Ecological site group DX035X03DESG06
Lake Bidahochi - Sandstone or Sandy Loam
Last updated: 11/01/2022
Accessed: 05/02/2024
Ecological site group description
Key Characteristics
- Lake Bidahochi Sediments
- Soils not sodic
- Soils not saline
- Soils not sandy
- Parent Material is Sandstone, or soil is Sandy Loam
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.
Physiography
The landform and position for this site is summit areas, treads of fan terraces on plateaus and footslopes of broad, stable landslides. The soils are deep to very deep. It neither benefits significantly from run-in nor experiences excessive runoff of moisture.
Slopes are normally 0-15%
Climate
The climate of this land resource unit is semiarid with warm summers and cool winters. The mean annual precipitation ranges from 13 – 17 inches, but it is very erratic, often varying substantially from year to year. The majority of the precipitation comes from October through April. This precipitation comes as gentle rain or snow from frontal storms coming out of the Pacific Ocean. Snow is common from November through February. Generally no more than a few inches of snow accumulates, melting within a few days, but may last a week or more. The remaining precipitation comes from July through September as spotty, unreliable and sometimes violent thunderstorms. The moisture for this precipitation originates in the Gulf of Mexico (and the Pacific Ocean in the fall) and flows into the area on the north end of the Mexican monsoon. Late May through late June is generally a dry period.
Strong winds are common, especially in the spring.
Soil features
Surface textures range from sandy loam to very fine sandy loam. Subsurface horizons have textures ranging from clay to sandy loam. There may be thin strata of finer and/or coarser textures. Water erosion hazard is moderate and the wind erosion hazard is severe.
Vegetation dynamics
Please see associated ecological sites under subclasses to view state and transition models.
This group includes grassland sites and forest sites. The forest sites consist of woodland communities with the overstory dominated by Pinyon and Juniper. The understory composition is predominately grasses, such as blue grama, squirreltail, Indian ricegrass and muttongrass; and shrubs, such as big sagebrush and antelope bitterbrush. Unmanaged grazing, drought, insect infestation, and woodcutting affect the composition and canopy cover of the overstory and understory.
The grassland reference plant communities are composed primarily of warm season mid-grasses and short grasses with a small percentage of cool season grasses and half-shrubs. Dominant grasses include blue grama, black grama, sand dropseed and galleta. Dominant shrubs include fourwing saltbush and Greene's rabbitbrush. Natural climatic variation result in changes in the amount of and ratio of both individual plants and warm season versus cool season plants, especially grasses. Drought, unmanaged grazing, lack of fire/exclusion and the introduction of invasive species can lead to juniper states or an annual and shrub-dominated state with increased rabbitbrush.
Major Land Resource Area
MLRA 035X
Colorado Plateau
Subclasses
- DX035X01I117–Sandy Loam Upland 10-14" p.z.
- DX035X03A121–Shallow Sandstone
- DX035X04B314–Sandstone Upland 10-14" p.z.
- F035XC322AZ–Sandstone Upland 10-14" p.z. (JUOS)
- F035XF627AZ–Sandstone Upland (JUOS, PIED) 13-17" p.z. (Provisional)
- R035XA115AZ–Sandstone Upland 10-14" p.z.
- R035XB217AZ–Sandy Upland 6-10" p.z.
- R035XB219AZ–Sandy Loam Upland 6-10" p.z.
- R035XC317AZ–Sandy Loam Upland 10-14" p.z.
Correlated Map Unit Components
22353391, 22353393, 22353425, 22529585, 22529583, 22529464, 22529429, 22529771, 22529770, 22529769, 22529709, 22529475, 22529736, 22529764, 22529633, 22529605, 22529607, 22529730, 22529725, 22529673, 22529533, 22529517, 22529415, 22529418, 22529628, 22529653, 22529654, 22529555, 22529671, 22529611, 22529610, 22529808, 22529742, 22529761, 22529558, 22529741, 22529804, 22529623, 22529562, 22529512, 22529774, 22529435, 22529436, 22529706
Stage
Provisional
Contributors
Curtis Talbot
Click on box and path labels to scroll to the respective text.