A zone of woodland, where _Artemisia nova_ replaces _A. tridentata_ as an understory codominant with _Poa fendleriana_, borders the pinyon-juniper-muttongrass community to the east. The next most abundant plants in the ground cover are _Solidago petradoria_, _Penstemon linarioides_ and _Comandra umbellata_ (bastard toadflax). _Koeleria cristata_ (Junegrass) is as abundant as _Comandra_, but probably is less important as a source of food for mice. A small strip of the pinyon-juniper-muttongrass community with an understory of _Artemisia nova_ and _Purshia tridentata_ (bitterbrush) adjoins the above area to the east (Figs. 5-8). _Solidago petradoria_, _Balsamorrhiza sagittata_ (balsamroot), and _Comandra umbellata_ are the three most abundant plants in the ground cover. The terrain slopes eastward from this zone into a large drainage. [Illustration: FIG. 5: Diagram showing the major associations of understory and overstory vegetation in a trapping grid located south of Far View Ruins, Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado.] As the forest floor begins to slope into the drainage, the ground becomes rocky and shrubs assume more importance in the understory. Most of this shrubby zone is on the slope; on the western side this zone abuts pinyon-juniper woodland, and on the eastern side is bordered by _Artemisia tridentata_ in the sandy bottom of the drainage. Shrubs become more abundant and pinyon and juniper trees become less abundant as one approaches the drainage. In the vegetation maps, this brushy zone is delimited on the east by a heavy line passing vertically through the middle of the grid (Figs. 5-8). The codominant shrubs in the understory of this zone are _Amelanchier utahensis_, _Artemisia nova_ and _Purshia tridentata_. The three most abundant plants on the ground are _Artemisia ludoviciana_, _Chrysothamnus depressus_ and _Penstemon linarioides_. The drainage occupies most of unit N and parts of Units I, J and M. Unit N is at the head of the drainage; the ground slopes rapidly southward and the bottom of the drainage in unit J is approximately 50 feet lower than in unit N. The canopy cover of the drainage is _Artemisia tridentata_ (Fig. 5). The same three plants that are most abundant in the ground cover of the slope are also most abundant in the drainage. [Illustration: FIG. 6: Diagram showing the most abundant species of plants in the ground cover of the trapping grid south of Far View Ruins.] The eastern slope of the drainage is covered with oak chaparral (_Quercus gambelii_); this zone occupies parts of units J, L, M, and P. _Artemisia ludoviciana_, _Solidago petradoria_, and _Viguiera multiflora_ (goldeneye), are the most abundant plants of the ground cover.