Foothills Fescue Range Plant Community Guide - Sustainable ...

Kentucky Bluegrass - Foothills Rough Fescue - FFA19
(Poa pratensis - Festuca campestris) Shrub Herbaceous
n= 7 This is a mid-seral plant community on loamy ranges sites with Black Chernozems in the Foothills
Fescue grassland. This community type is representative of moderately to heavily grazed fescue grasslands
on a broad range of slopes from gentle to strong. The dominance of Kentucky bluegrass at 23% marks
the movement of the plant community towards modified status. Increased cover of Kentucky bluegrass is
of concern to resource managers as the value of the plant community for wildlife and domestic livestock
grazing are diminished along with drought hardiness. Stocking at .5 to .65 will serve to maintain the
existing community.
Soil Exposure: 0% (0-2) Moss/Lichen Cover: 0% (0- 1) Total Vegetation: 98%(96 - 100)
PLANT COMPOSITION CANOPY COVER(%)
MEAN RANGE CONST
SHRUBS
PRAIRIE ROSE
(Rosa arkansana) 2 0-6 71
SHRUBBY CINQUEFOIL
(Potentilla fruticosa) 1 0-3 57
FORBS
GOLDEN BEAN
(Thermopsis rhombifolia) 3 0-9 86
WILD VETCH
(Vicia americana) 1 0-4 71
NORTHERN BEDSTRAW
(Galium boreale) 1 0-3 57
GRASSES
KENTUCKY BLUEGRASS
(Poa pratensis) 27 22-32 100
FOOTHILLS ROUGH FESCUE
(Festuca campestris) 19 3-33 100
PARRY OAT GRASS
(Danthonia parryi) 14 8-25 100
WESTERN PORCUPINE GRASS
(Stipa curtiseta) 3 0-10 71
NORTHERN WHEATGRASS
(Agropyron dasyystachyum)2 0-7 71
AWNED WHEATGRASS
(Agropyron subsecundum) 2 0-5 71
UNDIFFERENTIATED SEDGE
(Carex) 1 0-3 57
ENVIRONMENTAL VARIABLES
RANGE SITE:
LOAMY 1
SOILS:
ORTHIC BLACK CHERNOZEM
ELEVATION:
M
SOIL DRAINAGE:
WELL DRAINED
MODERATELY WELL DRAINED
SLOPE :
VERY GENTLE, MODERATE, GENTLE
ASPECT:
N/A
FORAGE PRODUCTION (LB/AC)
GRASS NOT AVAILABLE
FORB NOT AVAILABLE
SHRUB NOT AVAILABLE
LITTER NOT AVAILABLE
TOTAL NOT AVAILABLE
Ecologically Sustainable Stocking Rate
0.4 AUM/ac
45