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Ecological site EX043B23C113

Granitic Loamy (GLy) Absaroka Subalpine Zone

Home / Esd catalog / MLRA 043B / Ecological site EX043B23C113
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T 1-2 - Drought, season-long or severe grazing by livestock or large ungulates lowers the vigor of the perennial native grasses that dominate this site and encourage the native forbs to increase in prominence in the community, as well as dense spikemoss ground cover increases.
T 1-3 - Drought, season-long or severe grazing by livestock or large ungulates can provide the seed source and the opportunity for aggressive species to establish in this community. The lowered vigor of native species encourages the encroachment or species creep of non-native species such as Kentucky bluegrass, dandelions, and smooth brome. This also leaves the site vulnerable for invasive species such as toadflax, cheatgrass, thistles, and others to establish.
R 2-1 - Recovery time will be necessary with a prescribed grazing system developed specific to the forb species that are dominant and the grass species that are lost. Not all sites will recover, in extreme cases, chemical or mechanical methods with seeding may be necessary to help restore the hydrology lost with the increase in forbs and dense spikemoss ground cover.
T 2-3 - Drought, continued season-long grazing or severe use provides the opportunity for aggressive species to establish in this community. The weakened plant structure leaves the community vulnerable to encroachment or species creep by non-native species such as Kentucky bluegrass, dandelions, smooth brome, and in some instances conifers. This also leaves the site vulnerable for invasive species such as toadflax, cheatgrass, thistles, and others to establish.
R 2-4 - Communities driven by dense spikemoss, mechanical methods with seeding may be necessary to help restore the hydrology lost by the herbaceous ground cover, and to provide seed source to restore key grass species to the community.
R 3-4 - Integrated pest management plan and intense weed control after and possibly before seedbed preparation will be necessary to overcome a severe weed infestation. Working a location and using either improved varieties, native seed, or in some cases an introduced species suited for the management use intended may be the only way to overcome some invasive species.
T 4-3 - In the reclamation or restoration process, or after a land disturbance occurs, if no management is put into place to prevent a re-occurrence or a new infestation of weeds, the community will revert back or transition to an invaded state. Wildfire, prescribed burning, drought, or frequent and severe miss-use by large herbivores can be a source of the disturbance that either opens the canopy and/or introduces the species to the location.

State 1 submodel, plant communities

State 2 submodel, plant communities

State 3 submodel, plant communities

CP 3.1-3.2 - The competition for limited resources by non-native and invasive species coupled with drought, soil disturbances, or grazing pressure will allow the non-native/invasive species to become dominant on the site, leaving only remnant populations of native perennial grasses and forbs.
CP 4.1-4.2 - Completion of a re-vegetation project with re-seeding, integrated pest management, and long-term prescribed grazing or other managed use of a landscape is needed to shift a disturbed community back to a representative or functional plant community.
CP 4.2-4.1 - If a reclaimed or restored site is not managed for the species implemented, whether with non-use or lack of restoration of natural disturbance regimes to maintain function of the system or by over-use of the community by large herbivores or humans, the community will revert back to a degraded community phase.