Persisting vegetation in an alpine recreation area in the southern rocky mountains, Colorado
Citation
Beatrice E Willard, and John W Marr, Persisting vegetation in an alpine recreation area in the southern rocky mountains, Colorado: .
Summary
The alpine tundra region of the southern Rocky Mountains is a dramatic landscape which attracts many visitors seeking the refreshment that urban dwellers often get from a primeval environment. This paper describes the current situation and persisting vegetation of one of the more accessible of these areas, the tundra of Trail Ridge in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado. The harsh nature of the environment is illustrated from data of 12 years, and the more important local ecosystems are described. Man's use of this landscape leads to critical management problems, especially in national parks, because no organism similar to Man participated in these systems during the millions of years of evolution which moulded them to their present [...]
Summary
The alpine tundra region of the southern Rocky Mountains is a dramatic landscape which attracts many visitors seeking the refreshment that urban dwellers often get from a primeval environment. This paper describes the current situation and persisting vegetation of one of the more accessible of these areas, the tundra of Trail Ridge in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado. The harsh nature of the environment is illustrated from data of 12 years, and the more important local ecosystems are described. Man's use of this landscape leads to critical management problems, especially in national parks, because no organism similar to Man participated in these systems during the millions of years of evolution which moulded them to their present form.
Published in Biological Conservation, volume 2, issue 2, on pages 97 - 104, in 1970.
