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Draft. A draft ecological site description is either incomplete or has not undergone quality control and quality assurance review.
Table 1. Dominant plant species
Tree Not specified
Shrub Not specified
Herbaceous Not specified
Physiographic features
Table 2. Representative physiographic features
Climatic features
">Influencing water features
Soil features
Ecological dynamics
State and transition model
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Click on state and transition labels to scroll to the respective textEcosystem states
State 1 submodel, plant communities
State 1
HCPC, PSSP6-POSE/PUTR2-ARTRT/JUOCCommunity 1.1
HCPC, PSSP6-POSE/PUTR2-ARTRT/JUOC!
Figure 1. Annual production by plant type (representative values) or group (midpoint values)
Table 3. Annual production by plant type
Plant type Low
(lb/acre)Representative value
(lb/acre)High
(lb/acre)Grass/Grasslike 352 476 600 Shrub/Vine 96 148 200 Tree 40 60 80 Forb 8 28 48 Total 496 712 928 Additional community tables
Table 4. Community 1.1 plant community composition
Group Common name Symbol Scientific name Annual production () Foliar cover (%) Grass/Grasslike1 Dominant deep rooted perennial grasses 280–400 bluebunch wheatgrass PSSP6 Pseudoroegneria spicata 280–400 – 2 Sub-dominant deep rooted perennial grasses 24–80 Thurber's needlegrass ACTH7 Achnatherum thurberianum 16–40 – Idaho fescue FEID Festuca idahoensis 8–40 – 4 Sub-dominant shallow rooted perennial grasses 40–80 Sandberg bluegrass POSE Poa secunda 40–80 – 5 Other perennial grasses 8–40 Lemmon's needlegrass ACLE8 Achnatherum lemmonii 0–5 – prairie Junegrass KOMA Koeleria macrantha 0–5 – basin wildrye LECI4 Leymus cinereus 0–5 – Forb9 Other perennial forbs 8–48 common yarrow ACMI2 Achillea millefolium 0–5 – agoseris AGOSE Agoseris 0–5 – pussytoes ANTEN Antennaria 0–5 – milkvetch ASTRA Astragalus 0–5 – arrowleaf balsamroot BASA3 Balsamorhiza sagittata 0–5 – Indian paintbrush CASTI2 Castilleja 0–5 – tapertip hawksbeard CRAC2 Crepis acuminata 0–5 – fleabane ERIGE2 Erigeron 0–5 – buckwheat ERIOG Eriogonum 0–5 – common woolly sunflower ERLA6 Eriophyllum lanatum 0–5 – western stoneseed LIRU4 Lithospermum ruderale 0–5 – desertparsley LOMAT Lomatium 0–5 – lupine LUPIN Lupinus 0–5 – beardtongue PENST Penstemon 0–5 – phacelia PHACE Phacelia 0–5 – spreading phlox PHDI3 Phlox diffusa 0–5 – Oregon checkerbloom SIOR Sidalcea oregana 0–5 – deathcamas ZIGAD Zigadenus 0–5 – Shrub/Vine12 Sub-dominant evergreen shrubs 16–40 basin big sagebrush ARTRT Artemisia tridentata ssp. tridentata 16–40 – 13 Dominant deciduous (or 1/2 shrubs) shrubs 40–80 antelope bitterbrush PUTR2 Purshia tridentata 40–80 – 15 Other shrubs 40–80 Saskatoon serviceberry AMAL2 Amelanchier alnifolia 0–5 – curl-leaf mountain mahogany CELE3 Cercocarpus ledifolius 0–5 – slender buckwheat ERMI4 Eriogonum microthecum 0–5 – rubber rabbitbrush ERNA10 Ericameria nauseosa 0–5 – Klamath plum PRSU2 Prunus subcordata 0–5 – wax currant RICE Ribes cereum 0–5 – desert gooseberry RIVE Ribes velutinum 0–5 – snowberry SYMPH Symphoricarpos 0–5 – spineless horsebrush TECA2 Tetradymia canescens 0–5 – Tree16 Dominant evergreen trees 40–80 western juniper JUOC Juniperus occidentalis 40–80 – Interpretations
Supporting information
Rangeland health reference sheet
Interpreting Indicators of Rangeland Health is a qualitative assessment protocol used to determine ecosystem condition based on benchmark characteristics described in the Reference Sheet. A suite of 17 (or more) indicators are typically considered in an assessment. The ecological site(s) representative of an assessment location must be known prior to applying the protocol and must be verified based on soils and climate. Current plant community cannot be used to identify the ecological site.
Author(s)/participant(s) Contact for lead author Date 08/22/2012 Approved by Approval date Composition (Indicators 10 and 12) based on Annual Production Indicators
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Number and extent of rills:
None to some, moderate to severe sheet & rill erosion hazard -
Presence of water flow patterns:
None to some in interspaces (depending on slope) -
Number and height of erosional pedestals or terracettes:
None -
Bare ground from Ecological Site Description or other studies (rock, litter, lichen, moss, plant canopy are not bare ground):
5-10% -
Number of gullies and erosion associated with gullies:
None -
Extent of wind scoured, blowouts and/or depositional areas:
None, slight wind erosion hazard -
Amount of litter movement (describe size and distance expected to travel):
Fine - limited movement -
Soil surface (top few mm) resistance to erosion (stability values are averages - most sites will show a range of values):
Slightly to moderately resistant to erosion: aggregate stability = 3-5 -
Soil surface structure and SOM content (include type of structure and A-horizon color and thickness):
Shallow to deep, well drained, stony or very gravelly loams: Low OM (1-2%) -
Effect of community phase composition (relative proportion of different functional groups) and spatial distribution on infiltration and runoff:
Moderate vegetative cover (50-70%), frequent outcrops of bedrock, and gentle to very steep slopes (15-70%) moderately limit rainfall impact and overland flow; infiltration is moderately slow -
Presence and thickness of compaction layer (usually none; describe soil profile features which may be mistaken for compaction on this site):
None -
Functional/Structural Groups (list in order of descending dominance by above-ground annual-production or live foliar cover using symbols: >>, >, = to indicate much greater than, greater than, and equal to):
Dominant:
Bluebunch wheatgrass > Sandberg bluegrass = Antelope bitterbrush = other shrubs > Thurber needlegrass = Basin big sagebrush > other shrubs > other grasses = other forbsSub-dominant:
Other:
Additional:
-
Amount of plant mortality and decadence (include which functional groups are expected to show mortality or decadence):
Normal decadence and mortality expected -
Average percent litter cover (%) and depth ( in):
-
Expected annual annual-production (this is TOTAL above-ground annual-production, not just forage annual-production):
Favorable: 1000, Normal: 800, Unfavorable: 600 lbs/acre/year at high RSI (HCPC) -
Potential invasive (including noxious) species (native and non-native). List species which BOTH characterize degraded states and have the potential to become a dominant or co-dominant species on the ecological site if their future establishment and growth is not actively controlled by management interventions. Species that become dominant for only one to several years (e.g., short-term response to drought or wildfire) are not invasive plants. Note that unlike other indicators, we are describing what is NOT expected in the reference state for the ecological site:
Perennal brush species will increase with deterioration of plant community. Western Juniper readily invades the site. Cheatgrass and Medusahead invade sites that have lost deep rooted perennial grass functional groups. -
Perennial plant reproductive capability:
All species should be capable of reproducing annually
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PrintThe 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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