Natural Resources
Conservation Service
Ecological site R077BY005NM
Shallow Sandstone
Accessed: 11/21/2024
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.
Classification relationships
Characteristic Soils Are:
Rizozo
Travessilla
Table 1. Dominant plant species
| Tree |
Not specified |
|---|---|
| Shrub |
Not specified |
| Herbaceous |
Not specified |
Physiographic features
This site is on gently sloping to moderately steep canyon walls, hillsides and mesa tops at elevations of 5,500 to 7,500 feet above sea level. The landscape is typically a complex of small pockets of soil and sandstone outcrop in the form of ledges and escarpments.
Slopes are usually 5 to 15 percent but may range 0 to 25 percent with inclusions of short, steeper slopes.
Table 2. Representative physiographic features
| Landforms |
(1)
Hill
(2) Mesa |
|---|---|
| Elevation | 5,500 – 7,500 ft |
| Slope | 25% |
| Aspect | Aspect is not a significant factor |
Climatic features
The climate of this area is classified as “semi-arid continental”.
Precipitation averages 14 to 16 inches. Seventy seven percent of the year’s moisture normally falls during the period of May through October. Practically all of it is brought by brief afternoon and evening thunderstorms. In July and August, normally the wettest months of the year, one can expect about on day in five when rainfall exceeds one-tenth inch. Early spring precipitation in May benefits the cool-season plants. Winter precipitation, supplying 24 percent of the year’s moisture, normally has no more than two days a month with as much as one-tenth inch of moisture. Much of the winter precipitation falls as snow.
Air temperatures vary from a monthly mean of 20 degrees F in January to 69 degrees F in July. Daily high temperatures average in the 80’s and low 90’s during the summer. Winter low temperatures fall below the freezing mark much of the time from November through March with minimum temperatures approaching 25 degrees F below zero. Dates of the last killing frost may vary from May 9th through May 17th, and the first killing frost from September 27th to October 8th. The frost-free season ranges from 141 days to 153 days from early May to early October.
Wind velocities for the area average 10 to 12 miles per hour and prevail from the south and southwest. Generally, March is the windiest month. Strong winds during the spring cause rapid drying of the soil surface.
Nearby mountains to the west intercept much of the precipitation from the Pacific storms coming through this area during the winter. About 70 percent of the 14 to 16 inches of annual precipitation falls in the form of rainfall during the frost-free season. About 40 percent of the annual precipitation benefits cool-season plants, 50 percent benefits warm-season plants, and 10 percent falls during the season of plant dormancy. Relative humidity is moderately low. The sun shines approximately 75 percent of the time.
Climate data was obtained from http://www.wrcc.sage.dri.edu/summary/climsmnm.html web site using 50% probability for freeze-free and frost-free seasons using 28.5 degrees F and 32.5 degrees F respectively.
Table 3. Representative climatic features
| Frost-free period (average) | 149 days |
|---|---|
| Freeze-free period (average) | 171 days |
| Precipitation total (average) | 16 in |
Figure 1. Monthly precipitation range
Figure 2. Monthly average minimum and maximum temperature
Influencing water features
This site is not influenced by water from a wetland or stream.
Soil features
These are well drained, shallow soils on sandstone bedrock. The surface texture is fine sandy loam, loam, silt loam or the channery, flaggy, or stony types of these textures. The texture of the subsurface layers is flaggy or stony loam to clay loam. Sandstone bedrock is at depths of less than 20 inches. Permeability is moderate. The available water-holding capacity is low. Effective rooting depth is 6 to 20 inches. Air-water relationship is favorable for plant growth. Rock fragments make up 5 to 35 percent of the soil profile and occupy 0 to 25 percent of the surface.
