Natural Resources
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Ecological site F144AY033MA
Shallow Dry Till Uplands
Last updated: 10/04/2024
Accessed: 07/08/2026
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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): 144A–New England and Eastern New York Upland, Southern Part
MLRA 144A: New England and Eastern New York Upland, Southern Part
The eastern half of the eastern part of this MLRA is in the Seaboard Lowland Section of the New England Province of the Appalachian Highlands. The western half of the eastern part and the southeastern half of the western part are in the New England Upland Section of the same province and division. The northwestern half of the western part is in the Hudson Valley Section of the Valley and Ridge Province of the Appalachian Highlands. This MLRA is a very scenic area of rolling to hilly uplands that are broken by many gently sloping to level valleys that terminate in coastal lowlands. Elevation ranges from sea level to 1,000 feet (0 to 305 meters) in much of the area, but it is 2,000 feet (610 meters) on some hills. Relief is mostly about 6 to 65 feet (2 to 20 meters) in the valleys and about 80 to 330 feet (25 to 100 meters) in the uplands.
This area has been glaciated and consists almost entirely of till hills, drumlins, and bedrock-controlled uplands with a mantle of till. It is dissected by narrow glacio-fluvial valleys. The southernmost boundary of the area marks the farthest southward extent of Wisconsinian glaciation on the eastern seaboard. The river valleys and coastal plains are filled with glacial lake sediments, marine sediments, and glacial outwash. The bedrock in the eastern half of the area consists primarily of igneous and metamorphic rocks of early Paleozoic age. Granite is the most common igneous rock, and gneiss, schist, and slate are the most common metamorphic rocks. In the parts of the MLRA in eastern and southeastern New York, Devonian- to Pennsylvanian-age sandstone, shale, and limestone are dominant. Carbonate rocks, primarily dolomite and limestone, are the dominant kinds of bedrock in the part of this MLRA in northwestern Connecticut.Classification relationships
USDA-NRCS (USDA 2006):
Land Resource Region (LRR): N—East and Central Farming and Forest Region
Major Land Resource Area (MLRA): 144A— New England and Eastern New York Upland, Southern Part.
USDA-FS (Cleland et al. 2007)
Province: 221 - Eastern Broadleaf Province
Section: 221A - Lower New England
Subsection: 221Aa – Boston Basin
221Ac – Narragansett-Bristol Lowland and Islands
221Ad – Southern New England Coastal Lowland
221Ae – Hudson Highlands
221Ag - Southeast New England Coastal Hills and Plains
221Ah - Worcester-Monadnock Plateau
221Ai – Gulf of Maine Coastal Plain
221Ak - Gulf of Maine Coastal Lowland
Section: 221B – Hudson Valley
Subsection: 221Ba – Hudson Limestone Valley
221Bb - Miami – Taconic Foothills
221Bc – Hudson Glacial Lake Plains
Ecological site concept
The Shallow Dry Till Uplands ecological site consists of shallow, somewhat excessively drained, coarse-loamy, glacial till derived mostly from gneiss, schist, and granite. Soils are dry and nutrient poor. Slopes range from 0 to 50 percent on hills and ridges. Representative soils are Hollis, Brimfield, and Nassau. The reference plant community is an oak dominated forest or woodland. Representative plant communities are typically dominated by oaks (Quercus spp.) and/or pines (Pinus spp.).
Associated sites
F144AY007CT Well Drained Dense Till Uplands
F144AY032NH Dry Till Uplands
Similar sites
F144AY036NY Semi-Rich Well Drained Till Uplands
F144AY038NY Semi-Rich Moist Till Uplands
Table 1. Dominant plant species
Tree (1) Quercus velutina
Shrub (1) Gaylussacia baccata
Herbaceous (1) Carex pensylvanica
Physiographic features
This site occurs on a variety of landforms and is not subject to flooding.
