Ecological Sites - Shallow or Rocky Prairie, The National Rangeland Judging Contest, Judging Rangeland for Livestock and Wildlife Values

The National Rangeland Judging Contest
Judging Rangeland for Livestock and Wildlife Values

Shallow or Rocky Prairie

An upland soil less than 20 inches deep and often very rocky and rough but less than 20 percent slope. Gentle sloping to moderately steep shallow prairie soils. The site contains combinations of forbs, legumes, grasses, and some shrubs. Rock usually appears on the sur-face, often over 15 to 20 percent of the area, and occurs in the profile. The site occurs along ridges or ledges, often adjacent to loamy or clay prairie sites. The vegetation was formed under migratory grazing and heavy impact from bison and other native wildlife, with fires in both the dormant and growing season.
Site Composition Maximum Observed Composition Percent Counted Toward SI

Vegetation Site 1 Site 2 Site 3 Site 1 Site 2 Site 3

Grasses 70%

big bluestem
switchgrass
Indiangrass 25 ______ ______ ______ ______ ______ ______

little bluestem 20 ______ ______ ______ ______ ______ ______

sideoats grama 20 ______ ______ ______ ______ ______ ______

Canada wildrye
dropseed
hairy grama
blue grama
Scribner panicum
other natives 15 ______ ______ ______ ______ ______ ______

invasives 0 ______ ______ ______ ___0__ ___0__ ___0__

Forbs and Legumes
Illinois bundleflower
catclaw sensitivebrier
black sampson
leadplant
tickclover
purple prairie clover
slender lespedeza
wild indigo
scurfpea
dotted gayfeather
compassplant
halfshrub sundrop
Pitcher's sage
heath aster
sagewort
Mexican hat
milkweed
other natives
invasives

14%
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Woodies
sumac
sand plum
buckbrush
other natives
invasives

1%
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100%

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