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The New Mexico Breeding Bird Atlas ProjectAtlas Handbook |
Cover Type Group Codes
(formerly habitat codes)
Habitat is essential to breeding birds, and each species has a unique set of habitat requirements. Effective bird conservation relies on knowledge of these habitat requirements, so that suitable habitat can be provided for all species. The New Mexico Breeding Birds Atlas project provides a great opportunity to gather some of this critical information, while encouraging participants to cultivate a knowledge of bird-habitat associations—another valuable dimension to birding. Thus, atlas participants are requested to record on the field observation card a cover type group code for each species recorded within a block.
These data will be very useful for several reasons. It will add to our knowledge of the natural history of each of these species in New Mexico and will help planners and land managers assess the impacts of changing land management for each species. You don't need to be a botanist to record cover type information. Though the list is long, only a few of these cover types will probably occur on your block. Start with the most general category and narrow it down. Choose the cover type code that contains the majority of the plants listed.
For a given species, the code should refer to the habitat in which the highest evidence of breeding was attained. If you confirm a bird species, indicate the nesting cover type in the appropriate place on the field observation card. For species that you do not confirm, enter the cover type group(s) in which you observe the most activity. If you find a species in more than one cover type, squeeze onto the card all the codes that apply.
Below are cover type groups identified by the New Mexico Gap Analysis Project and the New Mexico Natural Heritage Program at the Biology Department of the University of New Mexico. The following table lists the groups and abbreviations for major vegetation types to be used while doing atlas work. The table below also lists the physiognomic type (Tundra, Forest, Woodland, Grassland, etc.) subdivided into cover type groups. Following each cover type group is a list of characteristic plant species that can help distinguish between similar cover types. When choosing the code for a given cover type, the characteristic plants list should be the dominant or most common species with in the physiognomic type. Additional vegetation information is available from your regional organizer.
On the same line as each physiognomic and cover type is the four-letter atlas code (abbreviation) to be used on the field observation card and other atlas observation forms. Use the code for the cover type when possible. Codes for the more general physiognomic type have been provided, but try to avoid using them.
Tundra TUND Rocky Mountain Alpine Graminoid Tundra RMGT Sedge (Carex rupestris) Alpine sedge (Kobresia myosuroides) Rocky Mountain Alpine Forb Tundra RMFT Alpine avens (Geum rossii) Sierra Blanca Cinquefoil (Potentilla Sierrae-blancae) Nailwort (Paronychia pulvinata) Forest FORE Subalpine Conifer Forest SACF Engelmann Spruce (Picea engelmannii) Subalpine Fir (Abies lasiocarpa) Subalpine Broadleaf Forest SABF Aspen (Populus tremuloides) Rocky Mountain Upper Montane Conifer Forest UMCF Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) White Fir (Abies concolor) Blue Spruce (Picea pungens) Rocky Mountain Lower Montane Conifer Forest LMCF Ponderosa Pine (Pinus ponderosa) Madrean Lower Montane Conifer Forest MMCF Chihuahua Pine (Pinus leiophylla) Apache Pine (Pinus engelmannii) Woodland WOOD Upper Montane Open Conifer Woodland MOCW Bristlecone Pine (Pinus aristata) Limber Pine (Pinus flexilis) Rocky Mountain/Great Basin Closed Conifer Woodland GCCW Pinyon Pine (Pinus edulis) Rocky Mountain/Great Basin Open Conifer Woodland (Savanna) GOCW One-seed Juniper (Juniperus monosperma) Madrean Closed Conifer Woodland MCCW Border Pinyon (Pinus discolor) Alligator-bark Juniper (Juniperus deppeana) Madrean Open