Figure 1. Shallow Dry Till Uplands - Hollis soils
Table 2. Representative physiographic features
Landforms (1) Mountains > Bench
(2) Till plain > Ridge
(3) Upland > Ground moraine
(4) Hill
(5) Mountain
(6) Hillslope
(7) Upland slope
Runoff class Low to very high Flooding frequency None Ponding frequency None Elevation 0 – 2460 ft Slope 0 – 80 % Water table depth 17 – 72 in Aspect Aspect is not a significant factor Climatic features
The Koppen-Geiger climate classification of the area in which this MLRA occurs varies between Dfb (Warm-summer humid continental) in the North, and Dfa (Hot-summer humid continental) in the southern portion of the MLRA. Precipitation is usually uniformly distributed throughout the year. Near the coast, however, it is slightly lower in summer. Precipitation is slightly higher in spring and fall in inland areas. Rainfall occurs as high-intensity, convective thunderstorms during the summer. During the winter, most of the precipitation occurs as moderate-intensity storms (northeasters) that produce large amounts of rain or snow. The freeze-free period increases in length to the south.
Table 3 Representative climatic features
Frost-free period (characteristic range) 110-150 days Freeze-free period (characteristic range) 150-180 days Precipitation total (characteristic range) 50-50 in Frost-free period (actual range) 100-150 days Freeze-free period (actual range) 130-190 days Precipitation total (actual range) 40-50 in Frost-free period (average) 130 days Freeze-free period (average) 170 days Precipitation total (average) 50 in Characteristic rangeActual rangeBarLineFigure 2. Monthly precipitation range
Characteristic rangeActual rangeBarLineFigure 3. Monthly minimum temperature range
Characteristic rangeActual rangeBarLineFigure 4. Monthly maximum temperature range
BarLineFigure 5. Monthly average minimum and maximum temperature
Figure 6. Annual precipitation pattern
Figure 7 Annual average temperature pattern
Climate stations used
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(1) TROY L&D [USC00308600], Troy, NY
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(2) RHINEBECK 4SE [USC00307035], Rhinebeck, NY
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(3) STORRS [USC00068138], Storrs Mansfield, CT
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(4) EPPING [USC00272800], Fremont, NH
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(5) DANBURY [USC00061762], Bethel, CT
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(6) NEWTON [USC00286177], Newton, NJ
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(7) WORCESTER RGNL AP [USW00094746], Leicester, MA
">Influencing water features
NONE
Wetland description
NONE
Soil features
The site consists of shallow (to bedrock), somewhat excessively drained, coarse-loamy, glacial till and eolian deposits. Soils are dry and nutrient poor. Representative soils are Hollis, Brimfield, and Nassau.
Table 4. Representative soil features
Parent material (1) Till – granite and gneiss
(2) Eolian deposits – schist
(3) Shale
(4) Slate
(5) Phyllite
(6) Quartzite
(7) Mica schist
(8) Igneous and metamorphic rock
Surface texture (1) Channery silt loam
(2) Silt loam
(3) Very channery silt loam
(4) Fine sandy loam
Family particle size (1) Coarse-loamy
(2) Loamy
(3) Loamy-skeletal
Drainage class Somewhat excessively drained to excessively drained Permeability class Very slow to moderate Depth to restrictive layer 5 – 20 in Surface fragment cover <=3" Not specified Surface fragment cover >3" 0 – 17 % Available water capacity
(Depth not specified)1 – 4 in Soil reaction (1:1 water)
(0-40in)3.5 – 7.3 Subsurface fragment volume <=3"
(Depth not specified)0 – 40 % Subsurface fragment volume >3"
(Depth not specified)0 – 70 % Ecological dynamics
[Caveat: The vegetation information contained in this section and is only provisional, based on concepts, not yet validated with field work.*]
The vegetation groupings described in this section are based on the terrestrial ecological system classification and vegetation associations developed by NatureServe (Comer 2003). Terrestrial ecological SYSTEMS are specifically defined as a group of plant community-types called ASSOCIATIONS that tend to [co-]occur within landscapes with similar ecological processes, substrates, and/or environmental gradients. Any given system will typically manifest itself in a landscape at intermediate geographic scales of tens-to-thousands of hectares and will persist for 50 or more years. A vegetation association is a plant community that is much more specific to a given soil, geology, landform, climate, hydrology, and disturbance history. It is the basic unit for vegetation classification and recognized by the US National Vegetation Classification (US FDGC 2008). Each association will be named by the diagnostic and often dominant species that occupy the different height strata (tree, sapling, shrub, and herb). Within the NatureServe Explorer database (NatureServe, 2015), ecological systems are numbered by a Community Ecological System Code (CES) and individual vegetation associations are assigned an identification number called a Community Element Global Code (CEGL).
