Subalpine Slope
Scenario model
Current ecosystem state
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Management practices/drivers
Select a transition or restoration pathway
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Transition T1A
Soil Degradation / Erosion
More details -
Restoration pathway R2A
Habitat protection, Seedbank Establishment
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No transition or restoration pathway between the selected states has been described
Target ecosystem state
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Description
These are forests dominated by balsam fir, with common associates of red spruce, black spruce, and heartleaf paper birch in lower amounts. These communities are often seen as the first community types when transitioning into the alpine zone between 2500 and 4000 feet (762 and 1219 meters) in elevation, with a noticeable shift from the Northern Hardwood Forest complexes lower in elevation. These community types all correlate to the International Vegetation Classification (IVC) Hierarchy Alliance A443 “High Montane Red Spruce – Fir – Yellow Birch Forest” and LandFire’s CES201.566 “Acadian-Appalachian Montane Spruce-Fir Forest” classifications.
Submodel
States 1, 5 and 2 (additional transitions)
1.1. High Montane Balsam Fir – Birch Forest
1.5. High Montane (Mixed) Hardwood Forest
1.2. High Montane Red Spruce – Fir Forest
Description
This state consists of exposed areas within alpine communities in which the native vegetation is absent, displaced, or destroyed by soil degradation and erosion and will lack dominant vegetation cover.
Submodel
Mechanism
Soil degradation and erosion may lead to loss of habitat, resulting exposed soil or bedrock. This often occurs in localized zones of trampled vegetation, soil erosion, and unofficial trail development. Extreme loss of soils materials may create localized channels which can funnel snowmelt and increase habitat loss. Extreme loss may be more common on steeper, more slide-prone areas. Other factors such as historical high elevation logging, development (ski areas, wind generators, etc.), or historical fires may have similar or compounding effects.
Model keys
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Ecological sites
Major Land Resource Areas
The Ecosystem Dynamics Interpretive Tool is an information system framework developed by the USDA-ARS Jornada Experimental Range, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, and New Mexico State University.