Footslope/Drainageway Prairies
Scenario model
Current ecosystem state
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Management practices/drivers
Select a transition or restoration pathway
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Transition T1A
Transition to agriculture; tillage; seeding; continued management
More details -
No transition or restoration pathway between the selected states has been described
Target ecosystem state
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Description
The Footslope/Drainageway Prairies ecological site reference plant community is a diverse native tallgrass prairie. Community phases within the model Reference State are dependent upon the frequency of fire events. Fire is a trigger that promotes continued herbaceous vegetation dominance. Fire removes plant litter, helps cycle nutrients, and allows light to reach the seedbed. Frequent fire maintains the community in a grassland state, by keeping fire-sensitive woody species from proliferating and gaining dominance. A secondary trigger for this site can be grazing. Intensive grazing can reduce the extent of highly palatable species thereby allowing the growth of less desirable plants to increase.
High-quality, untilled areas of this ecological site are extremely uncommon. Most remaining prairie areas that are managed for tallgrass prairie were once utilized for agricultural production. It is therefore likely that many historically present, native prairie species are extirpated even from these sites.
Resilience management
Prescribed fire and managed grazing are key resilience management practices.
Submodel
Description
Tillage is the primary mechanism transitioning a site to this state. Tillage alters dynamic soil properties such as bulk density, structure, organic carbon content, and saturated hydraulic conductivity. Some areas in this ecological site are not appropriate for intensive crop production due to slope. Where the gradient exceeds 20 percent row crop production is not feasible due to limitations on farm machinery. Conservation practices can mitigate the impacts of traditional agricultural practices on soil health. Conservation tillage minimizes soil disturbance and can improve soil structure and overall soil health. Corn or soybean plantings and a cover crop rotation can build soil structure, improve infiltration rates, reduce runoff and erosion, and protect water quality. Most areas in this state will remain in use for crop production in the foreseeable future.
Some tilled areas in MLRA 103 have been seeded back to grass. This may occur under a NRCS conservation program. Native forbs grasses are established to benefit wildlife and pollinators. Cool-season grasses are also feasible. Species selection will depend on the landowner's objectives and site specifics. Although cool-season grasslands are not biologically diverse, they still offer soil health and wildlife benefits.
A tilled site may revert to a scrubby woodland without fire, grazing, or management inputs. However, this is a minor land use in MLRA 103, and not currently described within this model.
Resilience management
Disturbance management and harvest management are resilience management practices. The maintenance of this state requires that the intensity, frequency, duration, and timing of agricultural practices (disturbances) be managed to control or modify vegetation structure.
Submodel
Mechanism
Transition T1A is the conversion of the reference state to agriculture. The triggers are tillage and intentional plant establishment (crop seeding). Hydrological modifications, such as ditching and tiling, may also be installed.
Constraints to recovery
Tillage and long-term intensive agricultural production generally preclude a return to State 1. Areas in row crop production may be placed in conservation programs and seeded with warm-season grasses, but will not exhibit the natural species diversity or ecological resiliency of State 1.
Model keys
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Ecological sites
Major Land Resource Areas
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.