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Rangeland and Forest Vegetation Classification, Productivity, and Plant Composition —Mesa <br />County Area, Colorado <br />Rangeland and Forest Vegetation Classification, <br />Productivity, and Plant Composition <br />In areas that have similar climate and topography, differences in the kind and <br />amount of rangeland or forest understory vegetation are closely related to the kind <br />of soil. Effective management is based on the relationship between the soils and <br />vegetation and water. <br />This table shows, for each soil that supports vegetation, the ecological site, plant <br />association, or habitat type; the total annual production of vegetation in favorable, <br />normal, and unfavorable years; the characteristic vegetation; and the average <br />percentage of each species. An explanation of the column headings in the table <br />follows. <br />An ecological site, plant association, or habitat type is the product of all the <br />environmental factors responsible for its development. It has characteristic soils <br />that have developed over time throughout the soil development process; a <br />characteristic hydrology, particularly infiltration and runoff that has developed over <br />time; and a characteristic plant community (kind and amount of vegetation). The <br />hydrology of the site is influenced by development of the soil and plant community. <br />The vegetation, soils, and hydrology are all interrelated. Each is influenced by the <br />others and influences the development of the others. The plant community on an <br />ecological site, plant association, or habitat type is typified by an association of <br />species that differs from that of other ecological sites, plant associations, or habitat <br />types in the kind and /or proportion of species or in total production. Descriptions of <br />ecological sites are provided in the Field Office Technical Guide, which is available <br />in local offices of the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). <br />Descriptions of plant associations or habitat types are available from local U.S. <br />Forest Service offices. <br />Total dry- weight production is the amount of vegetation that can be expected to <br />grow annually in a well managed area that is supporting the potential natural plant <br />community. It includes all vegetation, whether or not it is palatable to grazing <br />animals. It includes the current year's growth of leaves, twigs, and fruits of woody <br />plants. It does not include the increase in stem diameter of trees and shrubs. It is <br />expressed in pounds per acre of air -dry vegetation for favorable, normal, and <br />unfavorable years. In a favorable year, the amount and distribution of precipitation <br />and the temperatures make growing conditions substantially better than average. <br />In a normal year, growing conditions are about average. In an unfavorable year, <br />growing conditions are well below average, generally because of low available soil <br />moisture. Yields are adjusted to a common percent of air -dry moisture content. <br />Characteristic vegetation (the grasses, forbs, shrubs, and understory trees that <br />make up most of the potential natural plant community on each soil) is listed by <br />common name. Under rangeland composition and forest understory, the expected <br />percentage of the total annual production is given for each species making up the <br />characteristic vegetation. The percentages are by dry weight for rangeland. <br />Percentages for forest understory are by either dry weight or canopy cover. The <br />amount that can be used as forage depends on the kinds of grazing animals and <br />on the grazing season. <br />Natural Resources Web Sod Survey 2/27/2014 <br />Conservation Service National Cooperative Soil Survey Page 1 of 3 <br />