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

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

Influencing water features

This site is not influenced by water from a wetland or stream.

Soil features

The soils in this site are deep. They are moderately well drained to well drained and have medium to slow runoff. The surface textures range from silty clay loam and saline silty clay loam. The substratum is clay loam and clay. These soils have slow to very slow permeability.
The available water-holding capacity is high. The hazard of soil erosion is moderate to high and hazard of soil blowing is moderate. These soils are affected by salt. Where adequate plant residue is lacking, the soils of this site usually develop a dispersed surface condition, which decreases their low infiltration rate.

Characteristic Soils Are:
La Brier Swastika
Vermejo

Table 4. Representative soil features

Animal community

Habitat for Wildlife:
This site provides habitats, which support a resident animal community that is characterized by coyote, desert cottontail, meadow mole, sparrow hawk, mourning dove, bull snake and great plains skunk.
There maybe seasonal use by pronghorn antelope.

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
La Brier------- C
Swastika------- C
Vermejo-------- C

Recreational uses

This site has fair aesthetic appeal due to open spaces dotted with the occasional shrubs. The site has limited recreation potential. Suitability for camping, hiking and picnicking is fairly limited by lack of live water and the lack of shade. Hunting for antelope, rabbit and upland game birds is fair.

Wood products

This site has no significant value for wood products.

Other products

Grazing:
This site is suitable for late winter, spring, and early summer grazing. Forage can best be utilized by grazing cattle or horses due to the coarseness of the forage produced by alkali sacaton. Maximum available forage production from this site can be achieved by mowing in late winter and stocking with cows during the summer, and alternately resting the pasture the following year. Approximately 80 percent of the total annual yield is from species that furnish forage for livestock. Continuous grazing during the spring and summer will cause the more desirable
forage plants such as alkali sacaton, western wheatgrass, blue grama, vine-mesquite and
fourwing saltbush to decrease. The species most likely to invade this site are ring muhly, broom snakeweed, astragulas species, cholla cactus and plains pricklypear cactus. Species most likely to increase from smaller amounts are inland saltgrass, alkali muhly, mat muhly and rabbitbrush. As the ecological conditions deteriorate, it is accompanied by a sharp increase of inland saltgrass.
Inland saltgrass may eventually dominate the site and there is a reduction of the plant cover. A system of deferred grazing, which varies the time of grazing and rest in a pasture during successive years, is needed to maintain or improve the plant community. Spring rest will allow alkali sacaton sufficient time to green up and will benefit the cool-season grasses such as western
wheatgrass. Occasional summer deferment is needed to maintain the alkali sacaton especially where cattle are concentrated for periods of time during the growing season.

Other information

Guide to Suggested Initial Stocking Rate Acres per Animal Unit Month
Similarity Index----- Ac/AUM
100 - 76------------- 2.5 – 3.5
75 – 51-------------- 3.3 – 4.4
50 – 26---------------4.3 – 8.0
25 – 0--------------- 8.0+

Type locality

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

Don Sylvester
Elizabeth Wright
John Tunberg