Natural Resources
Conservation Service
Ecological site R035XH003NM
Cinder Hills 18-22"p.z.
Accessed: 12/22/2024
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.
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.
MLRA notes
Major Land Resource Area (MLRA): 035X–Colorado Plateau
“PROVISIONAL ecological site concepts developed and described. See Project Plan [insert Project Plan Name] for more details and related milestones.”
Ecological site concept
“ATTENTION: This ecological site meets the requirements for PROVISIONAL (if not more). A provisional ecological site is established after ecological site concepts are developed and an initial state-and-transition model is drafted. A provisional ecological site typically will include literature reviews, land use history information, legacy data (prior approved range site descriptions, forage suitability groups, woodland suitability groups, etc.,) , and includes some soils data, and estimates for canopy and/or species composition by weight,. A provisional ecological site provides the conceptual framework of soil-site correlation for the development of the ESD. For more information about this ecological site, please contact your local NRCS office.”
Table 1. Dominant plant species
| Tree |
Not specified |
|---|---|
| Shrub |
Not specified |
| Herbaceous |
Not specified |
Physiographic features
This site is located on the side slopes of cinder cones and the alluvium that came to rest in basalt on hillslopes. Slopes range from 5 to 50 percent. Elevation ranges from 7600 to 9000 feet.
Table 2. Representative physiographic features
| Landforms |
(1)
Caldera
(2) Hill |
|---|---|
| Elevation | 2,316 – 2,743 m |
| Slope | 10 – 25% |
| Aspect | Aspect is not a significant factor |
Climatic features
The average annual precipitation ranges from 18 to 25 inches. Forty percent occurs during the months of June to September. Most of the summer precipitation comes in the form of high intensity-short duration thunderstorms. Many of these storms are accompanied by hail. Snow accumulation typically occurs from November to March. Typically, depths range from 1 to 4 feet.
The average annual air temperature is about 43 degrees F. However, there are wide ranges in both yearly and daily temperatures. Temperatures may fluctuate as much as 75 degrees F in any 24-hour period. The frost-free period ranges from 80 to 100 days. The last killing frost is in June and the first killing frost is in September.
Climate data was obtained from http://www.wrcc.sage.dri.edu/summary/climsmnm.html web site using 50% probability for freeze-free and frost-free seasons using 28.5 degrees F and 32.5 degrees F respectively.
Table 3. Representative climatic features
| Frost-free period (average) | 174 days |
|---|---|
| Freeze-free period (average) | 197 days |
| Precipitation total (average) | 457 mm |
Figure 2. Monthly precipitation range
Figure 3. Monthly average minimum and maximum temperature
Influencing water features
No water feature are regularly associated with this site.
Soil features
These soils are deep, somewhat excessively to well drained and moderate to slow permeability. They formed in eolian and alluvial materials over residuum from cinders and basalt on hillslopes of cinder cones. Slopes are 5 to 25 ppercent but can range as high as 50 percent. Runoff is medium to very high. Available water holding capacity is very low to moderate. Surface texture is typically very gravelly loam. Surface rock fragments (cinders and basalt) range from 15 to 80 percent gravels, 5 to 35 percent cobbles, 0 to 10 percent stones, and 1 percent bolders. Subsoil textures range frm gravelly loam, extremely gravelly coarse sandy loam, and extremely gravelly coarse sand at and near the summits of cinder coans to clay loams and clays on the footslopes of cinder cones. Subsurface rock fragments range from 0 to 20 percent stones. Effective rooting depth is more than 60 inches. Reaction is slightly acid to slightly alkaline.
Characteristic soil include:
Tzoodzil – McKinley County Area Soil Survey; Map Unit 435; Tzoodzil-Amcec association, 5 to 50 percent slopes
Amcec – McKinley County Area Soil Survey; Map Unit 435; Tzoodzil-Amcec association, 5 to 50 percent slopes
Table 4. Representative soil features
| Surface texture |
(1) Very gravelly loam (2) Stony clay loam |
|---|---|
| Family particle size |
(1) Loamy |
| Drainage class | Well drained to excessively drained |
| Permeability class | Moderate to moderately slow |
| Soil depth | 102 – 152 cm |
Ecological dynamics
State and transition model
More interactive model formats are also available.