Conifer Woodland MOCW Redberry Juniper (Juniperus erythrocarpa) Madrean Closed Oak Woodland MCOW Silverleaf Oak (Quercus hypoleucoides) Netleaf Oak (Quercus rugosa) Madrean Open Oak Woodland (Encinal) MOOW Gray Oak (Quercus grisea) Arizona White Oak (Quercus arizonica) Emory Oak (Quercus emoryi) Shrubland SHRU Rocky Mountain Montane Deciduous Scrub RMDS Mountain Mahogany (Cercocarpus montanus) Gambel Oak (Quercus gambelii) Wavyleaf Oak (Quercus undulata) Broadleaf Evergreen Interior Chaparral BEIS Scrub Live Oak (Quercus turbinella) Toumey Oak (Quercus toumeyi) Point-leaf Manzanita (Arctostaphylos pungens) Plains-Mesa Broadleaf Sand-Scrub BLSS Shinoak (Quercus havardii) Plains-Mesa Microphyllous Sand-Scrub MPSS Sand Sagebrush (Artemisia filifolia) Indigobush (Psorthamnus scoparius) Great Basin Microphyllous Desert Scrub MPDS Big Sage (Artemisia tridentata) Black Sage (Artemisia nova) Bigelow Sage (Artemisia begelovii) Great Basin Broadleaf Deciduous Desert Scrub BDDS Fourwing Saltbush (Atriplex canescens) Shadscale (Atriplex confertifolia) Rubber Rabbitbrush (Chrysothamnus nauseosus) Winterfat (Eurotia lanata) Chihuahuan Broadleaf Evergreen Desert Scrub CBES Creosotebush (Larrea tridentata) Chihuahuan Broadleaf Deciduous Desert Scrub CBDS Tarbush (Flourensia cernua) Honey Mesquite (Prosopis glandulosa) Whitethorn (Acacia constricta, A. neovernicosa) Ocotillo (Fouquieria splendens) Grassland GRAS Rocky Mountain Subalpine Grassland RMSG Thurber Fescue (Festuca thurberi) Mixed Sedge (Carex Spp.) Rocky Mountain Montane Grassland RMMG Arizona Fescue (Festuca arizonica) Mountain Muhly (Muhlenbergia montana) Short Grass Steppe SGSG Blue Grama (Bouteloua gracilis) Hairy Grama (Bouteloua hirsuta) Mid-Grass Prairie MGPG Sideoats Grama (Bouteloua curtipendula) New Mexico Needlegrass (Stipa neomexicana) Western Wheatgrass (Pascopyrum smithii) Little Bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium) Sand Dropseed (Sporobolus cryptandrus) Tall Grass Prairie TGPG Big Bluestem (Andropogon gerardii) Sand Bluestem (Andropogon hallii) Great Basin Foothill-Piedmont Grassland GBFG Galleta (Hilaria jamesii) Indian Ricegrass (Oryzopsis hymenoides) Great Basin Lowland/Swale Grassland GBLG Alkali Sacaton (Sporobolus airoides) Chihuahuan Foothill-Piedmont Desert Grassland CDFG Black Grama (Bouteloua eriopoda) Dropseed (Sporobolus flexuosus) Chihuahuan Lowland/Swale Desert Grassland CDLG Tobosa (Hilaria mutica) Giant Sacaton (Sporobolus wrightii) Saltgrass (Distichlis spicata) Vine Mesquite Grass (Panicum obtusum) Palustrine Forested, Shrub & Emergent Wetlands WETL Rocky Mountain Forested Wetlands RMFW Narrowleaf Cottonwood (Populus angustifolia) Boxelder (Acer negundo) Alder (Alnus oblongifolia, A. tenuifolia) Rocky Mountain Montane Broadleaf Shrub Wetlands RMSW Peachleaf Willow (Salix amygdaloides) Bebb Willow (Salix bebbiana) Bluestem Willow (Salix irrorata) Southwest & Plains Forested Wetland WPFW Fremont Cottonwood (Populus fremontii) Plains Cottonwood (Populus sargentii) Arizona Walnut (Juglans major) Netleaf Hackberry (Celtis reticulata) Arizona Sycamore (Platanus wrightii) Southwest & Plains Shrub Wetland WPSW Coyote Willow (Salix exigua) Seepwillow (Baccharis glutinosa) Russian Olive (Elaeagnus angustifolia) Southwestern Deciduous Shrub Arroyo Riparian DSAR Apache Plume (Fallugia paradoxa) Brickelbush (Brickelia lacinata) Black Greasewood (Sarcobatus vermiculatus) Desert Willow (Chilopsis linearifolia) Screwbean Mesquite (Prosopis pubescens) Graminoid Wetlands PEGW Baltic Rush (Juncus balticus) American Bulrush (Scirpus americana) Water Sedge (Carex aquatilis) Cattail (Typha latafolia) Other Land Types OTHE Agriculture Dryland Agriculture DRAG Irrigated Agriculture IRAG Barren Mine/Quarries MINE Rock Outcrop ROCK Urban Urban Barren URBA Urban Vegetated URVE Urban Park URPA Water Riverine/Lacustrine RIVE Basin/Playa PLAY
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Download a PDF version of the Cover Type Group Codes (recommended for best printable version)
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