Natural Resources
Conservation Service
Scenario model
Current ecosystem state
Select a state
Management practices/drivers
Select a transition or restoration pathway
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Transition T1A
Prolonged improperly managed grazing by livestock, chronic heavy grazing by elk, or trailing and compaction by recreational use such as hiking or OHV use
More details -
Transition T2A
Hydrologic alteration of the site
More details -
Restoration pathway R3A
Restoration of hydrologic processes
More details -
No transition or restoration pathway between the selected states has been described
Target ecosystem state
Select a state
Description
This represents the historical reference state in pristine conditions. Variability in depth to water table and seasonal fluctuations support native facultative and obligate wetland vegetation and vegetated communities include all historical functional and structural groups. The historical disturbance regime is intact and driven primarily by climate which influences snowpack and ground water recharge. The resilience and resistance of the site is bolstered by negative feedbacks between peat accumulation, vegetation production and hydrologic processes that maintains a dynamic equilibrium with geomorphological processes.
Submodel
Description
Soils in this state have been compacted or sod broken leading to decreases in water holding capacity, reductions in rooting area for plants, diminished productivity, and increased bareground. Increases in erosion may also occur on sloped sites. Shallow-rooted plant species such as Kentucky bluegrass, Baltic rush, small sedges and forbs may increase . If this state is reached through improperly managed livestock grazing or heavy, chronic, native ungulate utilization, plant community composition may be further impacted. Willow species may decline from extended grazing during late summer and early fall periods where preference is highest relative to herbaceous species. Exotic grasses and forbs adapted to disturbance or with low palatability may also increase.
Dominant plant species
sedge (Carex), grass
rush (Juncus), grass
Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis), grass
arctic rush (Juncus arcticus), grass
Submodel
Description
Site hydrology has been significantly altered by changes in groundwater discharge or seasonality. Water tables may be lowered or may experience more variability leading to decreases in sedge species composition and possible reductions in peat accumulation. Subsequent increases in native grasses adapted to more variable water tables such as tufted hair grass and meadow barley, and non-native grasses such as Kentucky bluegrass, reed canarygrass, and meadow foxtail may occur. Increases in fire frequency may follow drying of the site. More extreme departures from reference hydrologic conditions may lead to more dramatic shifts in species composition such as shrub and tree encroachment.
Dominant plant species
Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis), grass
meadow foxtail (Alopecurus pratensis), grass
meadow barley (Hordeum brachyantherum), grass
reed canarygrass (Phalaris arundinacea), grass
tufted hairgrass (Deschampsia cespitosa), grass
Submodel
Transition T1A
Prolonged improperly managed grazing by livestock, chronic heavy grazing by elk, or trailing and compaction by recreational use such as hiking or OHV use
Mechanism
Prolonged improperly managed grazing by livestock, chronic heavy grazing by elk, or trailing and compaction by recreational use such as hiking or OHV use. All of which may lead to the introduction of exotic species and degradation of the soil surface.
Mechanism
Hydrologic alteration of the site through drainage, ditching, source water withdrawls, road construction, intensive logging operations, or ground water extraction of connected aquifers.
Mechanism
Depending on the nature of the hydrologic alteration, and the intensity and duration of the disturbance, a return to State 2 may be possible. Water withdrawals or pumping may be reduced, roads may be rehabilitated, and ditches or drainage structures may be eliminated, all of which will likely require significant time, effort and cost.
Context dependence
Drainage disturbances that have severely altered abiotic site characteristics (e.g. major reductions in peat accumulations, gully erosion) may not be repairable within a management timeframe.
Model keys
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Ecological sites
Major Land Resource Areas
The Ecosystem Dynamics Interpretive Tool is an information system framework developed by the USDA-ARS Jornada Experimental Range, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, and New Mexico State University.
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