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Conservation Service

Ecological site R010XB081OR

JD Claypan North 12-16 PZ

Accessed: 11/13/2024

Home / Esd catalog / MLRA 010X / Ecological site R010XB081OR

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General information

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	(1) Artemisia arbuscula
Herbaceous	(1) Festuca idahoensis

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Physiographic features

This site occurs on north facing aspects of terraces, tablelands, and mountain plateaus. Slopes range from 15% to 45%. Elevation varies from 3500 feet to 5700 feet.

Table 2. Representative physiographic features

Landforms	(1) Terrace (2) Plateau
Elevation	3,500 – 5,700 ft
Slope	15 – 45%
Aspect	N

Climatic features

12 to 16 ppt primarily as snow from November through March; frigis soil temperature regime, frost-free period of 30 to 90 days.

Table 3. Representative climatic features

Frost-free period (average)	0 days
Freeze-free period (average)	0 days
Precipitation total (average)	0 in

Figure 2. Annual precipitation pattern

Figure 3. Annual average temperature pattern

Ecological dynamics

Production increases with increased soil depth. Low sagebrush and sandberg bluegrass strongly increase with disturbance. Western juniper increases moderately with disturbance, particularly in higher precipitation zones.

State and transition model

Custom diagram

Standard diagram

Figure 4. General STM for Claypan Sites

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 text

Ecosystem states

1. Reference State

State 1 submodel, plant communities

1.1. Reference Plant Community

State 1
Reference State

Community 1.1
Reference Plant Community

Figure 5. 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	450	600	750
Shrub/Vine	90	120	150
Forb	60	80	100
Total	600	800	1000

Additional community tables

Table 5. Community 1.1 plant community composition

Group	Common name	Symbol	Scientific name	Annual production (lb/acre)	Foliar cover (%)
Grass/Grasslike
1	Moderately Deep Rooted Bunch Grass			320–480
	Idaho fescue	FEID	Festuca idahoensis	320–480	–
2	Moderately Deep Rooted Bunchgrass			40–120
	bluebunch wheatgrass	PSSP6	Pseudoroegneria spicata	40–120	–
3	Shallow Rooted Bunchgrass			24–40
	Sandberg bluegrass	POSE	Poa secunda	24–40	–
4	Other Perennial Grass			0–16
	prairie Junegrass	KOMA	Koeleria macrantha	0–16	–
Forb
8	Perennial Forb			40–80
	common yarrow	ACMI2	Achillea millefolium	0–16	–
	pussytoes	ANTEN	Antennaria	0–16	–
	serrate balsamroot	BASE2	Balsamorhiza serrata	0–16	–
	Indian paintbrush	CASTI2	Castilleja	0–16	–
	fleabane	ERIGE2	Erigeron	0–16	–
	buckwheat	ERIOG	Eriogonum	0–16	–
	desertparsley	LOMAT	Lomatium	0–16	–
	largehead clover	TRMA3	Trifolium macrocephalum	0–16	–
Shrub/Vine
10	Evergreen Shrub			64–96
	little sagebrush	ARAR8	Artemisia arbuscula	64–96	–
11	Deciduous Shrub			0–16
	antelope bitterbrush	PUTR2	Purshia tridentata	0–16	–
Tree
15	Evergreen Tree			0–16
	western juniper	JUOC	Juniperus occidentalis	0–16	–

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)	Jeff Repp and Bruce Frannsen
Contact for lead author	State Rangeland Management Specialist for NRCS – Oregon
Date	08/07/2012
Approved by	Bob Gillaspy
Approval date
Composition (Indicators 10 and 12) based on	Annual Production

Indicators

Number and extent of rills:
None, moderate sheet & rill erosion hazard
Presence of water flow patterns:
None
Number and height of erosional pedestals or terracettes:
None
Bare ground from Ecological Site Description or other studies (rock, litter, lichen, moss, plant canopy are not bare ground):
5-15%
Number of gullies and erosion associated with gullies:
None
Extent of wind scoured, blowouts and/or depositional areas:
None, moderate wind erosion hazard
Amount of litter movement (describe size and distance expected to travel):
Fine - limited movement
Soil surface (top few mm) resistance to erosion (stability values are averages - most sites will show a range of values):
Significantly resistant to erosion: aggregate stability = 4-6
Soil surface structure and SOM content (include type of structure and A-horizon color and thickness):
Shallow with a strongly developed claypan with silt loams, or silty clay loams 5-10" thick: moderate OM (2-4%)
Effect of community phase composition (relative proportion of different functional groups) and spatial distribution on infiltration and runoff:
Significant ground cover (80-90%) and gentle to moderate slopes (15-45%) effectively limit rainfall impact and overland flow
Presence and thickness of compaction layer (usually none; describe soil profile features which may be mistaken for compaction on this site):
None
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:
Idaho fescue > Bluebunch wheatgrass > Scabland sagebrush > other grasses > forbs > Western Juniper

Sub-dominant:

Other:

Additional:
Amount of plant mortality and decadence (include which functional groups are expected to show mortality or decadence):
Normal decadence and mortality expected
Average percent litter cover (%) and depth ( in):
Expected annual annual-production (this is TOTAL above-ground annual-production, not just forage annual-production):
Favorable: 1000, Normal: 800, Unfavorable: 600 lbs/acre/year at high RSI (HCPC)
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:
Western Juniper readily invades the site. Cheatgrass and Medusahead invade sites that have lost deep rooted perennial grass functional groups.
Perennial plant reproductive capability:
All species should be capable of reproducing annually

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