Additional and more localized vegetation information is provided by the State Natural Heritage Programs of Connecticut (Metzler and Barrett 2001), Massachusetts (Swain and Kearsley 2001), New Hampshire (Sperduto and Nichols, 2011), New York (Edinger et al., 2014), and Rhode Island (Enser and Lungren, 2006).
The Shallow Dry Till Uplands ecological site is characteristic of the Central Appalachian Dry Oak-Pine Forest system (CES202.591), the Northeastern Interior Dry-Mesic Oak Forest system (CES202.592 and the Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain Dry Oak-Hardwood Forest (CES203.475). The Representative plant communities are typically dominated by a mixture of dry-site oak and pine species with a understory of ericaceous heath plants. Natural disturbances include climate extremes such as, excessive droughts, or storm activity ranging from windthrows to downbursts to ice-storms. Excessive deer browse may be an issue. Wildfires do happen but are largely suppressed. Other agents-of-change include land conversions and fragmentation by agricultural, development and logging. In disturbed sites, invasive plants can include multiflora rose (Rosa multiflora).
[*Caveat] The information presented is representative of very complex vegetation communities. Key indicator plants and ecological processes are described to help inform land management decisions. Plant communities will differ across the MLRA because of the naturally occurring variability in weather, soils, and geography. The reference plant community is not necessarily the management goal. The drafts of species lists are merely representative and are not botanical descriptions of all species occurring, or potentially occurring, on this site. They are not intended to cover every situation or the full range of conditions, species, and responses for the site.State and transition model
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Click on state and transition labels to scroll to the respective textState 1 submodel, plant communities
State 2 submodel, plant communities
State 3 submodel, plant communities
State 1
Reference State (minimally-managed)The reference plant community includes:
• Quercus rubra - (Quercus montana) / Vaccinium spp. / Deschampsia flexuosa Woodland
Translated Name: Northern Red Oak - (Chestnut Oak) / Blueberry species / Wavy Hairgrass Woodland
Common Name: Red Oak / Heath Woodland Rocky Summit (CEGL6134)
• Quercus montana - Quercus (rubra, velutina) / Vaccinium (angustifolium, pallidum) Forest
Translated Name: Chestnut Oak - (Northern Red Oak, Black Oak) / Lowbush Blueberry, Blue Ridge Blueberry Forest
Common Name: Lower New England High Slope Chestnut Oak Forest (CEGL006282)
Others plant communities can include:
• Juniperus virginiana / Corydalis sempervirens Cliff Sparse Vegetation
Translated Name: Eastern Red-cedar / Rock Harlequin Cliff Sparse Vegetation
Common Name: Eastern Temperate Acidic Cliff (CEGL006422)
• Quercus ilicifolia - Prunus susquehanae Shrubland
Translated Name: Bear Oak - Susquehana Sandcherry Shrubland
Common Name: Ridgetop Bear Oak Barrens (CEGL006121)Community 1.1
1.1a Northern Red Oak - (Chestnut Oak) / Blueberry species / Wavy Hairgrass Woodland (CEGL006134) 1.1b Chestnut Oak - (Northern Red Oak, Black Oak) / Lowbush Blueberry, Blue Ridge Blueberry Forest (CEGL006282)Community-type 1.1a
• Quercus (alba, rubra, velutina) - Carya spp. / Viburnum acerifolium Forest
Translated Name: White Oak, Northern Red Oak, Black Oak / Hickory species / Mapleleaf Viburnum Forest
Common Name: Dry-mesic Oak - Hickory / Viburnum Forest (CEGL006336)