Characteristic Soils Are:
Rizozo
Travessilla
Table 4. Representative soil features
| Surface texture |
(1) Stony loam (2) Channery sandy loam (3) Flaggy |
|---|---|
| Family particle size |
(1) Loamy |
| Drainage class | Well drained |
| Permeability class | Moderately slow to moderate |
| Soil depth | 4 – 20 in |
| Surface fragment cover <=3" | 15 – 35% |
| Surface fragment cover >3" | 15 – 35% |
| Available water capacity (0-40in) |
3 – 6 in |
| Electrical conductivity (0-40in) |
2 mmhos/cm |
| Soil reaction (1:1 water) (0-40in) |
6.6 – 8.4 |
| Subsurface fragment volume <=3" (Depth not specified) |
15 – 35% |
| Subsurface fragment volume >3" (Depth not specified) |
15 – 35% |
Ecological dynamics
State and transition model
More interactive model formats are also available.
View Interactive Models
Click on state and transition labels to scroll to the respective text
Ecosystem states
State 1 submodel, plant communities
State 1
Historic Climax Plant Community
Community 1.1
Historic Climax Plant Community
On this site the dominant vegetation is grass. Small trees and shrubs are associated with the very shallow soils near the bare ledges or rock outcrops. Mid-grasses such as sideoats grama and little bluestem are dominant with scattered junipers or shrubs. Several species of perennial and annual forbs are evenly distributed. Other grasses that could appear on this site include: slender tridens, threeawn spp., and ring muhly. Other shrubs include: broom snakeweed, winterfat and cholla. Other forbs include: locoweed spp., globemallow spp., dalea, silverleaf nightshade, peavine, paintbrush spp., gilia, rayless goldenrod, and prairie coneflower.
Figure 3. Annual production by plant type (representative values) or group (midpoint values)
Table 5. Annual production by plant type
| Plant type | Low (lb/acre) |
Representative value (lb/acre) |
High (lb/acre) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grass/Grasslike | 351 | 800 | 1248 |
| Shrub/Vine | 59 | 133 | 208 |
| Forb | 14 | 31 | 48 |
| Total | 424 | 964 | 1504 |
Table 6. Ground cover
| Tree foliar cover | 5-10% |
|---|---|
| Shrub/vine/liana foliar cover | 1-5% |
| Grass/grasslike foliar cover | 10-15% |
| Forb foliar cover | 1-5% |
| Non-vascular plants | 0% |
| Biological crusts | 0% |
| Litter | 1-5% |
| Surface fragments >0.25" and <=3" | 1-5% |
| Surface fragments >3" | 20-25% |
| Bedrock | 0% |
| Water | 0% |
| Bare ground | 30-35% |
Figure 4. Plant community growth curve (percent production by month). NM4705, R077BY005NM Shallow Sandstone Reference State. R077BY005NM Shallow Sandstone Reference State.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| J | F | M | A | M | J | J | A | S | O | N | D |
| 0 | 2 | 5 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 25 | 30 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
Additional community tables
Table 7. Community 1.1 plant community composition
| Group | Common name | Symbol | Scientific name | Annual production (lb/acre) | Foliar cover (%) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Grass/Grasslike
|
||||||
| 1 | Sideoats grama | 256–308 | ||||
| sideoats grama | BOCU | Bouteloua curtipendula | 256–308 | – | ||
