Natural Resources
Conservation Service
Ecological site R039XA108AZ
Meadow 17-22" p.z.
Last updated: 9/05/2019
Accessed: 12/03/2024
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): 039X–Mogollon Transition North
AZ 39.1 Mogollon Plateau Coniferous Forests
Elevations range from 7000 to 12,500 feet and precipitation averages 20 to 35 inches per year. Vegetation includes ponderosa pine, Gambel oak, Arizona walnut, sycamore, Douglas fir, blue spruce, Arizona fescue, sheep fescue, mountain muhly, muttongrass, junegrass, pine dropseed, and dryland sedges. The soil temperature regime ranges from mesic to frigid and the soil moisture regime ranges from typic ustic to udic ustic. This unit occurs within the Colorado Plateau Physiographic Province and is characterized by a sequence of flat to gently dipping sedimentary rocks eroded into plateaus, valleys and deep canyons. Sedimentary rock classes dominate the plateau with volcanic fields occurring for the most part near its margin.
Table 1. Dominant plant species
| Tree |
Not specified |
|---|---|
| Shrub |
(1) Rosa woodsii var. woodsii |
| Herbaceous |
(1) Poa fendleriana |
Physiographic features
This site occurs in depressions on flood plains adjacent to live streams or springs. It benefits by run-in from adjacent areas.
Table 2. Representative physiographic features
| Landforms |
(1)
Flood plain
(2) Depression |
|---|---|
| Flooding duration | Very brief (4 to 48 hours) to brief (2 to 7 days) |
| Flooding frequency | Rare to occasional |
| Ponding duration | Very brief (4 to 48 hours) to brief (2 to 7 days) |
| Ponding frequency | None to rare |
| Elevation | 1,981 – 2,896 m |
| Slope | 0 – 3% |
| Ponding depth | 0 – 5 cm |
| Water table depth | 0 – 51 cm |
| Aspect | Aspect is not a significant factor |
Climatic features
About 40% of the moisture in this Common Resource Area (CRA), or Land Resource Unit (LRU) comes as rain from June to September. The remainder comes from October to May as snow or light rain. Extreme temperatures of 97 and -37 degrees Fahrenheit have been recorded. Some moisture is usually received every month.
Table 3. Representative climatic features
| Frost-free period (average) | 168 days |
|---|---|
| Freeze-free period (average) | 120 days |
| Precipitation total (average) | 559 mm |
Figure 2. Monthly precipitation range
Figure 3. Monthly average minimum and maximum temperature
Influencing water features
This site receives run-on from adjacent areas.
Soil features
Soils on this site are moderately deep (20-40") and deep (40-60"). They are poorly to moderately well drained and formed in recent alluvium from limestone and sandstone. Surface textures include sandy loam to clay loam and are 2-15 inches thick. Subsurface textures include fine sandy loam to clay. The hazard of erosion is slight. The content of organic matter is high and the water table is at least seasonally high. These soils are pirmarily aquic integrades.
Typical taxonomic units include: SSA 635 Apache County central part - MU's CE, CgB, CgC, CgD Clover Springs and MU's LuA & LuB Luth clay loam, siltloam wet variant; SSA-683 93B-Tatiyee & 21B-Cryaquolls; SSA-693 San Francisco Peaks area MU's 6-Clover Springs Loam & 7-Tatiyee Cobbly Loam.
Table 4. Representative soil features
| Parent material |
(1)
Alluvium
–
limestone and sandstone
|
|---|---|
| Surface texture |
(1) Sandy loam (2) Clay loam |
| Family particle size |
(1) Clayey |
| Drainage class | Poorly drained to moderately well drained |
| Permeability class | Moderately slow to very slow |
| Soil depth | 51 – 152 cm |
| Available water capacity (0-101.6cm) |
25.4 – 38.1 cm |
| Soil reaction (1:1 water) (0-101.6cm) |
6 – 7.5 |
| Subsurface fragment volume <=3" (Depth not specified) |
0 – 30% |
Ecological dynamics
The plant communities found on an ecological site are naturally variable. Composition and production will vary with yearly conditions, location, aspect, and the natural variability of the soils. The historical climax plant community represents the natural potential plant communities found on relict or relatively undisturbed sites. Other plant communities described here represent plant communities that are known to occur when the site is disturbed by factors such as grazing, fire, or drought.
Production data provided in this site description is standardized to air-dry weight at the end of the summer growing season. The plant communities described in this site description are based on near normal rainfall years.
NRCS uses a Similarity Index to compare existing plant communities to the plant communities described here. Similarity Index is determined by comparing the production and composition of a plant community to the production and composition of a plant community described in this site description. To determine Similarity Index, compare the production (air-dry weight) of each species to that shown in the plant community description. For each species, count no more than the maximum amount shown for the species, and for each group, count no more than the maximum shown for the group. Divide the resulting total by the total normal year production shown in the plant community description. If rainfall has been significantly above or below normal, use the total production shown for above or below normal years. If field data is not collected at the end of the summer growing season, then the field data must be corrected to the end of the year production before comparing it to the site description. The growth curve can be used as a guide for estimating production at the end of the summer growing season.