This vegetation is ecologically transitional between dry-rich oak-hickory forests of relatively high diversity and dry, acidic oak-species-poor forests. Red oak (Quercus rubra), white oak (Quercus alba), and black oak (Quercus velutina) prominent in association with pignut hickory (Carya glabra), shagbark hickory (Carya ovata), mockernut hickory (Carya tomentosa), red maple (Acer rubrum), chestnut oak (Quercus montana), sassafras (Sassafras albidum), and downy shadbush (Amelanchier arborea). White pine (Pinus strobus), eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis), and sweet birch (Betula lenta) may also occur as minor associates. Flowering dogwood (Cornus florida) occurs in more southerly locales. The shrub layer can be sparse and characterized by mapleleaf viburnum (Viburnum acerifolium) with other frequent associates including witrchhazel (Hamamelis virginiana), highbush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum), mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia), beaked hazelnut (Corylus cornuta), and American hazelnut(Corylus americana). Short shrubs include- Hillside blueberry (Vaccinium pallidum) and black huckleberry (Gaylussacia baccata), with common lowbush blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium). The herbaceous layer is characterized by Pennsylvania sedge (Carex pensylvanica), false Solomon’s seal (Maianthemum racemosum [= Smilacina racemose]), marginal wood fern (Dryopteris marginalis), wild sarsaparilla (Aralia nudicaulis), rattlesnake hawkweed (Hieracium venosum), white goldenrod (Solidago bicolor), pointed leaved tick-trefoil (Hylodesmun glutinosum [=Desmodium glutinosum[), panicled tick-trefoil (Desmodium paniculatum), cow wheat (Melampyrum lineare), striped wintergreen (Chimaphila maculate), white sood aster (Eurybia divaricata [= Aster divaricatus]), hayscented fern (Dennstaedtia punctilobula). Under less mesic conditions, herbs include poverty oatgrass (Danthonia spicata), wavy hairgrass (Deschampsia flexuosa), fern-leaved false foxglove (Aureolaria spp.), sweetfern (Pteridium aquilinum), and Canada frostweed (Crocanthemum canadense [= Helianthemum canadense). invasive plants can include tree-of-heaven (Ailanthus altissima), European buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica), winged euonymus (Euonymus alatus) multiflora rose (Rosa multiflora), Japanese barberry (Berberis thunbergii) and shrub honeysuckles (Lonicera sp.). (Source: NatureServe 2018 [accessed 2019], USNVC 2017 [accessed 2019]).
Cross-referenced plant community concepts (typically by political State):
CT: Red oak / mapleleaf viburnum Forest (Metzler and Barrett, 2006)
MA: Oak-Hickory Forest (Swain and Kearsley, 2001)
NH: Mesic Appalachian oak - hickory forest (Sperduto and Nichols, 2011)
NY: Appalachian oak-hickory forest (Edinger et al., 2014)
RI: undisclosed (Enser and Lundgren, 2006)
Community 1.1b
• Acer saccharum - Quercus rubra / Hepatica nobilis var. obtusa Forest
Translated Name: Sugar Maple - Northern Red Oak / Round-lobe Liverleaf Forest
Common Name: Sugar Maple - Ash - Oak - Hickory Mesic Forest (CEGL006046)
White ash (Fraxinus americana) and sugar maple Acer saccharum are common in the tree canopy along with red oak (Quercus rubra), black oak (Quercus velutina), white oak (Quercus alba), shagbark hickory (Carya ovata), pignut hickory (Carya glabra),American basswood (Tilia americana, sweet birch (Betula lenta)as associates. Eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) can be occasional. Hope hornbeam (Ostrya virginiana) and hornbeam (Carpinus caroliniana) can form a prominent subcanopy. Shrubs include witchhazel (Hamamelis virginiana), mapleleaf viburnum (Viburnum acerifolium), northern arrowwood (Viburnum dentatum var. lucidum [= Viburnum recognitum]), flowering dogwood (Cornus florida), beaked hazelnut (Corylus cornuta), and northern spicebush (Lindera benzoin). The herb layer is often quite diverse with broad-leaved sedge (Carex platyphylla), log-stalked sedge (Carex pedunculata), eastern woodland sedge (Carex blanda), broad loose-flowered sedge (Carex laxiflora), red baneberry (Actaea rubra), hairy Solomon’s seal [= Polygonatum pubescens), broad beech fern (Phegopteris hexagonoptera (= Thelypteris hexagonoptera]), roundleaf violet (Viola rotundifolia), early meadow rue (Thalictrum dioicum), blunt lobed hepatica (Hepatica nobilis var. obtusa [= Hepatica americana]), rue anemone (Thalictrum thalictroides [= Anemonella thalictroides]), nodding fescue (Festuca subverticillata), white baneberry (Actaea pachypoda), wooly blue violet (Viola sororia), running groundsel (Packera obovate[= Senecio obovatus]), and Jack-in-the-pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum). (Source: NatureServe 2018 [accessed 2019], USNVC 2017 [accessed 2019]).
