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RANGE SITE N0. 269 <br />CLAYEY FOOTHILLS <br />August 1975 <br />3. Native (potential) Vegetation <br />,~ <br />`'. <br />Pagt' .~ <br />Western wheatgrass dominates the cover, although big sagebrush <br />gives the site an open brushland aspect. Black sage is also present <br />in places.. Muttongrass, Indian ricegrass, squirreltail, Junegrass <br />and other grasses combine with western wheatgrass to make up well <br />over half the plant community. Beardless wheatgrass is present in <br />northern portions of the site. Forbs are scattered through but <br />make up a minor part of the plant community. Some of the most <br />common are buckwheat, globemallow, penstemon, and locos or milk- <br />vetches. Others which grow in parts of this community are yarrow, <br />balsamroot, and aster. Douglas rabbitbrush and prickly pear are <br />commonly occurring plants, and there may be an occasional 4-wing <br />saltbush or winterfat. On more moist parts of the site a few tall <br />shrubs common to higher elevations may be present, and pinyon or <br />juniper may show up. The latter are confined to occasional trees <br />or patches under natural conditions, however, due to fire and other <br />factors. <br />~~ <br />Native (potential) Vegetation and Guide for Determining Range /'~ <br />Condition. ~ s~~; <br />Percentage composition by weight of the principal species may <br />total as much as: <br />,~¢{{Cretan .Jc.ec~{¢9~aJt /p J~nayroSS • S - <br />Western wheatgrass 50 <br />Big sagebrush /5-20 <br />Indian ricegrass 5 <br />Muttongrass 5 <br />Beardless wheatgrass I/ 5 <br />Douglas rabbitbrush 5 <br />Others (Ilsted above) 15 <br />I/ Not present at southern locations. <br />Tree species most likely to grow on the site are Utah juniper, <br />one-seed juniper and pinyon pine, Approximate ground cover is <br />40 percent. <br />Species most likely to invade the site or increase from trace <br />amounts are juniper (at upper elevations), rubber rabbitbrush, <br />Colorado rubberweed, snakeweed, cheatgrass and a-nual weeds. <br />Shadscale and greasewood move into some drier parts of the site, <br />especially those adjacent to salty soils. Big sagebrush commonly <br />becomes dominant as the range condition deteriorates and may make <br />up nearly all the vegetation. Other plant's which increase in some /~ <br />places as the condition deteriorates are black sage and Douglas / <br />rabbitbrush. <br />j <br />., <br />1.. .__ ~. .. __ .. ~~!_ <br />