

 <0.5 m   

 <1.6 ft

Medium

 0.5-2.0 m   

 1.6-6.4 ft

Tall

 2.0-5.0 m   

 6.5-16.5 ft

Percent Shrub Cover

Open

 10-69% shrub cover

Closed

 70-100% shrub cover

Shrub Age Class

Seedling/Young

 negligible crown decadence

Mature

 < 25% crown decadence

Old

 26-100% crown decadence

The above attributes have been combined into the following structural conditions:

1) Grass/Forb - Open
SHRB1.JPG (43879 bytes) Grasslands that have <10% shrub cover and < 10% tree canopy cover. Grasses and forbs cover less than 70% of the ground, and bare ground is evident.


2) Grass/Forb - Closed
SHRB2.JPG (55799 bytes) Grasslands that have <10% shrub cover and <10% tree canopy cover. Grasses and forbs cover >70% of the ground.


3) Low shrub - Open Shrub Overstory - Seedling/Young
shrub3.JPG (87489 bytes) Shrublands with shrubs < .5 m (1.6 ft) tall and shrub canopy cover >10% and <70% and may have <10% tree canopy cover. Areas with less than 10% shrub cover are categorized as Grass/Forb. These are post-disturbance regenerating shrublands dominated by seedlings or young shrubs. Mature, legacy shrubs may persist from before the disturbance, but occur as scattered singles or widely scattered clumps. Crown decadence is negligible.


4) Low shrub - Open Shrub Overstory- Mature
shrub4.JPG (84587 bytes) Shrublands with shrubs < .5 m (1.6 ft) tall and shrub canopy cover >10% and <70% and may have <10% tree canopy cover. Areas with less than 10% shrub cover are categorized as Grass/Forb. Crown decadence is < 25%.


5) Low shrub - Open Shrub Overstory - Old
shrub5.JPG (75683 bytes) Shrublands with shrubs < .5 m (1.6 ft) tall and shrub canopy cover >10% and <70% and may have <10% tree canopy cover. Areas with less than 10% shrub cover are categorized as Grass/Forb. Crown decadence is > 25%.


6) Low shrub - Closed Shrub Overstory - Seedling/Young
shrub6.JPG (113174 bytes) Shrublands with shrubs < .5 m (1.6 ft) tall and shrub canopy cover >70% and may have <10% tree canopy cover. These are post-disturbance regenerating shrublands dominated by seedlings or young shrubs. Mature, legacy shrubs may persist from before the disturbance, but occur as scattered singles or widely scattered clumps. Crown decadence is negligible.


7) Low shrub - Closed Shrub Overstory - Mature
shrub7.JPG (112088 bytes) Shrublands with shrubs < .5 m (1.6 ft) tall and shrub canopy cover >70% and may have <10% tree canopy cover < 10%. Crown decadence is < 25%.


8) Low shrub - Closed Shrub Overstory - Old
shrub8.JPG (105148 bytes) Shrublands with shrubs < .5 m (1.6 ft) tall and shrub canopy cover >70% and may have <10% tree canopy cover. Crown decadence is > 25%.


9) Medium shrub - Open Shrub Overstory - Seedling/Young
shrub9.JPG (89425 bytes) Shrublands with shrubs .5 - 2.0 m tall (1.6 - 6.5 ft.) and shrub canopy cover >10% and <70% and may have < 10% tree canopy cover. Areas with less than 10% shrub cover are categorized as Grass/Forb. These are post-disturbance regenerating shrublands dominated by seedlings or young shrubs. Mature, legacy shrubs may persist from before the disturbance, but occur as scattered singles or widely scattered clumps. Crown decadence is negligible.


10) Medium shrub - Open Shrub Overstory - Mature
shrub10.JPG (83644 bytes) Shrublands with shrubs .5 - 2.0 m tall (1.6 - 6.5 ft.) and shrub canopy cover >10% and <70% and may have < 10% tree canopy cover. Areas with less than 10% shrub cover are categorized as Grass/Forb. Crown decadence is < 25%.