Cross-referenced plant community concepts (typically by political State):
CT: Sugar maple -White Ash / roundleaf hepatica Forest (Metzler and Barrett, 2006)
MA: Dry, Rich Oak Forest/Woodland (Swain and Kearsley, 2001)
NH: Rich Appalachian oak rocky woods (Sperduto and Nichols, 2011)
NY: Appalachian oak-hickory forest (Edinger et al., 2014)
RI: undisclosed (Enser and Lundgren, 2006)Community 1.2
Ruderal Forest/WoodlandCommunity 1.3
Abandoned Field/MeadowDisturbance
Pathway P1.1A
Community 1.1 to 1.2Disturbance
Pathway P1.1B
Community 1.1 to 1.3Disturbance
Pathway P1.2A
Community 1.2 to 1.1Succession
Pathway P1.2B
Community 1.2 to 1.3Disturbance
Pathway P1.3A
Community 1.3 to 1.2Abandonment, Succession
State 2
Semi-natural StateThe Semi-natural State would expect plant communities where ecological processes are primarily operating with some land conditioning in the past or present, e.g., managed forests, or plant communities that are an artifact of land management e.g., predominately invasive plants.
Community 2.1
Managed Trees/Shrubs/Herbs(?)Community 2.2
Invasive PlantsPathway P2.1A
Community 2.1 to 2.2Disturbance, Invasive species establishment
Pathway P2.2A
Community 2.2 to 2.1Invasive spp. Control, Forest mgmt.
State 3
Cultural StateThe Cultural State would expect the ecological site to be very strongly conditioned by land management conversion, by transformation to Cultivated/Pasture/Plantation.
Community 3.1
CultivatedCommunity 3.2
PastureCommunity 3.3
PlantationPathway P3.1A
Community 3.1 to 3.2Changing agricultural phases
Pathway P3.1B
Community 3.1 to 3.3Changing agricultural phases
Pathway P3.2A
Community 3.2 to 3.1Changing agricultural phases
Pathway P3.2B
Community 3.2 to 3.3Changing agricultural phases
Pathway P3.3A
Community 3.3 to 3.1Changing agricultural phases
Pathway P3.3B
Community 3.3 to 3.2Changing agricultural phases
Transition T1A
State 1 to 2altered by human- induced Disturbance or Management
Conservation practices
Tree/Shrub Establishment Forest Land Management Forest stand improvement for habitat and soil quality Key drivers
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Timber management
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Nonnative plant species presence and/or establishment
Transition T1B
State 1 to 3Disturbance, clearing, cutting
Restoration pathway R2A
State 2 to 1Plant removals, plantings, Invasive plant control, successional mgmt., forestry practices Restoration & Mgmt, Forest Stand Improvement, Early Successional Habitat Development, Upland Wildlife Mgmt, Invasive spp. Control, Plant establishment
Conservation practices
Brush Management Tree/Shrub Establishment Early Successional Habitat Development/Management Forest Stand Improvement Restoration and Management of Natural Ecosystems Native Plant Community Restoration and Management Forest Land Management Invasive Plant Species Control Transition T2A
State 2 to 3Land clearing, cutting
Conservation practices
Brush Management Land Clearing Herbaceous Weed Control Restoration pathway R3A
State 3 to 1Plant removals, plantings, Invasive plant control, successional mgmt., forestry practices Restoration & Mgmt, Forest Stand Improvement, Early Successional Habitat Development, Upland Wildlife Mgmt, Invasive spp. Control, Plant establishment
Conservation practices
Restoration and Management of Natural Ecosystems Native Plant Community Restoration and Management Transition T3A
State 3 to 2Abandonment. Plant establishment, Forest mgmt.
Conservation practices
Tree/Shrub Establishment Forest Stand Improvement Forest Land Management Key drivers
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Timber management
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Nonnative plant species presence and/or establishment
Additional community tables
Table 5. Community 1.1 plant community composition
Group Common name Symbol Scientific name Annual production () Foliar cover (%) Table 6. Community 1.2 plant community composition
Group Common name Symbol Scientific name Annual production () Foliar cover (%) Table 7. Community 1.3 plant community composition
Group Common name Symbol Scientific name Annual production () Foliar cover (%) Table 8. Community 2.1 plant community composition
Group Common name Symbol Scientific name Annual production () Foliar cover (%) Table 9. Community 2.2 plant community composition
Group Common name Symbol Scientific name Annual production () Foliar cover (%) Table 10. Community 3.1 plant community composition
Group Common name Symbol Scientific name Annual production () Foliar cover (%) Table 11. Community 3.2 plant community composition
Group Common name Symbol Scientific name Annual production () Foliar cover (%) Table 12. Community 3.3 plant community composition
Group Common name Symbol Scientific name Annual production () Foliar cover (%) Interpretations
Supporting information
Inventory data references
Future work is needed, as described in a future project plan, to validate the information presented in this provisional ecological site description. Future work includes field sampling, data collection and analysis by qualified vegetation ecologists and soil scientists. As warranted, annual reviews of the project plan can be conducted by the Ecological Site Technical Team. A final field review, peer review, quality control, and quality assurance reviews of the ESD are necessary to approve a final document.
