Some Considerations concerning the Mapping of Herbaceous Vegetation

One of the most important resources of Kansas is its grassland vegetation; it is a part of the great North American Prairie which extends from Canada to Texas. Everywhere the study of vegetation is becoming increasingly urgent in order to insure the most appropriate land-use, and in these studies vegetation maps are important tools. But the preparation and use of such maps is not without problems and some of these, as they apply to herbaceous vegetation, are discussed in the following paragraphs. The great majority of vegetation maps treats woody vegetation in much greater detail than herbaceous vegetation. Trees are often enumerated by genera or species on maps which refer to the herbaceous vegetation with no more than grassland; at times they broadly distinguish between tall and short grass, meadows, bunch grass, marsh grass and others. These observations may lead to the conclusion that herbaceous vegetation is of slight importance or that it cannot be mapped conveniently. These conclusions are not sound because in an area like the North Amer-