Plant Information Network II (PIN II)

Phil Dittberner, Plant Ecologist, Bureau of Land Management, Denver, Colorado, Coauthors Mark Simmons and Mary Barkworth

A collaborative Project with Colorado State University Herbarium, Utah State University Herbarium, Canyons of the Ancients National Monument, Colorado Canyons National
Conservation Area, Gunnison Gorge National Conservation Area, and Grand Staircase-
Escalante National Monument, the Plant Information Network II (PIN II) is a database that includes information about plant species found in Colorado and Utah. Particular emphasis and effort has been expended to include the information about species found in the following areas: 1) Canyons of the Ancients National Monument, 2) Colorado Canyons National Conservation Area, 3) Gunnison Gorge National Conservation Area, and 4) Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. The database includes a broad spectrum of information about those species including taxonomic, biologic, geographical, ecological, and economic. The database is in an Access database and can be easily queried to obtain many combinations of information about plant species. Some of this information is available from other places but not in queryable form that can be easily obtained in short time frames. Other databases often are in large table or narrative formats. Examples of some of the descriptors are as follows:

1. Taxonomic – family, genus, species, infraspecific, common name

2. Biologic – anthesis, CO2 fixation, habit, life cycle, reproduction,

3. Geographic – distribution by counties, elevation ranges, endemic, origin,

4. Ecological – trophic status, habitat, mycorrhizal relationships, nodule forming, nitrogen fixing, cover value, disturbance indicator, erosion control potential, establishment requirements, growth on soils, growth on slopes, soil depths, potential biomass production, vegetation associations,

5. Economic – hayfever causing, edible, energy value, food value for wildlife and livestock, short and long term revegetation potential, palatability, poisonous for livestock, protein value, weediness

Email: phil_dittberner@blm.gov

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