Print Report
CEGL001597 Danthonia californica - Festuca rubra Grassland
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: California Oatgrass - Red Fescue Grassland
Colloquial Name: California Oatgrass - Red Fescue Grassland
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: A perennial grassland dominated by Danthonia californica and Festuca rubra. Diagnostic species include Deschampsia holciformis and Calamagrostis nutkaensis. This association occurs along the coastal regions of California and Oregon with cool, dry summers and mild, wet winters. Formerly fairly widespread, this association formed a finely textured mosaic with forest, scrub and other grassland types. Invading exotics and extensive grazing have degraded this association throughout its range, reducing it to a handful of occurrences.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: No Data Available
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: This is a poorly described herbaceous association, with no quantitative data available on species cover. It is dominated by perennial bunchgrasses, with Danthonia californica usually the most abundant, and Festuca rubra common. Several other perennial grasses are associated, including Deschampsia holciformis (= Deschampsia cespitosa ssp. holciformis), Calamagrostis nutkaensis, and Festuca idahoensis, and in California Leymus pacificus and Bromus maritimus. Height of the grasses typically is 0.5 m when flowering, and total cover can approach 100%. There is a component of low (10 cm height) annual and perennial forbs, but no information is available on species composition. Most stands have been impacted by livestock grazing and include a component of introduced species, such as the grasses Holcus lanatus and Aira caryophyllea.
Dynamics: No Data Available
Environmental Description: This association occurs along a coastal region with distinct climatic characteristics. Summers are typically cool and dry, with occasional fogs. Winters are wet and mild, receiving 75-85% of the annual precipitation, which ranges from over 150 cm in southwestern Oregon, to under 60 cm near Crescent City, California. Precipitation rapidly increases with elevation on the seaward slopes of the Coastal Ranges.
Little detailed information is available on the environmental parameters associated with this association. It apparently occurs as a mosaic within forest and scrub patches, as prairie "balds." Sites are relatively xeric ridges and south-facing slopes, with rocky, well-drained soils. Elevations are less than 1000 meters.
Little detailed information is available on the environmental parameters associated with this association. It apparently occurs as a mosaic within forest and scrub patches, as prairie "balds." Sites are relatively xeric ridges and south-facing slopes, with rocky, well-drained soils. Elevations are less than 1000 meters.
Geographic Range: This association occurs in scattered locations along the seaward slopes of the southern Oregon and northern California coastal ranges, from near the coast and inland for less than 10 km.
Nations: US
States/Provinces: CA, OR
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.683542
Confidence Level: Low
Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: G2
Greasons: No Data Available
| Type | Name | Database Code | Classification Code |
|---|---|---|---|
| Class | 2 Shrub & Herb Vegetation Class | C02 | 2 |
| Subclass | 2.B Temperate & Boreal Grassland & Shrubland Subclass | S18 | 2.B |
| Formation | 2.B.2 Temperate Grassland & Shrubland Formation | F012 | 2.B.2 |
| Division | 2.B.2.Nf Western North American Grassland & Shrubland Division | D022 | 2.B.2.Nf |
| Macrogroup | 2.B.2.Nf.4 Southern Vancouverian Lowland Grassland & Shrubland Macrogroup | M050 | 2.B.2.Nf.4 |
| Group | 2.B.2.Nf.4.a Manzanita species / Roemer''s Fescue - California Oatgrass Shrubland & Grassland Group | G488 | 2.B.2.Nf.4.a |
| Alliance | A3739 Red Fescue - Pacific Reedgrass Exposed Coastal Headland Grassland Alliance | A3739 | 2.B.2.Nf.4.a |
| Association | CEGL001597 California Oatgrass - Red Fescue Grassland | CEGL001597 | 2.B.2.Nf.4.a |
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: No Data Available
- Barbour, M. G., and J. Major, editors. 1988. Terrestrial vegetation of California: New expanded edition. California Native Plant Society, Special Publication 9, Sacramento. 1030 pp.
- 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.
- Holland, R. F. 1986b. Preliminary descriptions of the terrestrial natural communities of California. Unpublished report prepared for the California Department of Fish and Game, Nongame-Heritage Program and Natural Diversity Database, Sacramento. 156 pp.
- Kagan, J. S., J. A. Christy, M. P. Murray, and J. A. Titus. 2004. Classification of native vegetation of Oregon. January 2004. Oregon Natural Heritage Information Center, Portland. 52 pp.
- ORNHP [Oregon Natural Heritage Program]. No date. Unpublished data files. Oregon Natural Heritage Program, The Nature Conservancy, Portland, OR.
- Reid, M. S., L. S. Engelking, and P. S. Bourgeron. 1994. Rare plant communities of the conterminous United States, Western Region. Pages 305-620 in: D. H. Grossman, K. L. Goodin, and C. L. Reuss, editors. Rare plant communities of the conterminous United States, an initial survey. The Nature Conservancy, Arlington, VA.
- Sawyer, J. O., and T. Keeler-Wolf. 1995. A manual of California vegetation. California Native Plant Society, Sacramento. 471 pp.
- Western Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Boulder, CO.