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CEGL000735 Juniperus osteosperma / Cercocarpus montanus Woodland
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Utah Juniper / Alderleaf Mountain-mahogany Woodland
Colloquial Name: No Data Available
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: This is a low, shrubby woodland type growing on shallow, rocky soils on hogbacks, ridges and colluvial slopes in south-central Wyoming, western Colorado and adjacent Utah. The sites on which this vegetation grows are sometimes classified as the shallow breaks range site (Warren n.d.). Juniperus osteosperma and Cercocarpus montanus occur together in either a wooded shrubland or woodland form, depending on the relative cover of the two dominant species. Occasionally the junipers are stunted and grow no taller than the mountain-mahogany. Sparse grasses dominate the understory, including Pseudoroegneria spicata, Poa secunda, Pleuraphis jamesii, and Hesperostipa comata.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: Evidence for this plant association in Wyoming is contained in a brief description of range sites in the BLM''s Great Divide Resource Area of south-central Wyoming. Quantitative data on the composition and structure of the vegetation in Wyoming are lacking. Juniperus osteosperma and Cercocarpus montanus both occur in southwestern Wyoming as well, and this vegetation type might be found there, but information to that effect has not been found. The association has been documented by vegetation plots in both Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park and Dinosaur National Monument.
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: This woodland association is characterized by an open to moderately closed canopy of Juniperus osteosperma with a mixed shrub understory dominated by Cercocarpus montanus. Other species generally present in the shrub layer include Fraxinus anomala, Ephedra viridis, Artemisia tridentata ssp. wyomingensis, and Gutierrezia sarothrae. The herbaceous layer typically has less than 10% total cover of grasses and forbs. Poa fendleriana, Pleuraphis jamesii, Achnatherum hymenoides, and Heterotheca villosa are common herbaceous species. Nonvascular plants and cryptobiotic soil crusts are often present but usually with very low cover.
Dynamics: This association includes a number of seral stages, from Cercocarpus montanus shrublands with scattered invading junipers to moderately closed-canopy woodlands with a few mountain-mahogany shrubs hanging on in the understory. Fire tends to re-set the community to a Cercocarpus montanus shrubland.
Environmental Description: This association generally occurs on the rocky slopes of canyons, hills, hogbacks and ridges below 1900 m (6234 feet) elevation in south-central Wyoming, western Colorado and adjacent Utah. It also occurs on somewhat barren shale ridges of the Carmel Formation in Colorado. Slopes range from gentle to moderately steep, and stands are often oriented to east or north aspects. Substrates include sandstone, talus and shale, and soils generally correspond to the substrate: sandy loams on sandstones and clay soils on shales. The unvegetated ground surface often has a high percentage of rock, exposed bedrock or bare ground, but in undisturbed examples on sandy substrates, the cover of cryptobiotic crusts may be high.
Geographic Range: This type occurs in south-central Wyoming, western Colorado and adjacent Utah.
Nations: US
States/Provinces: CO, UT, WY
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.683155
Confidence Level: Moderate
Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: G2G3
Greasons: No Data Available
| Type | Name | Database Code | Classification Code |
|---|---|---|---|
| Class | 1 Forest & Woodland Class | C01 | 1 |
| Subclass | 1.B Temperate & Boreal Forest & Woodland Subclass | S15 | 1.B |
| Formation | 1.B.2 Cool Temperate Forest & Woodland Formation | F008 | 1.B.2 |
| Division | 1.B.2.Nc Western North American Pinyon - Juniper Woodland & Scrub Division | D010 | 1.B.2.Nc |
| Macrogroup | 1.B.2.Nc.1 Singleleaf Pinyon - Utah Juniper - Western Juniper Intermountain Woodland Macrogroup | M896 | 1.B.2.Nc.1 |
| Group | 1.B.2.Nc.1.a Two-needle Pinyon - Utah Juniper Woodland Group | G900 | 1.B.2.Nc.1.a |
| Alliance | A4371 Utah Juniper Colorado Plateau Shrubby Woodland Alliance | A4371 | 1.B.2.Nc.1.a |
| Association | CEGL000735 Utah Juniper / Alderleaf Mountain-mahogany Woodland | CEGL000735 | 1.B.2.Nc.1.a |
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: = Shallow Breaks Range Site (Warren n.d.) [Brief description from BLM Great Divide Resource Area of south-central Wyoming.]
- Bourgeron, P. S., and L. D. Engelking, editors. 1994. A preliminary vegetation classification of the western United States. Unpublished report. The Nature Conservancy, Western Heritage Task Force, Boulder, CO. 175 pp. plus appendix.
- CNHP [Colorado Natural Heritage Program]. 2006-2017. Tracked natural plant communities. Colorado Natural Heritage Program, Colorado State University, Fort Collins. [https://cnhp.colostate.edu/ourdata/trackinglist/plant_communities/]
- Coles, J., D. Cogan, D. Salas, A. Wight, G. Wakefield, J. Von Loh, and A. Evenden. 2008a. Vegetation classification and mapping project report, Dinosaur National Monument. Natural Resource Technical Report NPS/NCPN/NRTR-2008/112. National Park Service, Fort Collins, CO. 814 pp.
- Von Loh, J., K. Landgraf, A. Evenden, T. Owens, S. Blauer, and M. Reid. 2007. Vegetation classification and mapping project report, Colorado National Monument. Natural Resource Report NPS/NCPN/NRTR--2007/061. National Park Service, Fort Collins, CO. 564 pp.
- Warren, A. No date. Range site descriptions in Divide Resource Area. Unpublished report prepared for USDI Bureau of Land Management, Great Divide Resource Area, Rawlins, WY.
- Western Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Boulder, CO.