Land use 1
Rangeland

This land use is native rangeland. Dominant use is grazing by ruminant livestock.

State 1.1
Reference

The reference state is dominated by native warm season tallgrasses and midgrasses. These grass species are tightly intermixed and well distributed over the site. Forbs are abundant. A limited variety of shrubs occur in sparse amounts. This plant community evolved under periodic grazing by large herbivores and a fire frequency of once every two to four years(Frost). Shallow Upland sites are well suited to grazing by domestic livestock. Soils typically are shallow, ranging from seven to twenty inches in depth over sandstone. In areas where underlying bedrocks are fragmented, roots of perennial grasses have deep penetration and vegetative production is significantly enhanced.

Characteristics and indicators. This state is dominated by native, herbaceous species. The soils are shallow, but intact and show minimal sign of disturbance.

Resilience management. With a fire return interval of less than 4 years and managed grazing that is balanced with the carrying capacity, this state may be maintained as a grassland reference state.

Community 1.1.1
Tallgrass, Midgrass

The reference plant community is dominated by a mixture of big bluestem, little bluestem, Indiangrass and switchgrass. These grasses comprise nearly 70 percent of the vegetation. Secondary grasses include composite dropseed, sideoats grama, bluegrama, hairy grama and Canada wildrye. Following periods of abundant rainfall, broad seeps are common along rock outcrops especially at the base of steeper slopes. Palatable perennial forbs are well represented over the site. These forbs include sensitive-brier, Maximilian sunflower, compassplant, pale purple coneflower, tall blazing star and fringeleaf wild petunia. Yellow sundrops, leadplant and Jersey tea are common. Shrub species including skunkbush sumac, roughleaf dogwood, and flameleaf sumac are usually present in small amounts. The amount of woody species on site is minimized through occasional fires.

Resilience management. Community phase 1.1 is a very resilient system under period, managed disturbance through fire and grazing. With a fire return interval of 3-5 years and grazing management within the carrying capacity, the community can be maintained in phase 1.1.

Community 1.1.2
Midgrass/ Shortgrass

This plant community is dominated by a mixture of midgrasses and increased amount of shortgrass. The dominant midgrass little bluestem, produce 50 - 75 percent of the vegetation on the site. Other midgrasses are composite dropseed, sideoats grama, marsh bristlegrass, and silver bluestem. Shortgrasses make up 10 to 30 percent of the vegetation and include blue grama, buffalograss, hairy grama, Carolina crabgrass, Scribner’s rosette grass, windmill grass and tumblegrass. Many of the more palatable forbs such as Maximilian sunflower and compassplant have decreased significantly in abundance. Forbs that have increased include white heath aster, Missouri goldenrod, Cuman ragweed, slimflower scurfpea, blue wild indigo, and sagewort. The tallgrass species may remain in a state of relatively low vigor when grazing occurs. Annuals common to the site are lanceleaf ragweed, prairie broomweed, prairie threeawn and Japanese brome (introduced). Shrubs, including roughleaf dogwood, buckbrush, blackberry and flameleaf sumac usually increases in abundance where prescribed burning is not practiced. Prescribed grazing, involving deferment during all or a part of the growing season may revive the vigor and stature of the taller grasses. This type of grazing management, coupled with favorable growing season moisture may restore the vegetation to near reference proportions in two to five years.

Resilience management. With periodic use of prescribed fire and managed grazing that is balanced with carrying capacity, this community phase can be quite resilient and begin to move back towards community 1.1. Without fire, this community is at risk of transitioning to the woody state.

Community 1.1.3
Midgrass/Shortgrass

This site has a long history of severe overgrazing by cattle. The plant composition is predominately midgrasses and shortgrasses. Little bluestem, sideoats grama, composite dropseed, western wheatgrass, thin paspalum and sand dropseed are the dominant grasses. Scattered throughout the site are remnants of big bluestem, Indiangrass and switchgrass. Generally, they are in a state of low vigor. Shortgrasses, including hairy grama, blue grama and buffalograss, are common and can comprise up to 30 to 40 percent of the total vegetation. Introduced Japanese brome, along with cheatgrass, sixweeks fescue and little barley are cool season annual grasses prevalent in fall and spring months depending on precipitation patterns. Most of the palatable forbs have been eliminated. They have been replaced by Cuman ragweed, white sagebrush, white heath aster, Missouri goldenrod, slimflower scurfpea, upright prairie coneflower, and Baldwin’s ironweed. With prescribed management this site can be restored to a plant community resembling the reference in fifteen to twenty years. The time period for complete restoration, if possible, is dependent upon the abundance and distribution of the remnant tallgrasses and the level of management applied.

Pathway 1.1A
Community 1.1.1 to 1.1.2

Through continuous heavy grazing that exceeds carrying capacity, this plant community may diverge to community phase 1.2. This may also occur under moderate grazing during periods of long term drought.

Pathway 1.2B
Community 1.1.2 to 1.1.1

Through an established prescribed grazing program with proper stocking rates, periodic rest, and adequate soil moisture, this community phase may be restored to the reference community 1.1.

Pathway 1.2A
Community 1.1.2 to 1.1.3

If carrying capacity is exceeded for an extended period of time, the plant community may shift to one that is dominated by less desirable midgrass and shortgrass species. Witthout the use of prescribed fire, woody species may begin to encroach this plant community.