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Ecosystem states
State 1 submodel, plant communities
State 1
Historic Climax Plant Community
Community 1.1
Historic Climax Plant Community
This is a shrub grassland site dominated by cool season grasses and shrubs. Gambel oak surrounded by grasses make up the majority of the vegetation. Forbs are conspicuous when in bloom. Site occurs on cinder cones, hills and ridges.
Figure 4. Annual production by plant type (representative values) or group (midpoint values)
Table 5. Annual production by plant type
| Plant type | Low (kg/hectare) |
Representative value (kg/hectare) |
High (kg/hectare) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grass/Grasslike | 330 | 510 | 689 |
| Forb | 108 | 282 | 457 |
| Shrub/Vine | 131 | 228 | 323 |
| Tree | 40 | 81 | 121 |
| Total | 609 | 1101 | 1590 |
Table 6. Ground cover
| Tree foliar cover | 0-5% |
|---|---|
| Shrub/vine/liana foliar cover | 25-35% |
| Grass/grasslike foliar cover | 30-40% |
| Forb foliar cover | 5-7% |
| Non-vascular plants | 0% |
| Biological crusts | 0% |
| Litter | 10-20% |
| Surface fragments >0.25" and <=3" | 10-20% |
| Surface fragments >3" | 0-10% |
| Bedrock | 0% |
| Water | 0% |
| Bare ground | 20-30% |
Figure 5. Plant community growth curve (percent production by month). NM1003, R035XH003NM-Cinder Hills-HCPC. R035XH003NM-Cinder Hills-HCPC.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| J | F | M | A | M | J | J | A | S | O | N | D |
| 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 10 | 10 | 25 | 30 | 12 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
Additional community tables
Table 7. Community 1.1 plant community composition
| Group | Common name | Symbol | Scientific name | Annual production (kg/hectare) | Foliar cover (%) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Grass/Grasslike
|
||||||
| 1 | mountain muhly | 151–252 | ||||
| mountain muhly | MUMO | Muhlenbergia montana | 151–252 | – | ||
| 2 | arizona fescue | 151–252 | ||||
| Arizona fescue | FEAR2 | Festuca arizonica | 151–252 | – | ||
| 3 | muttongrass | 10–101 | ||||
| muttongrass | POFE | Poa fendleriana | 10–101 | – | ||
| 4 | prarie junegrass | 4–50 | ||||
| 5 | bottlebrush squirreltail | 6–10 | ||||
| 6 | blue grama | 7–24 | ||||
| blue grama | BOGR2 | Bouteloua gracilis | 7–24 | – | ||
|
Forb
|
||||||
| 7 | pingue | 8–24 | ||||
| pingue rubberweed | HYRI | Hymenoxys richardsonii | 8–24 | – | ||
| 8 | fringed sagewort | 9–81 | ||||
| prairie sagewort | ARFR4 | Artemisia frigida | 9–81 | – | ||
| 9 | wild buckwheat | 10–81 | ||||
| buckwheat | ERIOG | Eriogonum | 10–81 | – | ||
| 10 | rocky mountain penstemon | 10–81 | ||||
| Rocky Mountain penstemon | PEST2 | Penstemon strictus | 10–81 | – | ||
| 11 | fleabane | 10–24 | ||||
| fleabane | ERIGE2 | Erigeron | 10–81 | – | ||
| fleabane | ERIGE2 | Erigeron | 10–24 | – | ||
| 12 | indian paintbrush | 10–24 | ||||
| wholeleaf Indian paintbrush | CAIN14 | Castilleja integra | 10–24 | – | ||
| 13 | wooly indianwheat | 10–24 | ||||
| 14 | nodding onion | 10–24 | ||||
| nodding onion | ALCE2 | Allium cernuum | 10–24 | – | ||
| 15 | silvery lupine | 10–24 | ||||
| silvery lupine | LUAR3 | Lupinus argenteus | 10–24 | – | ||
| 16 | skyrocket gilia | 10–50 | ||||
| ipomopsis | IPOMO2 | Ipomopsis | 10–50 | – | ||
| 17 | mariposa lilly | 10–24 | ||||
| Gunnison's mariposa lily | CAGU | Calochortus gunnisonii | 10–24 | – | ||
|
Shrub/Vine
|
||||||
| 19 | gambel oak | 101–353 | ||||