State and transition model
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Ecosystem states
State 1 submodel, plant communities
State 1
Grass and Grasslike Dominant
Community 1.1
Historic Climax Plant Community
This site has a plant community made up of mid grasses and grasslike plants with a few forbs and shrubs. In the potential plant community there is a mixture of both cool season grasses and warm season grasses and grasslike plants. Plant species most likely to increase on the site following disturbances are iris, sedges and rushes. Kentucky bluegrass is an invsader on the site but has become naturalized and dominates the lower ecological condition sites. Fluctuations in the water table may allow some normally upland grasses to become established on the site.
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 | 2690 | 2858 | 3026 |
| Shrub/Vine | 168 | 252 | 336 |
| Forb | 168 | 252 | 336 |
| Total | 3026 | 3362 | 3698 |
Figure 5. Plant community growth curve (percent production by month). AZ3911, 39.1 17-22" p.z. all sites. Growth begins in the spring, most growth occurs during the summer rainy season..
| 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 | 5 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
State 2
Forb (Iris) Dominant
Forb dominant with mostly iris plus excessive bare ground
Transition T1
State 1 to 2
Continuous heavy grazing
Restoration pathway R1
State 2 to 1
Grazing management with proper utilization and adequate rest and recovery periods.
Additional community tables
Table 6. Community 1.1 plant community composition
| Group | Common name | Symbol | Scientific name | Annual production (kg/hectare) | Foliar cover (%) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Shrub/Vine
|
||||||
| 0 | 168–336 | |||||
| willow | SALIX | Salix | 168–269 | – | ||
| Woods' rose | ROWOW | Rosa woodsii var. woodsii | 0–101 | – | ||
| shrubby cinquefoil | DAFRF | Dasiphora fruticosa ssp. floribunda | 0–67 | – | ||
|
Grass/Grasslike
|
||||||
| 0 | 2690–3026 | |||||
| sedge | CAREX | Carex | 336–504 | – | ||
| rush | JUNCU | Juncus | 336–504 | – | ||
| muttongrass | POFE | Poa fendleriana | 336–504 | – | ||
| spike muhly | MUWR | Muhlenbergia wrightii | 168–336 | – | ||
| redtop | AGGI2 | Agrostis gigantea | 168–336 | – | ||
| alpine timothy | PHAL2 | Phleum alpinum | 168–269 | – | ||
| slender wheatgrass | ELTRT | Elymus trachycaulus ssp. trachycaulus | 0–168 | – | ||
| pullup muhly | MUFI2 | Muhlenbergia filiformis | 0–168 | – | ||
| mountain brome | BRMA4 | Bromus marginatus | 34–168 | – | ||
|
Forb
|
||||||
| 0 | 168–336 | |||||
| Rocky Mountain iris | IRMI | Iris missouriensis | 0–67 | – | ||
| Forb, annual | 2FA | Forb, annual | 0–67 | – | ||
| yarrow | ACHIL | Achillea | 17–50 | – | ||
| cinquefoil | POTEN | Potentilla | 17–50 | – | ||
| thistle | CIRSI | Cirsium | 0–34 | – | ||
| larkspur | DELPH | Delphinium | 0–34 | – | ||
| horsetail | EQUIS | Equisetum | 0–34 | – | ||
| sunflower | HELIA3 | Helianthus | 0–34 | – | ||
| bluebells | MERTE | Mertensia | 0–34 | – | ||
Interpretations
Animal community
This site is suitable for grazing by all classes of livestock. The site is used primarily as late spring to early fall seasonal range. Where possible this site should be fenced and managed seperately. Range readiness shouls be evaluated not only on state of grass growth but also on surface soil moisture. Grazing this site while excessively wet will result in compacted soils, composition changes and lowered production.
This site has relatively poor habitat diversity in the native plant community. It is primarily adapted to grassland wildlife species. Large game animals are migratory onto the site primarily for summer use. Free water is commonly found on the site.
Recreational uses
The site occurs as depressions or flood plains adjacent to live streams. It has a variety of summer flowers and has excellent aesthetic appeal because of the meadow vegetation which may border both streams and timber.
Summers are cool and pleasant but winters are harsh and cold.
Hunting, camping, photography and wildlife observation are favorite activities.
Supporting information
Type locality
| Location 1: Apache County, AZ | |
|---|---|
| Township/Range/Section | T6N R29E S36 |
| General legal description | Williams Valley, West of Alpine, AZ. |
Contributors
Larry D. Ellicott
Steve Barker
Approval
Scott Woodall, 9/05/2019
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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