Natural Resources
Conservation Service
Ecological site F040XC327AZ
Sandy Bottom, Woodland 3"-7" p.z.
Last updated: 10/17/2024
Accessed: 11/13/2024
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.
MLRA notes
Major Land Resource Area (MLRA): 040X–Sonoran Basin and Range
Major Land Resource Area (MLRA) 40 is the portion of Sonoran Desert that extends from northwest Mexico into southwestern Arizona and southeastern California. This MLRA is hot desert characterized by bimodal precipitation coupled with hot summers and mild winters. These conditions give rise to a rich biological diversity visually dominated by columnar cactus (saguaro) and leguminous trees (palo verde). This unit occurs within the Basin and Range Physiographic Province and is characterized by numerous mountain ranges that rise abruptly from broad, plain-like valleys and basins. Igneous and metamorphic rock classes dominate the mountain ranges, and basin sediments are combinations of fluvial, lacustrine, colluvial and alluvial deposits.
LRU notes
Land Resource Unit (LRU) 40-3, Colorado Sonoran Desert, is characterized by desert scrub vegetation and a high percentage of desert pavement on relic fan remnants. Trees are limited to large washes and hillslopes. Elevations range from 300 to 1200 feet and precipitation averages 3 to 7 inches per year. Vegetation includes creosotebush, white bursage, brittlebush, Mormon tea, teddybear cholla, elephant tree, smoke tree, ocotillo, and big galleta. Soil temperature regime is hyperthermic, and soil moisture regime is typic aridic.
Classification relationships
USDA-NRCS Land Resource Regions and Major Land Resource Areas of the United States, the Caribbean, and the Pacific Basin: Western Range and Irrigated Region D Major Land Resource Area 40 - Sonoran Basin and Range Land Resource Unit 3 - Colorado Sonoran Desert Ecological Site Sandy Bottom, Woodland, 3"-7" p.z.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Ecological Regions of North America: Level I, Region 10 North American Deserts Level II, 10.2 Warm Deserts Level III, Ecoregion 81, Sonoran Basin and Range Level IV, 81l, 81n, 81o
USDA-USFS Ecological Subregions: Sections of the Conterminous United States Section 322 American Semidesert and Desert Province Section 322B, Sonoran Desert
Ecological site concept
Sandy bottom, Woodland, 3"-7" p.z., occurs in stream channels with a shallow water table easily accessed by the plant community. Soils are sandy and exhibit redoximorphic features within 80" of the surface. Reference plant community is dominated by tall trees with a diverse understory; obligate and facultative wetland plants occur in reaches of surface water flow. Aspect is gallery woodland.
Associated sites
F040XC328AZ |
Loamy Bottom, Woodland 3"-7" p.z. adjacent stream terrace, no visible soil redox features |
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R040XC318AZ |
Sandy Wash 3"-7" p.z. large water courses with ephemeral flow, no visible soil redox features |
Similar sites
R040XA125AZ |
Sandy Bottom, Woodland 10"-13" p.z. Elevations 2,000' - 3,200', precipitation zone 10 |
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F040XB215AZ |
Sandy Bottom, Woodland 7" - 10" p.z. Elevations 1,200' - 2,000', precipitation zone 7 |
Table 1. Dominant plant species
Tree |
(1) Populus fremontii |
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Shrub |
(1) Pluchea sericea |
Herbaceous |
Not specified |
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