- Information by Map Unit
- Information by Topic
- Documents in SoLo
Links to other related sites
- About SoLo
-
- Mission
- Disclaimer
- Authors (complete list)
A Guide to Soil Quality Monitoring for Long Term Ecosystem Sustainability on Northern Region National Forests
SOLO HOME > HABITAT TYPES > PLANT COMMUNITY CLASSIFICATION FOR ALPINE VEGETATION ON THE BEAVERHEAD NATIONAL FOREST, MONTANA > GRASSLAND COMMUNITIES
Plant Community Classification for Alpine Vegetation on the Beaverhead National Forest, Montana
PRODUCTIVITY/MANAGEMENT AND SOIL EXCERPTS
[Excerpted from: Cooper, Stephen V.; Lesica, Peter; Page-Dumroese, Deborah. Rev. 1997. Plant Community Classification for Alpine Vegetation on the Beaverhead National Forest, Montana. Gen. Tech. Rep. INT-362. Ogden, UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Research Station. 61 p.]
GRASSLAND COMMUNITIES
Festuca idahoensis/Potentilla diversifolia c.t.
(FESIDA/POTDIV; Idaho Fescue/Diverse-Leaved Cinquefoil)
Soils—Parent material was generally sedimentary with limestones and calcareous sandstones predominating. Quartzite, calcareous conglomerate, and volcanic andesite were also represented. Mean litter depth was 0.6 inch, and mean duff depth was 0.3 inch. Bare ground and gravel covered 11 percent of the surface. Coarse fragment content varied from 2 to 51 percent with a mean of 20 percent. Texture of the fine fraction ranged from fine clay to sandy clay-loam; the mean textural class was sandy clay. Reaction of the soil was near-neutral (pH = 6.7 to 7.5) with a mean pH of 7.2. Mean organic matter content was 19 percent, mean total nitrogen was 0.66 percent, and C:N ratio was 14:1.
Productivity/Management—Graminoid productivity varied between 180 and 1,130 lbs per acre with a mean of 726 lbs per acre. Forb productivity varied between 160 and 1,270 lbs per acre with a mean of 778 lbs per acre. Mean total productivity for FESIDA/POTDIV was 1,504 lbs per acre. Productivity was highest on deep soils.
Deschampsia cespitosa/Potentilla diversifolia c.t.
(DESCES/POTDIV; Tufted Hairgrass/Divers-Leaved Cinquefoil)
Soils—Parent materials for these stands were sandstone, limestone, quartzite and gneiss. Mean depths of litter and duff were 0.4 and 0.8 inch. Generally, soils supporting this community type were deep with dark, mollic-appearing epipedons and high moisture content throughout much of the growing season. Bare ground and gravel covered 6 percent of the surface. This type had the lowest coarse fragment content of all nonwetland types, ranging from 0 to 19 percent with a mean of 8 percent. Texture of the fine fraction ranged from fine clay to loamy sand with a modal textural class of clay loam. Soil reaction varied from a low of 6.0 pH on soiis derived from gneiss to 7.0 pH on soils derived from limestone and calcareous sandstone. Mean pH for the type was 6.5. Mean organic matter content was 18 percent, mean total nitrogen was 0.65 percent, and C:N ratio was 14:l.
Productivity/Management—Graminoid productivity varied between 850 and 2,350 lbs per acre with a mean of 938 lbs per acre. Forb productivity ranged from 180 to 875 lbs per acre with a mean of 729 lbs per acre. Mean total productivity was 1,667 lbs per acre and was highest on warmer aspects.
Hesperochloa kingii/Oxytropis campestris c.t.
(HESKIN/OXYCAM; Spike Fescue/Field Crazyweed)
Soils—HESKIN/OXYCAM occurred only on soils derived from calcareous parent material, either limestone or Beaverhead conglomerate. Mean depths of litter and duff were 0.3 and 0.2 inch. Bare ground and gravel covered 21 percent of the surface, and rock cover averaged 9 percent. Coarse fragments ranged from 33 to 65 percent with a mean of 51 percent. The modal texture of the fine fraction was sandy clay-loam. Soil reaction varied from 7.3 to 7.5 pH, with a mean pH of 7.4. Mean organic matter content was 11 percent, mean total nitrogen was 0.35 percent, and C:N ratio was 21:1. This community occurred on the shallowest, stoniest, and sandiest soils of any grassland type; and organic matter and nitrogen levels are only half of that in the other two grassland community types.
Productivity/Management—Graminoid productivity varied between 275 and 875 lbs per acre with a mean of 613 lbs per acre. Forb productivity ranged from 250 to 600 lbs per acre with a mean of 399 lbs per acre. Shrub productivity in the lowest elevation stand was 253 lbs per acre. Mean total productivity was 1,096 lbs per acre, appreciably less than that of the other two grassland types.