Mountain Loam 13-18 PZ Westcliffe Area

Description

c. If ecological retrogression is cattle or elk induced, desirable grasses decrease. Under continuous early spring grazing, western wheatgrass and mountain muhly, and needleandthread will decrease relatively fast. Bottlebrush squirreltail, and blue grama will initially increase, but with continued retrogression long grazing, these too will decline giving room for an increase in ring muhly and invasion by sleepy grass.

With regression, winterfat quickly declines and disappears. Other shrubs and half shrubs, such as rubber rabbitbrush, and gray horsebrush increase along with forbs such as Oregon fleabane, pingue hymenoxys, Nebraska lupine, Drummond's milkvetch, shorts milkvetch, senecio species, and sulfur buckwheat.

Submodel