11) Medium shrub - Open Shrub Overstory - Old
shrub11.JPG (66083 bytes) Shrublands with shrubs .5 - 2.0 m tall (1.6 - 6.5 ft.) and shrub canopy cover >10% and <70% and may have < 10% tree canopy cover. Areas with less than 10% shrub cover are categorized as Grass/Forb. Crown decadence is > 25%.


12) Medium shrub - Closed Shrub Overstory- Seedling/Young
shrub12.JPG (121735 bytes) Shrublands with shrubs .5 - 2.0 m tall (1.6 - 6.5 ft.) and shrub canopy cover >70%, and may have < 10% tree canopy cover. These are post-disturbance regenerating shrublands dominated by seedlings or young shrubs. Mature, legacy shrubs may persist from before the disturbance, but occur as scattered singles or widely scattered clumps. Crown decadence is negligible.


13) Medium shrub - Closed Shrub Overstory - Mature
shrub13.JPG (124207 bytes) Shrublands with shrubs .5 - 2.0 m tall (1.6 - 6.5 ft.) and shrub canopy cover >70%, and may have < 10% tree canopy cover. Crown decadence is < 25%.


14) Medium shrub - Closed Shrub Overstory - Old
shrub14.JPG (108357 bytes) Shrublands with shrubs .5 - 2.0 m tall (1.6 - 6.5 ft.) and shrub canopy cover >70%, and may have < 10% tree canopy cover. Crown decadence is > 25%.


15) Tall shrub - Open Shrub Overstory - Seedling/Young
shrub15.JPG (151566 bytes) Shrublands with shrubs > 2.0 m and <5.0 m tall (6.6 - 16.5 ft) and shrub canopy cover >10% and <70%, and may have < 10% tree canopy cover. Areas with less than 10% shrub cover are categorized as Grass/Forb . These are post-disturbance regenerating shrublands dominated by seedlings or young shrubs. Mature, legacy shrubs may persist from before the disturbance, but occur as scattered singles or widely scattered clumps. Crown decadence is negligible.


16) Tall shrub - Open Shrub Overstory - Mature
shrub16.JPG (144886 bytes) Shrublands with shrubs > 2.0 m and <5.0 m tall (6.6 - 16.5 ft) and shrub canopy cover >10% and <70% and may have < 10% tree canopy cover. Areas with less than 10% shrub cover are categorized as Grass/Forb. Crown decadence is < 25%.


17) Tall shrub - Open Shrub Overstory - Old
shrub17.JPG (109684 bytes) Shrublands with shrubs > 2.0 m and <5.0 m tall (6.6 - 16.5 ft) and shrub canopy cover >10% and <70%, and may have tree canopy cover < 10%. Areas with less than 10% shrub cover are categorized as Grass/Forb. Crown decadence is > 25%.


18) Tall shrub - Closed Shrub Overstory - Seedling/Young
shrub18.JPG (166817 bytes) Shrublands with shrubs > 2.0 m and <5.0 m tall (6.6 - 16.5 ft) and shrub canopy cover >70%, and may have tree canopy cover < 10%. These are post-disturbance regenerating shrublands dominated by seedlings or young shrubs. Mature, legacy shrubs may persist from before the disturbance, but occur as scattered singles or widely scattered clumps. Crown decadence is negligible.


19) Tall shrub - Closed Shrub Overstory - Mature
shrub19.JPG (182165 bytes) Shrublands with shrubs > 2.0 m and <5.0 m tall (6.6 - 16.5 ft) and shrub canopy cover >70%, and may have tree canopy cover < 10%. Crown decadence is < 25%.


20) Tall shrub - Closed Shrub Overstory - Old
shrub20.JPG (147590 bytes) Shrublands with shrubs > 2.0 m and <5.0 m tall (6.6- 16.5 ft) and shrub canopy cover >70%, and may have < 10% tree canopy cover. Crown decadence is > 25%.

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