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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
Custom diagramStandard diagram
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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, FEID-PSSP6/PUTR2-CELE3Community 1.1
HCPC, FEID-PSSP6/PUTR2-CELE3!
Figure 1. Annual production by plant type (representative values) or group (midpoint values)
Table 3. Annual production by plant type
Plant type Low
(kg/hectare)Representative value
(kg/hectare)High
(kg/hectare)Grass/Grasslike 594 846 1098 Shrub/Vine 168 275 381 Tree 45 78 112 Forb 22 56 90 Total 829 1255 1681 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 392–504 Idaho fescue FEID Festuca idahoensis 392–504 – 2 Sub-dominant deep rooted perennial grasses 90–247 bluebunch wheatgrass PSSP6 Pseudoroegneria spicata 56–168 – Thurber's needlegrass ACTH7 Achnatherum thurberianum 22–56 – Ross' sedge CARO5 Carex rossii 11–22 – 4 Sub-dominant shallow rooted perennial grasses 56–112 Sandberg bluegrass POSE Poa secunda 56–112 – 5 Other perennial grasses 11–56 western needlegrass ACOC3 Achnatherum occidentale 0–6 – squirreltail ELEL5 Elymus elymoides 0–6 – prairie Junegrass KOMA Koeleria macrantha 0–6 – Forb9 Other perennial forbs 22–90 common yarrow ACMI2 Achillea millefolium 0–6 – agoseris AGOSE Agoseris 0–6 – pussytoes ANTEN Antennaria 0–6 – arrowleaf balsamroot BASA3 Balsamorhiza sagittata 0–6 – blue eyed Mary COLLI Collinsia 0–6 – hawksbeard CREPI Crepis 0–6 – fleabane ERIGE2 Erigeron 0–6 – buckwheat ERIOG Eriogonum 0–6 – common woolly sunflower ERLA6 Eriophyllum lanatum 0–6 – Lewis flax LILE3 Linum lewisii 0–6 – desertparsley LOMAT Lomatium 0–6 – lupine LUPIN Lupinus 0–6 – beardtongue PENST Penstemon 0–6 – phacelia PHACE Phacelia 0–6 – spreading phlox PHDI3 Phlox diffusa 0–6 – lambstongue ragwort SEIN2 Senecio integerrimus 0–6 – Oregon checkerbloom SIOR Sidalcea oregana 0–6 – Shrub/Vine12 Sub-dominant evergreen shrubs 11–22 mountain big sagebrush ARTRV Artemisia tridentata ssp. vaseyana 11–22 – 13 Dominant deciduous (or 1/2 shrubs) shrubs 112–224 curl-leaf mountain mahogany CELE3 Cercocarpus ledifolius 56–112 – antelope bitterbrush PUTR2 Purshia tridentata 56–112 – 14 Sub-dominant deciduous (or 1/2 shrubs) shrubs 22–45 Saskatoon serviceberry AMAL2 Amelanchier alnifolia 11–22 – wax currant RICE Ribes cereum 11–22 – 15 Other shrubs 22–90 sulphur-flower buckwheat ERUM Eriogonum umbellatum 0–6 – Klamath plum PRSU2 Prunus subcordata 0–6 – chokecherry PRVI Prunus virginiana 0–6 – desert gooseberry RIVE Ribes velutinum 0–6 – common snowberry SYAL Symphoricarpos albus 0–6 – Tree16 Dominant evergreen trees 45–112 western juniper JUOC Juniperus occidentalis 22–56 – ponderosa pine PIPO Pinus ponderosa 22–56 – 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 09/05/2012 Approved by Approval date Composition (Indicators 10 and 12) based on Annual Production Indicators
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Number and extent of rills:
None, slight sheet & rill erosion hazard -
Presence of water flow patterns:
None -
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):
Significantly resistant to erosion : aggregate stability = 3-5 -
Soil surface structure and SOM content (include type of structure and A-horizon color and thickness):
Shallow and very shallow, well drained, stony loams (very rocky or bouldery with soil material in the crevasses between rocks): Low OM (<1%) -
Effect of community phase composition (relative proportion of different functional groups) and spatial distribution on infiltration and runoff:
Vegetative cover to 100% and gentle to moderate slopes (1-50%) effectively limit rainfall impact and overland flow; infiltration is rapid -
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:
Idaho fescue > Bluebunch wheatgrass > Western needlegrass = Antelope bitterbrush = Curlleaf mountain mahogany > trees > other grasses = other shrubs > 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: 1200, Normal: 1000, Unfavorable: 800 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:
Mountain mahogany is a weak sprouter and is easily damaged by fire. Perennial 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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