Shallow
Circle-spoke model
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No transition or restoration pathway between the selected states has been described
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State 1
Grassland/Shrubland State
Description
The reference community is the Midgrass/Shrubs/Trees Community (1.1). Curlyleaf muhly, black grama, and blue grama are common grasses. Common shrubs include redberry juniper, skunkbush sumac, wavyleaf oak, and sacahuista. Pinyon pine occurs as a minor component. Annual production ranges from 410 to 1010 pounds per acre.
The Cool-season Grasses/Shrubs/Trees Community (1.2) is dominated by New Mexico feathergrass, a cool-season grass which dominates the herbaceous layer. Other cool-season grasses present in the plant community such as southwestern needlegrass may also increase. Warm-season grasses such as curlyleaf muhly, black grama, and blue grama occur as subdominants.
The Threeawn/Shrubs/Trees Community (1.3)id dominated by less palatable grasses, such as perennial threeawns and hairy grama. Cover of black and blue grama is very low (<5%). With the reduction of grasses this site is very susceptible to shrub encroachment. Productivity of annual forbs will be higher in this phase following rain events.
The Juniper/Mixed-grass Community (1.4) occurs when shrubs specifically redberry juniper to increase due to fire suppression. Overgrazing can cause this transition as well since in can reduce the fine fuels needed to carry a fire. Depending on grazing pressure this community can either be dominated my increaser or decreaser grasses. There has been no evidence of an alternate stable state with very high canopy cover of juniper (>75 percent) and grasses are completely lost.
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The Ecosystem Dynamics Interpretive Tool is an information system framework developed by the USDA-ARS Jornada Experimental Range, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, and New Mexico State University.