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Draft. A draft ecological site description is either incomplete or has not undergone quality control and quality assurance review.
Associated sites
R029XY002NV SALINE MEADOW
R029XY004NV SALINE BOTTOM
R029XY093NV DEEP SODIC FAN
Similar sites
R029XY002NV SALINE MEADOW
ALOC2 rare to absent; more productive site
R029XY004NV SALINE BOTTOM
ALOC2 rare to absent; LECI4-SPAI codominant; more productive site
R029XY093NV DEEP SODIC FAN
LECI4-SPAI codominant; ATTO dominant shrub;more productive site
Table 1. Dominant plant species
Tree Not specified
Shrub (1) Allenrolfea occidentalis
Herbaceous (1) Sporobolus airoides
Physiographic features
This site occurs on floodplains. Slope gradients range from 0 to 2 percent. Elevation is 5500 to about 5800 feet.
Table 2. Representative physiographic features
Landforms (1) Flood plain
Flooding duration Very brief (4 to 48 hours) Flooding frequency Rare Ponding frequency None Elevation 5500 – 5800 ft Slope 0 – 2 % Water table depth 20 – 40 in Aspect Aspect is not a significant factor Climatic features
The climate associated with this site is arid, characterized by cool, moist winters and hot, dry summers. Average annual precipitation is 6 to 10 inches. Mean annual air temperature is 47 to 52 degrees F. The average growing season is about 90 to 120 days.
Table 3 Representative climatic features
Frost-free period (average) 120 days Freeze-free period (average) 0 days Precipitation total (average) 10 in BarLineFigure 1. Monthly precipitation range
BarLineFigure 2. Monthly average minimum and maximum temperature
">Influencing water features
This site recieves Run-off from adjacent higher landscapes.
Soil features
The soils associated with this site are very deep, somewhat poorly drained, and saturated between depths of 20 to 40 inches in the spring. The soils in this site are very strongly salt and sodium affected with a very high concentration of salts at or near the surface due to capillary movement of dissolved salts upward from a shallow water table. High salt concentrations reduce the available water capacity of these soils and adversely affect seed viability and germination. Runoff is medium and water may pond in some areas for short periods. The soil series asspociated with this site is Duffer.
Table 4. Representative soil features
Surface texture (1) Silt loam
Family particle size (1) Loamy
Drainage class Somewhat poorly drained Permeability class Moderately slow Soil depth 72 – 84 in Surface fragment cover <=3" Not specified Surface fragment cover >3" Not specified Available water capacity
(0-40in)7.8 – 7.9 in Calcium carbonate equivalent
(0-40in)20 – 60 % Electrical conductivity
(0-40in)8 – 16 mmhos/cm Sodium adsorption ratio
(0-40in)46 – 90 Soil reaction (1:1 water)
(0-40in)7.9 – 9.6 Subsurface fragment volume <=3"
(Depth not specified)Not specified Subsurface fragment volume >3"
(Depth not specified)Not specified Ecological dynamics
Where management results in abusive grazing use by cattle and/or feral horses, iodinebush, seepweed, rabbitbrush and inland saltgrass increase as alkali sacaton decreases. With continued site degradation this site will become invaded by cheatgrass, mustards, halogeton, Russian thistle and other annuals.
Fire Ecology:
The mean fire return interval for salt desert shrub communities range from 35 to 100 years. Increased presence of non-native annual grasses, such as cheatgrass, can alter fire regimes by increasing fire frequency under wet to near-normal summer moisture conditions. When fire does occur, the effect on the ecosystem may be extreme. Iodinebush probably does not easily burn due to salt succulent stems. Black greasewood may be killed by severe fires, but it commonly sprouts soon after low to moderate-severity fires. Alkali sacaton is classified as tolerant of, but not resistant to fire. Top-killing by fire is probably frequent, and the plants can be killed by severe fire. Saltgrass rhizomes occur deep in the soil where they are insulated from the heat of most fires. Saltgrass survives fire by sending up new growth from rhizomes.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 reference plant community is dominated by alkali sacaton and iodinebush. Potential vegetative composition is about 70% grasses, 5% forbs and 25% shrubs. Approximate ground cover (basal and crown) is 15 to 25 percent.
