Foothills Fescue Range Plant Community Guide - Sustainable ...

Northern and Western Wheatgrass - Rough Fescue FFA29
(Agropyron dasystachyum and smithii and Festuca campestris) Herbaceous
n=20 This the reference plant community on limy rangesites in the Foothills Fescue prairie. Limy range
sites tend to be immature or eroded soils with free lime (calcium carbonates) at the soil surface or in the B
horizon. Hence growing conditions are limited by soil characteristics with dominant species like Northern
and Western wheatgrass. The expected level of soil exposure is considerably higher than for loamy range
sites.
Soil Exposure: 20% (3-43) Moss/Lichen Cover: 1 % (0-3) Total Vegetation: 83% (64-98)
PLANT COMPOSITION CANOPY COVER(%)
MEAN RANGE CONST
SHRUBS
CREEPING JUNIPER
(Juniperus horizontalis) 3 0-15 30
BUCKBRUSH
(Symphoricarpos occidentalis)2 0-11 55
PRAIRIE ROSE
(Rosa arkansana) 1 0-10 45
FORBS
PASTURE SAGEWORT
(Artemisia frigida) 3 0-16 95
GRASSES
UNDIFFERENTIATED WHEATGRASS
(Agropyron) 27 5-61 100
JUNEGRASS
(Koeleria macrantha) 12 3-34 100
FOOTHILLS ROUGH FESCUE
(Festuca campestris) 10 0-24 85
GREEN NEEDLE GRASS
(Stipa viridula) 9 0-27 85
KENTUCKY BLUEGRASS
(Poa pratensis) 4 0-35 55
WESTERN PORCUPINE GRASS
(Stipa curtiseta) 4 0-15 70
THREAD-LEAVED SEDGE
(Carex filifolia) 2 0-11 60
AWNLESS BROME
(Bromus inermis) 2 0-11 30
ENVIRONMENTAL VARIABLES
RANGE SITE:
LIMY
SOILS:
REGO BLACK CHERNOZEMS (PARSONS,
OLDMAN)
CALCAREOUS BLACK CHERNOZEMS
(COWLEY, MOKOWAN, WOL-AA)
ELEVATION:
1200 - 1350 M
SOIL DRAINAGE:
WELL DRAINED
RAPIDLY DRAINED
VERY RAPIDLY DRAINED
SLOPE :
LEVEL TO STRONGLY SLOPING
ASPECT:
VARIABLE
FORAGE PRODUCTION (LB/AC)
GRASS NOT AVAILABLE
FORB NOT AVAILABLE
SHRUB NOT AVAILABLE
LITTER NOT AVAILABLE
TOTAL NOT AVAILABLE
Ecologically Sustainable Stocking Rate
0.35 AUM/ac
52