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Provisional. A provisional ecological site description has undergone quality control and quality assurance review. It contains a working state and transition model and enough information to identify the ecological site.
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Figure 1. Mapped extent
Areas shown in blue indicate the maximum mapped extent of this ecological site. Other ecological sites likely occur within the highlighted areas. It is also possible for this ecological site to occur outside of highlighted areas if detailed soil survey has not been completed or recently updated.
Table 1. Dominant plant species
Tree Not specified
Shrub Not specified
Herbaceous Not specified
Physiographic features
Table 2. Representative physiographic features
Landforms (1) Lava plain
Flooding frequency None Ponding frequency None Elevation 4000 – 5200 ft Slope 1 – 50 % Aspect Aspect is not a significant factor Climatic features
Summer thunderstorms and summer frosts may occur.
Table 3 Representative climatic features
Frost-free period (average) 60 days Freeze-free period (average) 90 days Precipitation total (average) 10 in BarLineFigure 2. Monthly precipitation range
BarLineFigure 3. Monthly average minimum and maximum temperature
">Influencing water features
Soil features
Ecological dynamics
Juniper and curleaf mountian mahogany dominate the overstory as an open stand which is quite variable depending on soil and rock content.
Severe crown fires remove the overstory. Recovery after such fires can be very slow. Sites with more lava flow material are more likely to have limited burming of the overstory - lightning strikes may only affect individual trees. The post fire state is treeless, with rabbitbrush and bunchgrasses, a weedy forb/cheatgrass mix, and scatterred remnant shrubs.State and transition model
Custom diagramStandard diagram
More interactive model formats are also available. View Interactive Models
More interactive model formats are also available. View Interactive Models
Click on state and transition labels to scroll to the respective textEcosystem states
State 1 submodel, plant communities
State 1
HCPC, FEID-PSSP6/ARTRV-CELE3/PIPOCommunity 1.1
HCPC, FEID-PSSP6/ARTRV-CELE3/PIPOJuniper and ponderosa pine dominate the overstory. Curlleaf mountain mahogany is abundant and dominates the midstory. A mix of low understory shrubs includes bitterbrush, mountain big sagebrush, wax currant, gray rabbitbrush, prickly granite gilia and desertsweet (fernbush). A variety of grasses are present including Idaho fescue, bluebunch wheatgrass, sandberg bluegrass, western needlegrass and Ross sedge (grass-like). Forbs are minor in the stand such as tall cinquefoil, penstemon, phacelia, violet, buttercup, and low larkspur. Cover of all species varies greatly from place to place due to the variability of soil and rock on the landscape.
Figure 4. Annual production by plant type (representative values) or group (midpoint values)
Table 4. Annual production by plant type
Plant type Low
(lb/acre)Representative value
(lb/acre)High
(lb/acre)Grass/Grasslike 185 216 248 Shrub/Vine 90 146 203 Tree 36 56 77 Forb 23 34 45 Total 334 452 573 Figure 5. Plant community growth curve (percent production by month). OR5621 , D21 Juniper Sites 8-16. D21 Juniper Sites 8-16 pz RPC Growth Curve.
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec J F M A M J J A S O N D 0 0 0 10 30 40 20 0 0 0 0 0 Additional community tables
Table 5. Community 1.1 plant community composition
Group Common name Symbol Scientific name Annual production () Foliar cover (%) Grass/Grasslike1 Dominant deep rooted perennial grasses 180–225 Idaho fescue FEID Festuca idahoensis 90–113 – bluebunch wheatgrass PSSPS Pseudoroegneria spicata ssp. spicata 90–113 – 5 Other perennial grasses 5–23 mountain big sagebrush ARTRV Artemisia tridentata ssp. vaseyana 32–40 – curl-leaf mountain mahogany CELE3 Cercocarpus ledifolius 8–16 – antelope bitterbrush PUTR2 Purshia tridentata 3–5 – western needlegrass ACOC3 Achnatherum occidentale 0–5 – Thurber's needlegrass ACTH7 Achnatherum thurberianum 0–5 – Ross' sedge CARO5 Carex rossii 0–5 – squirreltail ELEL5 Elymus elymoides 0–5 – prairie Junegrass KOMA Koeleria macrantha 0–5 – Sandberg bluegrass POSE Poa secunda 0–5 – wax currant RICE Ribes cereum 2–3 – desert sweet CHMI2 Chamaebatiaria millefolium 2–3 – rubber rabbitbrush ERNAS Ericameria nauseosa ssp. nauseosa var. salicifolia 0–2 – oceanspray HODI Holodiscus discolor 0–2 – Forb7 Dominant perennial forbs 18–36 common yarrow ACMI2 Achillea millefolium 5–9 – Wyoming Indian paintbrush CALI4 Castilleja linariifolia 5–9 – beardtongue PENST Penstemon 5–9 – cinquefoil POTEN Potentilla 5–9 – 9 Other perennial forbs 5–9 phacelia PHACE Phacelia 0–5 – buttercup RANUN Ranunculus 0–5 – violet VIOLA Viola 0–5 – Shrub/Vine11 Dominant evergreen shrubs 45–113 mountain big sagebrush ARTRV Artemisia tridentata ssp. vaseyana 45–113 – 13 Dominant deciduous (or 1/2 shrubs) shrubs 23–45 curl-leaf mountain mahogany CELE3 Cercocarpus ledifolius 23–45 – 14 Sub-dominant deciduous (or 1/2 shrubs) shrubs 14–23 antelope bitterbrush PUTR2 Purshia tridentata 9–14 – desert sweet CHMI2 Chamaebatiaria millefolium 5–9 – 15 Other shrubs 5–14 rubber rabbitbrush ERNA10 Ericameria nauseosa 0–5 – oceanspray HODI Holodiscus discolor 0–5 – Tree16 Dominant evergreen trees 32–68 western juniper JUOC Juniperus occidentalis 23–45 – ponderosa pine PIPO Pinus ponderosa 9–23 – 19 Sub-dominant deciduous trees 5–9 quaking aspen POTR5 Populus tremuloides 5–9 – Interpretations
Supporting information
Type locality
Location 1: Lake County, OR General legal description North edge of Fort Rock Valley (North of Devils Garden; also Derrick Cave area) Contributors
Hickman
Kennedy, ReppRangeland 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 Approved by Approval date Composition (Indicators 10 and 12) based on Annual Production Indicators
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Number and extent of rills:
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Presence of water flow patterns:
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Number and height of erosional pedestals or terracettes:
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Bare ground from Ecological Site Description or other studies (rock, litter, lichen, moss, plant canopy are not bare ground):
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Number of gullies and erosion associated with gullies:
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Extent of wind scoured, blowouts and/or depositional areas:
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Amount of litter movement (describe size and distance expected to travel):
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Soil surface (top few mm) resistance to erosion (stability values are averages - most sites will show a range of values):
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Soil surface structure and SOM content (include type of structure and A-horizon color and thickness):
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Effect of community phase composition (relative proportion of different functional groups) and spatial distribution on infiltration and runoff:
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Presence and thickness of compaction layer (usually none; describe soil profile features which may be mistaken for compaction on this site):
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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:
Sub-dominant:
Other:
Additional:
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Amount of plant mortality and decadence (include which functional groups are expected to show mortality or decadence):
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Average percent litter cover (%) and depth ( in):
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Expected annual annual-production (this is TOTAL above-ground annual-production, not just forage annual-production):
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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:
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Perennial plant reproductive capability:
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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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