Ecological site F043BP911MT

F043BP904MT	Shallow Warm Woodland Group The Upland Warm Woodland site is adjacent to the Shallow Warm Woodland however tending to be lower on the landscape where soils tend to be deeper. These two sites share similar plant communities and state and transition models.

F043BP904MT	Shallow Warm Woodland Group The Upland Warm Woodland site is adjacent to the Shallow Warm Woodland however tending to be lower on the landscape where soils tend to be deeper. These two sites share similar plant communities and state and transition models.

Tree	(1) Pinus ponderosa (2) Pseudotsuga menziesii
Shrub	(1) Ribes (2) Artemisia tridentata
Herbaceous	(1) Pseudoroegneria spicata (2) Festuca campestris

Landforms	(1) Mountains > Mountain slope (2) Mountains > Escarpment (3) Mountains > Ridge
Runoff class	Negligible to low
Elevation	3000 – 5500 ft
Slope	0 – 60 %
Aspect	W, NW, N, NE, E, SE, S, SW

Frost-free period (characteristic range)	60-110 days
Freeze-free period (characteristic range)	100-140 days
Precipitation total (characteristic range)	10-20 in
Frost-free period (actual range)	50-110 days
Freeze-free period (actual range)	100-140 days
Precipitation total (actual range)	10-20 in
Frost-free period (average)	80 days
Freeze-free period (average)	120 days
Precipitation total (average)	20 in

Parent material	(1) Colluvium – igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary rock (2) Residuum – igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary rock
Surface texture	(1) Gravelly loam (2) Silt loam (3) Gravelly sandy loam
Drainage class	Well drained
Permeability class	Moderately slow to moderately rapid
Depth to restrictive layer	20 – 100 in
Soil depth	20 – 100 in
Surface fragment cover <=3"	0 – 20 %
Surface fragment cover >3"	0 – 15 %
Available water capacity (0-40in)	3.2 – 6.7 in
Soil reaction (1:1 water) (0-10in)	5.3 – 7.3
Subsurface fragment volume <=3" (10-20in)	0 – 35 %
Subsurface fragment volume >3" (10-20in)	0 – 20 %

Ecological dynamics

1 - Reference State
1.1 Reference Community: ponderosa pine dominant overstory; mix of grasses and shrubs understory

1.1A low intensity understory fire

1.2 Recent low-intensity fire: ponderosa pine dominant overstory; grass and forb understory

1.2A Time allowing understory recovery
T1A Fire suppression causing a decrease in ponderosa pine and increase density of doghair stand of Douglas fir

2 - Degraded Overstory
2.1 Doghair stand of Douglas fir dominant with degraded understory

T1B Improper grazing management
R2A Forest thinning and prescribed fire to thin out the doghair stand of Douglas fir

3 - Degraded Understory
3.1 Ponderosa pine dominant with heavily reduced cool-season bunchgrasses.

R3A Prescribed grazing management, time, integrated pest management

State and transition model

Custom diagram

Standard diagram

More interactive model formats are also available. View Interactive Models

Additional community tables

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	04/20/2026
Approved by
Approval date
Composition (Indicators 10 and 12) based on	Annual Production

Indicators

Number and extent of rills:
Presence of water flow patterns:
Number and height of erosional pedestals or terracettes:
Bare ground from Ecological Site Description or other studies (rock, litter, lichen, moss, plant canopy are not bare ground):
Number of gullies and erosion associated with gullies:
Extent of wind scoured, blowouts and/or depositional areas:
Amount of litter movement (describe size and distance expected to travel):
Soil surface (top few mm) resistance to erosion (stability values are averages - most sites will show a range of values):
Soil surface structure and SOM content (include type of structure and A-horizon color and thickness):
Effect of community phase composition (relative proportion of different functional groups) and spatial distribution on infiltration and runoff:
Presence and thickness of compaction layer (usually none; describe soil profile features which may be mistaken for compaction on this site):
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:
Amount of plant mortality and decadence (include which functional groups are expected to show mortality or decadence):
Average percent litter cover (%) and depth ( in):
Expected annual annual-production (this is TOTAL above-ground annual-production, not just forage annual-production):
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:
Perennial plant reproductive capability:

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Ecological site F043BP911MT

Upland Warm Woodland Group

Last updated: 3/01/2024 Accessed: 04/20/2026

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Ecological site concept

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Table 1. Dominant plant species

Natural Resources
Conservation Service

Last updated: 3/01/2024
Accessed: 04/20/2026