| 2 | Little bluestem | 205–256 | ||||
| little bluestem | SCSC | Schizachyrium scoparium | 205–256 | – | ||
| 3 | Blue and hairy grama | 0–256 | ||||
| blue grama | BOGR2 | Bouteloua gracilis | 0–256 | – | ||
| hairy grama | BOHI2 | Bouteloua hirsuta | 0–256 | – | ||
| 4 | Needleandthread NM feathergrass | 0–103 | ||||
| needle and thread | HECO26 | Hesperostipa comata | 0–103 | – | ||
| New Mexico feathergrass | HENE5 | Hesperostipa neomexicana | 0–103 | – | ||
| 5 | Big bluestem | 51–103 | ||||
| big bluestem | ANGE | Andropogon gerardii | 51–103 | – | ||
| 6 | Silver bluestem pinion ricegrass | 31–51 | ||||
| silver bluestem | BOSA | Bothriochloa saccharoides | 31–51 | – | ||
| pinyon ricegrass | PIFI | Piptochaetium fimbriatum | 31–51 | – | ||
| 7 | Wolftail | 31–51 | ||||
| common wolfstail | LYPH | Lycurus phleoides | 31–51 | – | ||
| 8 | Bottlebrush squirreltail | 10–51 | ||||
| squirreltail | ELEL5 | Elymus elymoides | 10–51 | – | ||
| 9 | perennial grasses spp. | 31–51 | ||||
| Graminoid (grass or grass-like) | 2GRAM | Graminoid (grass or grass-like) | 31–51 | – | ||
|
Forb
|
||||||
| 10 | Wild buckwheat | 21–51 | ||||
| buckwheat | ERIOG | Eriogonum | 21–51 | – | ||
| 11 | Aster spp. | 21–51 | ||||
| aster | ASTER | Aster | 21–51 | – | ||
| 12 | Perennial forbs spp. | 21–51 | ||||
| Forb, perennial | 2FP | Forb, perennial | 21–51 | – | ||
| 13 | Annual forb spp. | 21–51 | ||||
| Forb, annual | 2FA | Forb, annual | 21–51 | – | ||
|
Shrub/Vine
|
||||||
| 14 | Cudweed and Fringed sagewort | 0–51 | ||||
| prairie sagewort | ARFR4 | Artemisia frigida | 0–51 | – | ||
| Pacific alpine wormwood | ARGL9 | Artemisia glomerata | 0–51 | – | ||
| 15 | Oak spp. | 21–51 | ||||
| oak | QUERC | Quercus | 21–51 | – | ||
| 16 | Skunkbush sumac Hairy mountainmahogany | 0–51 | ||||
| hairy mountain mahogany | CEMOP | Cercocarpus montanus var. paucidentatus | 0–51 | – | ||
| skunkbush sumac | RHTR | Rhus trilobata | 0–51 | – | ||
| 18 | Other shrubs spp. | 21–51 | ||||
| Shrub, deciduous | 2SD | Shrub, deciduous | 21–51 | – | ||
|
Tree
|
||||||
| 17 | Juniper spp. and Pinion pine | 0–51 | ||||
| juniper | JUNIP | Juniperus | 0–51 | – | ||
| twoneedle pinyon | PIED | Pinus edulis | 0–51 | – | ||
Interpretations
Animal community
Habitat for Wildlife:
This site provides habitats which support a resident animal community that is characterized by mule deer, coyote, bobcat, bridled weasel, black-tailed jackrabbit, thirteen-lined ground squirrel, rock squirrel, ferruginous hawk, canyon wren, prairie rattlesnake and the red spotted toad.
The great horned owl and the prairie falcon nest in these habitats if suitable rock cliffs occur.
Hydrological functions
The runoff curve numbers are determined by field investigations using hydrologic cover conditions and hydrologic soil groups.
Hydrologic Interpretations
Soil Series----Hydrologic Group
Rizozo---------D
Travessilla----D
Recreational uses
This site has fair esthetic appeal and natural beauty. It has a variety of plants that bloom from early spring to late summer. Fair for camping, hiking and picnicking. Hunting is fair for deer and rabbits.
Wood products
Production of juniper and pinyon provides limited amounts of firewood and fence posts.
