The reference state has a mix of grasses, forbs, and shrubs. Grasses provide the most annual production with shrubs secondary. The state has a diversity of cool and warm season species such as western wheatgrass, blue grama, sideoats grama, and squirreltail, with Wyoming big sagebrush scattered throughout.
Resilience management
The reference state is the most resilient to disturbance. A mix of grass and shrubs provides a diversity of root systems which maximizes ecological processes such as decomposition, mineralization, and soil aggregation. This in turn provides for greatest water infiltration and protection from erosion.
Submodel
1.1. Western Wheatgrass, Blue Grama, and Wyoming Big Sagebrush
1.2. Wyoming Big Sagebrush, Rubber Rabbitbrush, and Grass Mix
This state has limited resilience to disturbance. Erosion is active with new gullies evident. Long-duration drought may affect and kill the sagebrush as well.
The major long-term driver is repetitive, high utilization grazing of grass species while not allowing for regrowth and recovery for multiple years. This type of management eventually decreases health and vigor of grasses, fine fuel and the site's ability to carry fire. Big sagebrush gains a competitive advantage due to deep root systems and natural grazing defenses. Eventually the bare soil forms a crust due to low aggregate stability and a high percentage of bare ground. This makes it difficult for recruits to germinate.
Short-term sagebrush treatment, coupled with range seeding, and a period of grazing rest for stand establishment. Shrub removal should not be wholesale but in a mosaic of patchiness as sagebrush is an important species for the health of the site.
It is also best to implement long-term grazing management strategies where indicator plant species are seldom defoliated during the critical growth period and have an opportunity to colonize and restore ecosystem health.
Model keys
Briefcase
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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.
) icon wherever it occurs. Drag and drop items to reorder. Cookies are used to store briefcase items between browsing sessions. Because of this, the number of items that can be added to your briefcase is limited, and briefcase items added on one device and browser cannot be accessed from another device or browser. Users who do not wish to place cookies on their devices should not use the briefcase tool. Briefcase cookies serve no other purpose than described here and are deleted whenever browsing history is cleared.
