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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.
MLRA notes
Major Land Resource Area (MLRA): 022A–Sierra Nevada and Tehachapi Mountains
This ESD was developed using older policy requirements which have been improved with the intent of improving ESD products overall. Users should approach these materials with some caution as the content herein, while likely useful for some purposes, was developed within parameters now recognized as needing varying levels of improvement. As always, a site-specific investigation is highly recommended when site-specific management alternatives are to be developed and/or management decisions are to be made.
Each ESD is an interpretation of the ecological relationships between biotic and abiotic aspects of the landscape. Users of this document should be aware of the limitations of this tool to the extent that specific local conditions may not be entirely captured within the ESD. In particular, management decisions should be supported by site-specific inventories, assessments and planning processes based on the best available information including and extending beyond the ESD.
An ESD is not a permanent determination of ecological dynamics. Rather, each ESD is an evolving body of work intrinsically tied to the soil surveys and data associated with soil map unit components of correlated soil-ecological site relationships. As new information becomes available, updates may be made or may be underway at any given time. Minor updates may be made without announcement when such changes do not modify the ecological site concept, the soils correlated or the state-and-transition model.
Table 1. Dominant plant species
Tree Not specified
Shrub Not specified
Herbaceous (1) Carex
Physiographic features
This site occurs in strongly concave positons on the lee side (mostly north-facing aspects) of mountain ridges. This site typically appears as an "eyebrow" on mountain shoulders just below the ridgeline. Slopes range from 15 to 50 percent. Elevations are 8000 to over 13,000 feet.
Table 2. Representative physiographic features
Landforms (1) Mountain slope
Elevation 7000 – 9500 ft Slope 4 – 50 % Aspect N Climatic features
The climate on this site is subhumid-continental, characterized by cold, moist winters, and cool dry summers. The average annual precipitation is over 20 inches, mostly occurring as snow. The linear to convex slope shapes associated with this site cause some of the precipitation to be removed from the site because of wind action, thus reducing the moisture available for plant growth. The mean annual air temperature ranges from 36 to 39 degrees F. The average frost free growing season is 30 to 60 days. Climate data used to support this section were derived from PRISM and is not specifically tied to any dominant climate station.
Table 3 Representative climatic features
Frost-free period (average) 0 days Freeze-free period (average) 0 days Precipitation total (average) 0 in BarLineFigure 1. Monthly precipitation range
BarLineFigure 2. Monthly average minimum and maximum temperature
">Influencing water features
There are no influencing water features associated with this site.
Soil features
The soils associated with this site are moderately deep and somewhat excessively drained. They are formed in colluvium and residuum from granitic rock. runoff is medium and permeability is rapid. Available water holding capacity is very low. The soils are moist during late fall, winter, and spring, and dry from July through early October. The soils associated with this site are classified as Typic Cryorthents.
CA729 Toiyabe National Forest Area, California
800;Grandridge-Delhew association;Typic Cryorthents
NV773 Douglas County Area, Nevada
800;Grandridge-Delhew association;Typic Cryorthents
Table 4. Representative soil features
Surface texture (1) Very gravelly loamy coarse sand
Family particle size (1) Sandy
Drainage class Somewhat excessively drained Permeability class Rapid Soil depth 20 – 39 in Surface fragment cover <=3" 65 % Surface fragment cover >3" 7 % Available water capacity
(0-40in)1.2 in Electrical conductivity
(0-40in)Not specified Sodium adsorption ratio
(0-40in)Not specified Soil reaction (1:1 water)
(0-40in)4.5 – 6 Subsurface fragment volume <=3"
(Depth not specified)16 – 40 % Subsurface fragment volume >3"
(Depth not specified)2 – 26 % Ecological dynamics
State and transition model
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
Reference Plant CommunityCommunity 1.1
Reference Plant CommunityThe plant community is dominated by carex and goldenweed. Other important plants are lupine and Eriogonum.
Potential vegetative composition is about 20% grasses and grasslikes, 40% forbs and 40% shrubs.
Figure 3. Annual production by plant type (representative values) or group (midpoint values)
Table 5. Annual production by plant type
Plant type Low
(lb/acre)Representative value
(lb/acre)High
(lb/acre)Forb 30 60 80 Shrub/Vine 30 60 80 Grass/Grasslike 15 30 40 Total 75 150 200 Additional community tables
Table 6. Community 1.1 plant community composition
Group Common name Symbol Scientific name Annual production () Foliar cover (%) Grass/Grasslike1 Primary Perennial Grasses/Grasslikes 15–23 sedge CAREX Carex 12–15 – bluegrass POA Poa 3–8 – 2 Secondary Perennnial Grasses 5–15 big squirreltail ELMU3 Elymus multisetus 1–5 – mat muhly MURI Muhlenbergia richardsonis 1–5 – Forb3 Perennial Forbs 30–68 buckwheat ERIOG Eriogonum 1–2 – dwarf mountain lupine LULYS Lupinus lyallii ssp. subpandens 1–2 – phlox PHLOX Phlox 1–2 – mock goldenweed STENO7 Stenotus 1–2 – Shrub/Vine4 Primary Shrubs 30–38 goldenweed PYRRO Pyrrocoma 30–38 – 5 Secondary Shrubs 3–12 mountain big sagebrush ARTRV Artemisia tridentata ssp. vaseyana 1–3 – roundleaf snowberry SYRO Symphoricarpos rotundifolius 1–3 – Interpretations
Animal community
Livestock Interpretations:
This site has limited value for livestock grazing, due to the low forage production. Sedge provides good to fair forage for domestic grazing.
Stocking rates vary over time depending upon season of use, climate variations, site, and previous and current management goals. A safe starting stocking rate is an estimated stocking rate that is fine tuned by the client by adaptive management through the year and from year to year.
Wildlife Interpretations:
Sedges have a high to moderate resource value for elk and a medium value for mule deer. Elk consume beaked sedge later in the growing season.Recreational uses
Aesthetic value is derived from the diverse floral and faunal composition and the colorful flowering of wild flowers and shrubs during the spring and early summer. This site offers rewarding opportunities to photographers and for nature study. This site is used for camping and hiking and has potential for upland and big game hunting.
Supporting information
Type locality
Location 1: Mono County, CA Township/Range/Section T7N R24E S31 UTM zone N UTM northing 292244 UTM easting 4254753 Latitude 38° 25′ 0″ Longitude 119° 22′ 46″ General legal description Toiyabe National Forest, near headwaters of South Fork Cottonwood Creek, Mono County, California. Other references
Fire Effect Information System (Online; http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/plants/).
USDA-NRCS Plants Database (Online; http://plants.usda.gov/).
Contributors
ALM
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 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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