This is the reference state for the Sandstone Hill ecological site. It represents the historic range of variability in the plant communities with the periodic disturbance of fire and grazing. It is a mosaic of herbaceous plants, oak species and woody understory vines and shrubs..
The dominant trees are post oak and black jack oak with a mixture of tall and midgrasses, forbs and shrubs in the understory and canopy interspaces. Dominant herbaceous plants include little bluestem, big bluestem, Indiangrass, switchgrass, beaked panicum, purpletop tridens, sand lovegrass, and wildryes. Other grasses include dropseeds, sedges, and Scribner’s panicum. Forbs include Sunflowers, tickclover, lespedezas, wildbeans, yellow Neptune, and sagewort. Other woody plants include elms, greenbriar, plums, grapes, hawthorn, American beautyberry, coralberry, and Carolina snailseed. These woody species will increase in ground cover with the absence of fire.
Woody canopy in the reference state is complex with some areas having dense oak canopy mixed with multiple prairie openings. For planning and management purposes, the average woody canopy in reference condition can be described as less than 40 percent.
The Sandstone Hill site is estimated to produce between 1,500 – 3,500 pounds of vegetative production per year in reference condition.
Tallgrasses = Midgrasses greater than Trees greater than Forbs & Shrubs
This state represents the shift to a woody dominated plant community with woody canopy exceeding 60 percent. Trees and shrubs dominate the ecological processes on the site and the herbaceous grasses and forbs are limited to shade-tolerant species. There is an abundance of leaf litter build up which further limits herbaceous plant germination and production.
Without periodic fire or brush management the reference state will transition to the Closed Canopy Woodland state. Woody species will continue to increase and lead to mesophication of the plant community with increased woody canopy and increase in shade-tolerant species.
At this point it will take significant inputs to remove woody species and restore the savannah state. This will require some selective thinning of woody species and the re-introduction of fire to the ecosystem. This process may take 5 years or more depending on woody canopy and past management. Grazing management including some deferment will be required to help reestablish the herbaceous plant community.
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.
