ECOLOGICAL SITESON RANGELAND

Ecological Site definition:

• Ecological site = kind of land with:• specific physical characteristics (soil, topography, climate) • which differs from other kinds of land in its ability to

produce• distinctive kinds and amounts of vegetation

• In other words, a kind of land with similar natural potential

• Other stratification systems can be an have been used to described rangelands

Ecological sites vary in kind and amount of vegetation

(Example 1)

(Example 2)

(Example 3)

(Example 4)

Ecological Sites – Based on Soil• Soil affects the type of plants that grow on the land

• Therefore, soil maps usually form the basis for maps of ecological sites

• Ecological Site Descriptions – can be found by starting with soil maps in the Web Soil Survey

Basin floor

Basin floor

Basin floor

Hills

Hills

Hills

Hills

Hills

Hills

Hills

Hills Hills

Mesa top

Mesa top

Mesa top

Mountains

Mountains Mountains

Mountains

Mountains

Mountains

Mountains

Valley floor

Ecological Sites are based on different topographic settings

http://websoilsurvey.nrcs.usda.gov/app/