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)Grass/Grasslike 105 210 315 Shrub/Vine 37 75 112 Forb 8 15 23 Total 150 300 450 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 135–240 alkali sacaton SPAI Sporobolus airoides 120–210 – saltgrass DISP Distichlis spicata 15–30 – 2 Secondary Perennial Grasses 6–45 basin wildrye LECI4 Leymus cinereus 2–15 – western wheatgrass PASM Pascopyrum smithii 2–15 – alkaligrass PUCCI Puccinellia 2–15 – Forb3 Perennial 6–30 western wheatgrass PASM Pascopyrum smithii 2–15 – alkaligrass PUCCI Puccinellia 2–15 – povertyweed IVAX Iva axillaris 2–9 – niterwort NITRO Nitrophila 2–9 – globemallow SPHAE Sphaeralcea 2–9 – thelypody THELY Thelypodium 2–9 – 4 Annual 1–9 basin wildrye LECI4 Leymus cinereus 2–15 – Shrub/Vine5 Primary Shrubs 31–75 iodinebush ALOC2 Allenrolfea occidentalis 30–60 – greasewood SAVE4 Sarcobatus vermiculatus 1–15 – 6 Secondary Shrubs 15–45 Torrey's saltbush ATTO Atriplex torreyi 3–9 – whiteflower rabbitbrush CHAL9 Chrysothamnus albidus 3–9 – rubber rabbitbrush ERNAN5 Ericameria nauseosa ssp. nauseosa var. nauseosa 3–9 – seepweed SUAED Suaeda 3–9 – Interpretations
Animal community
Livestock Interpretations:
This site is suited to livestock production. Grazing management should be keyed to perennial grass production. Alkali sacaton is a valuable forage species in arid and semiarid regions. Plants are tolerant to moderate grazing and can produce abundant herbage utilized by livestock. Saltgrass's value as forage depends primarily on the relative availability of other grasses of higher nutritional value and palatability. It can be an especially important late summer grass in arid environments after other forage grasses have deceased. Saltgrass is rated as a fair to good forage species only because it stays green after most other grasses dry. Livestock generally avoid saltgrass due to its coarse foliage. Saltgrass is described as an increaser under grazing pressure. Iodinebush has extremely salt-succulent stems, so few animals graze the plant directly, but many animals will eat the seeds of iodinebush. Black greasewood is an important winter browse plant for domestic sheep and cattle. It also receives light to moderate use by domestic sheep and cattle during spring and summer months. Black greasewood contains soluble sodium and potassium oxalates that may cause poisoning and death in domestic sheep and cattle if large amounts are consumed in a short time.
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:
Black greasewood is an important winter browse plant for big game animals and a food source for many other wildlife species. It also receives light to moderate use by mule deer and pronghorn during spring and summer months. The western saltdesert shrub and grassland communities where alkali sacaton is common support an abundance of mule deer, pronghorn, carnivores, small mammals, birds, amphibians, and reptiles. Saltgrass provides cover for a variety of bird species, small mammals, and arthropods and is on occasion used as forage for several big game wildlife species.Hydrological functions
Runoff is medium. Permeability is moderate.
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.
Other products
The leaves, seeds and stems of black greasewood are edible.
Other information
Black greasewood is useful for stabilizing soil on wind-blown areas. It successfully revegetates eroded areas and sites too saline for most plant species. Alkali sacaton is one of the most commonly used species for seeding and stabilizing disturbed lands. Due to alkali sacaton’s salt tolerance, is recommended for native grass seeding on subirrigated saline sites. Given its extensive system of rhizomes and roots which form a dense sod, saltgrass is considered a suitable species for controlling wind and water erosion.
Supporting information
Type locality
Location 1: White Pine County, NV Township/Range/Section T11N R61E S7 Latitude 38° 49′ 50″ Longitude 115° 9′ 37″ General legal description SE¼NE¼ Section 7, T11N. R61E. MDBM. About 8 miles southwest of Preston, White River Valley area, White Pine County, Nevada. Also found in Nye County, NV. Other references
Fire Effects Information System (Online; http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/plants/).
USDA-NRCS Plants Database (Online; http://www.plants.usda.gov)
Contributors
RDk/RRK
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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