Other references
REFERENCES
Cleland, D.T., J.A. Freeouf, J.E. Keys, G.J. Nowacki, C.A. Carpenter, and W.H.McNab. 2007. Ecological Subregions: Sections and Subsections for the conterminous United States. [Map. presentation scale 1:3,500,000, colored; A.M. Sloan, cartographer] Gen. Tech. Report WO-76D. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Washington, DC. (https://www.fs.fed.us/research/publications/misc/73326-wo-gtr-76d-cleland2007.pdf)
Comer, P., D. Faber-Langendoen, R. Evans, S. Gawler, C. Josse, G. Kittel, S. Menard, M. Pyne, M. Reid, K. Schulz, K., Snow, and J.Teague. 2003. Ecological Systems of the United States: A Working Classification of U.S. Terrestrial Systems. NatureServe, Arlington, Virginia.
Edinger, G.J., Evans, D.J., Gebauer, S., Howard, T.G., Hunt, D.M., and A.M. Olivero, A.M. (eds.). 2014. Ecological Communities of New York State, Second Edition: A revised and expanded edition of Carol Reschke's Ecological Communities of New York State. New York Natural Heritage Program, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Albany, NY.
Enser, R., Gregg, D., Sparks, C., August, P., Jordan, P., Coit, J., Raithel, C., Tefft, B., Payton, B., Brown, C. and LaBash, C., 2011. Rhode Island ecological communities classification. Rhode Island Natural History Survey, Kingston, RI.
Enser, R. and Lundgren, J.A., 2006. Natural communities of Rhode Island. Rhode Island Natural History Survey, Kingston (RI).
FGDC [Federal Geographic Data Committee]. 2008. National Vegetation Classification Standard, Version 2. Federal Geographic Data Committee, Vegetation Subcommittee, Washington DC..
Gawler, S.C. and Cutko, A., 2010. Natural landscapes of Maine: a guide to natural communities and ecosystems. Maine Natural Areas Program, Department of Conservation.
Metzler, K.J. and Barrett, J.P., 2006. The Vegetation of Connecticut, a Preliminary Classification. Department of Environmental Protection, State Geological and Natural History Survey of Connecticut.
NatureServe 2015. NatureServe Explorer: An online encyclopedia of life [web application]. Version 7.1. NatureServe, Arlington, Virginia. Available http://explorer.natureserve.org. (Accessed: December 2015).
PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University. Available http://prism.oregonstate.edu, (created February 26, 2013).
Soil Survey Staff, Natural Resources Conservation Service, United States Department of Agriculture. 2006. Land Resource Regions and Major Land Resource Areas of the United States, the Caribbean, and the Pacific Basin. Agricultural Handbook 296. (https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/nrcs142p2_051845.pdf).
Sperduto, D.D., & Nichols, W.F. 2011. Natural Communities of New Hampshire, Second Ed. NH Natural Heritage Bureau, Concord, NH. Publ. UNH Cooperative Extension.
Swain, P.C. and Kearsley, J.B., 2001. Classification of the natural communities of Massachusetts. Natural Heritage & Endangered Species Program, Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife.
Thompson, E.H. and Sorenson, E.R., 2000. Wetland, woodland, wildland. Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife and The Nature Conservancy. Publ. University Press of New England.
USNVC [United States National Vegetation Classification]. 2017 (Date accessed). United States National Vegetation Classification Database V2.01. Federal Geographic Data Committee, Vegetation Subcomittee, Washington DC.Contributors
Nels Barrett, Ph.D. (vegetation)
Approval
Greg Schmidt, 10/04/2024
Acknowledgments
Michael Margo and tech team provided earlier drafts. Josh Hibit made compliance updates w/ 2021 Checklist V.2
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 07/08/2026 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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