Pathway 1.3A
Community 1.1.3 to 1.1.2

Through the establishment of a prescribed grazing progam that includes extended periods of deferment or "rest" from grazing, this community phase may be reverted to community 1.2. With the accumilation of fine fuels through grazing deferment, a prescribed fire program may be implemented to address the encroaching woody species.

State 1.2
Woody Invasion

In this state, eastern redcedar, mesquite and various shrubs or some other invasive species, has invaded the plant community. Extreme energy input must be introduced to the site to clear the tree and shrub species to return the plant community to state 1. This site still has remnant midgrasses and shortgrasses, but now with a substantial amount of shrubs and trees. Usually, this plant community is the result of long term overgrazing and no fire which encourages an increase of woodies. Midgrasses are little bluestem, composite dropseed, sand dropseed, sideoats grama, purple lovegrass and purpletop tridens. Shortgrasses include blue grama, buffalograss and hairy grama. Remnants of tallgrasses occur throughout the site. Major shrubs are sumac, dogwood, blackberry and buckbrush. Other woody plants include skunkbush sumac, plum, elm, mesquite and easter redcedar. In general, the more abundant perennial forbs have a low grazing preference by livestock. These perennial forbs include goldenrods, mountainmint, Cuman ragweed, green antelopehorn and Baldwin’s ironweed. Annual ragweeds and prairie broomweed are abundant when the site is closely grazed. Prescribed brush control using herbicides and mechanical removal will help drive the community towards plant community towards the grass dominant state. Prescribed burning will provide satisfactory brush control in most cases, however, in some circumstances, due to the mixture of woody species present and their relative susceptibility to different brush control methods, a combination of methods may be required for complete and acceptable brush control. An example of this situation might be the combination of eastern redcedar and sumac. Fire is relatively effective on young redcedar, but not effective on sumac species. This situation will require a prescribed combination of controls. Prescribed grazing, affording periods of deferred grazing during the summer growing season, will be needed to restore overall productivity of the site.

State 1.3
Eroded

Once the soil is disturbed and vegetation is removed, these site are prone to soil erosion. Water erosion can leave a devastating impact on these sites due to the shallow soils. It is difficult to predict the vegetation response on these eroded sites. Site specific evaluations are need to access remaining soil resources.

Resilience management. With time, eroded sites may revegetate or be reseeded with native species. While the plant communities can resemble the reference state, the soil physical, chemical, and biological properties may take many years to recover.

Transition T1A
State 1.1 to 1.2

In the absence of fire or other brush management strategies, woody species may begin to encroach on the site. If left unchecked, some woody species will begin to dominate the ecological functions of the site such as nutrient cycling and hydrologic cycle.

Transition T1B
State 1.1 to 1.3

Through soil disturbance with heavy equipment or prior cultivation attempts, the site becomes suscetible to water erosion. The result of this erosion is displacement of the A horizon and transition to the Eroded State.

Restoration pathway R2A
State 1.2 to 1.1

Through the implementation of a prescribed burning program or alternative forms of brush management, the site may be restored to the reference state. Careful grazing management is often required to ensure proper fuel loads and allow for the recovery of herbaceous species.

Land use 2
Introduced Pastureland

While not common, this site is sometimes planted to introduced grasses such as bermudagrass. Primary use is livestock and/or hay production. Often, this land use is managed as a monoculture with little biotic diversity. However, in some cases, forb/legume/grass mixtures are maintained with may increase soil and ecosystem health.

State 2.1
Monoculture

This community consists of a planted monoculture of an introduced pasture grass used predominately for grazing and/or hay production. Adapted species include bermudagrass, old world bluestems, and weeping lovegrass (only on well drained sites). These species require a higher level of management inputs than native rangeland species. Soil tests should be performed prior to planting and or subsequent fertilizer applications. Without persistent nutrient management and proper grazing, some undesired "weedy" species may invade the site. While biodiversity can be beneficial to both plants, animals, and soil, it may be undesirable under certain management systems such as certified hay production. Proper grazing should be planned to allow for adequate residual heights in order to ensure the vigor of the grass. These heights vary by species and grazing system. They can be found in the OK NRCS Prescribed Grazing practice specification. Average yields are listed below as representative for the MLRA. These yields can vary greatly depending on precipitation amount and timing. As with any pasture management program, site specific evaluation and monitoring is essential. Yields are represented AUMs or Animal Unit Months. This represents the amount of dry matter required by one Animal Unit Equivalent for one month. For more on AUEs and AUMs consult local extension service fact sheets and publications. Keep in mind these yields are estimated under a high level of management which includes annual additions of nitrogen and other nutrients as required. It is important to note that while these introduced species can provide good grazing potential, often wildlife habitat is limited. These species are also known to expand offsite and become invasive in adjacent native ecosystems.

State 2.2
Grass/Legume Mix

This community represents a planted mixture of introduced grasses and forbs/legumes. Bermudagrass and introduced clover is the most common pasture mix. Incorporation of a legume into the system can help offset inputs associated with nitrogen additions. Special strategies should be used to ensure the health and vigor of both the cool season legumes and warm season grasses. Yields for these pasture mixes are not available as the mixtures and ratios vary from site to site so yields for a monoculture community should be used as a baseline estimate.

Conversion C1
Land use 1 to 2

With the cultivation and planting of perennial introduced forage grasses, this land use is converted to Introduced Pastureland.

Conversion C2
Land use 2 to 1

This land use conversion is achieved through reseeding native grasses and forbs or allowing native species to repopulate the site by reducing management of introduced species. While the site may be converted back to a rangeland land use, some soil properties and ecological function may not return to pre-disturbance levels.