Other products
Grazing:
This site can be grazed any season of the year by all classes and kinds of livestock. Because of the slopes and rock outcrops, a younger class of livestock utilize this site best. Browsing animals may be favored because of the site’s potential to produce shrubs and forbs. Continuous grazing during the grazing season will cause the more desirable forage plants such as sideoats grama, little bluestem, New Mexico feathergrass, big bluestem and pinyon ricegrass to decrease. Species most likely to increase are blue grama, oneseed juniper, ring muhly, oak brush and cholla cactus. As the ecological condition deteriorates, it is accompanied by a sharp increase in juniper, which may give the appearance of dominating the site. Small patches of oak brush will also increase to the point where it may dominate. A system of deferred grazing that varies the time of grazing and rest in a pasture during successive years is needed to maintain or improve the plant community. A late winter, early summer rest is beneficial to shrubby species such as winterfat and mountainmahogany. Rest during April, May and June is beneficial to New Mexico feathergrass, needleandthread and pinyon ricegrass. This site provides a large variety of grasses, forbs and shrubs that provide a well-balanced feed and good nutrition for all grazing animals.
Other information
Guide to Suggested Initial Stocking Rate Acres per Animal Unit Month
Similarity Index----Ac/AUM
100 - 76------------3.0 – 3.8
75 – 51-------------3.7 – 4.7
50 – 26-------------4.6 – 12.0
25 – 0--------------12.0+
Supporting information
Type locality
| Location 1: Mora County, NM | |
|---|---|
| Location 2: San Miguel County, NM |
Other references
Data collection for this site was done in conjunction with the progressive soil surveys within the Pecos-Canadian Plains and Valleys 70 Major Land Resource Area of New Mexico. This site has been mapped and correlated with soils in the following soil surveys: Colfax, Mora, San Miguel, Union.
Contributors
Christine Bishop
Don Sylvester
Elizabeth Wright
Rangeland health reference sheet
Interpreting Indicators of Rangeland Health is a qualitative assessment protocol used to determine ecosystem condition based on benchmark characteristics described in the Reference Sheet. A suite of 17 (or more) indicators are typically considered in an assessment. The ecological site(s) representative of an assessment location must be known prior to applying the protocol and must be verified based on soils and climate. Current plant community cannot be used to identify the ecological site.
| Author(s)/participant(s) | |
|---|---|
| Contact for lead author | |
| Date | |
| Approved by | |
| Approval date | |
| Composition (Indicators 10 and 12) based on | Annual Production |
Indicators
-
Number and extent of rills:
-
Presence of water flow patterns:
-
Number and height of erosional pedestals or terracettes:
-
Bare ground from Ecological Site Description or other studies (rock, litter, lichen, moss, plant canopy are not bare ground):
-
Number of gullies and erosion associated with gullies:
-
Extent of wind scoured, blowouts and/or depositional areas:
-
Amount of litter movement (describe size and distance expected to travel):
-
Soil surface (top few mm) resistance to erosion (stability values are averages - most sites will show a range of values):
-
Soil surface structure and SOM content (include type of structure and A-horizon color and thickness):
-
Effect of community phase composition (relative proportion of different functional groups) and spatial distribution on infiltration and runoff:
-
Presence and thickness of compaction layer (usually none; describe soil profile features which may be mistaken for compaction on this site):
-
Functional/Structural Groups (list in order of descending dominance by above-ground annual-production or live foliar cover using symbols: >>, >, = to indicate much greater than, greater than, and equal to):
Dominant:
Sub-dominant:
Other:
Additional:
-
Amount of plant mortality and decadence (include which functional groups are expected to show mortality or decadence):
-
Average percent litter cover (%) and depth ( in):
-
Expected annual annual-production (this is TOTAL above-ground annual-production, not just forage annual-production):
-
Potential invasive (including noxious) species (native and non-native). List species which BOTH characterize degraded states and have the potential to become a dominant or co-dominant species on the ecological site if their future establishment and growth is not actively controlled by management interventions. Species that become dominant for only one to several years (e.g., short-term response to drought or wildfire) are not invasive plants. Note that unlike other indicators, we are describing what is NOT expected in the reference state for the ecological site:
-
Perennial plant reproductive capability:
Print Options
Sections
Font
Other
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.
Click on box and path labels to scroll to the respective text.