Interpreting Ecological Sites for Grazing Management

Ecological Sites “... a kind of land with specific physical characteristics which differs from other kinds of land in its ability to produce distinctive kinds and amounts of vegetation and in its response to management.”

Site Factors Soil, topography, climate Land use history

MLRAs

41-1 (16-20 inches) 41-2 (8-12 inches) 41-3 (12-16 inches) Limy Upland

Site Conservation Thresholds (SCTs) Ecological thresholds describe a complex set of potentially interacting components. (Briske et al. 2005) A specific disturbance (e.g. grazing, destruction or introduction of plants), event (e.g. drought or fire) or a combination of these factors may trigger the occurrence of a threshold. Thresholds can effect both structural and functional modifications during ecosystem transitions at various temporal scales. – Sites that reside in extended periods of “at-risk” conditions, site potential may be permanently changed

Loamy Upland 41-3, 12-16” PZ % Bare Ground > SCT is “at risk”

Adapted from NRCS ESIS

Ecological Site Maps