Grasslands

Management Implications

Mountain grasslands cover about 80,000 acres at elevations above 9,000 ft, and are surrounded by or interspersed with mixed conifer forests. Climatic data from Seven Springs and the nearby station at Burro Mountain, within a mixed conifer stand, were compared to determine feasibility of using windbreaks in these grassland sites. Soil analyses indicated that the main difference between forest and grassland soils was the lack of mycorrhizae in the grassland soils (Thompson et al. 1976). Temperature data from Seven Springs and Burro Mountain were similar. Annual precipitation at Seven Springs average 22 inches while Burro Mountain average 32 inches, but high winds on the grasslands may have resulted in inaccurate gage readings. Thompson and others (1976) believed that lower available soil water, related to snowpack sublimation, was one reason that trees had not moved into the grasslands. Trees are found at the edges of the grasslands where topography shelters them and the snowpack from wind; moderating the microclimate.

Water-yield augmentation is no longer a primary management goal in the Southwestern United States. Even timber production has declined as other resource values, such as recreation and concerns about rare and endangered species, have incresed.