| Gambel oak | QUGA | Quercus gambelii | 101–353 | – | ||
| 20 | wax current | 10–24 | ||||
| wax currant | RICE | Ribes cereum | 10–24 | – | ||
| 21 | skunkbrush sumac | 10–24 | ||||
| skunkbush sumac | RHTR | Rhus trilobata | 10–24 | – | ||
| 22 | winterfat | 10–24 | ||||
| winterfat | KRLA2 | Krascheninnikovia lanata | 10–24 | – | ||
|
Tree
|
||||||
| 23 | ponderosa pine | 10–50 | ||||
| ponderosa pine | PIPO | Pinus ponderosa | 10–50 | – | ||
| 24 | oneseed juniper | 10–24 | ||||
| oneseed juniper | JUMO | Juniperus monosperma | 10–24 | – | ||
| 25 | rocky mountain juniper | 10–24 | ||||
| Rocky Mountain juniper | JUSC2 | Juniperus scopulorum | 10–24 | – | ||
| 26 | pinion pine | 10–24 | ||||
| twoneedle pinyon | PIED | Pinus edulis | 10–24 | – | ||
Interpretations
Animal community
Mule deer, elk, coyote, fox, raven, red tailed hawk, golden eagle, bobcat, nuthatches, finches, gray jay, black bear, tassel eared squirrel, merriams turkey, mourning dove, prarie rattlesnake.
Hydrological functions
Soil series - Hydrologic group:
Tzoodzil - C
Amcec – B
Recreational uses
High value recreational site for aesthetics, camping hiking and picknicking. Numerous showy wildflowers. Excellent mule deer habitat/hunting.
Wood products
Limited woood production.
Other products
This site is suitable for grazing during late spring, summer and early fall. Length of grazing season varies with elevation. At lower elevations the grazing season ranges from May to October; at higher elevations the grazing season runs from June to September. The site is better suited to steers or sheep due to the short season of use. To reduce spot grazing and overuse of more gentle slopes, herding of livestock is needed (especially with sheep) to aid in achieving even distribution.
Continuous season-long grazing will cause a decrease of desirable species such as Arizona fescue and prarie junegrass. Increaser species include blue grama, bottlebrush squirreltail and pingue. Invaders include thistles, lupine, and threeawn species.
To improve or maintain the plant community, grazing needs to be delayed until soils are firm and plants have made adequate growth to sustain their carbohydrate reserves. A system of deferred grazing, which varies the season of grazing and rest in successive years, is needed. Grazing pressure from domestic livestock must be monitored relative to grazing pressure from wild ungulates to prevent chronic overuse of the forage base.
Other information
guidelines for suggested initial stocking rates
similarity index---------acres per AUM
100 to 76----------------2 to 2.5
75 to 51-----------------2.6 to 3.5
50 to 26-----------------3.6 to 5
less than 25-------------5.1 plus
Supporting information
Type locality
| Location 1: McKinley County, NM | |
|---|---|
| Latitude | 35° 20′ 55″ |
| Longitude | 107° 20′ 41″ |
| General legal description | About 3.3 miles NW of Marquez, New Mexico. Lat. 35º 20’ 55” Long. 107º 20’ 41” (unsurveyed) |
| Location 2: McKinley County, NM | |
| Latitude | 35° 21′ 7″ |
| Longitude | 107° 27′ 10″ |
| General legal description | Marquez Wildlife Area on Mesa Chivato, McKinley County, New Mexico, about 3.2 miles NW of Marquez, New Mexico Lat. 35º 21’ 7” Long. 107º 27’ 10” (unsurveyed) |
Contributors
Joe May
John Tunberg
Michael Carpinelli
Peter Lefebvre
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
-
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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