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CEGL005236 Juniperus horizontalis - Dasiphora fruticosa / Schizachyrium scoparium - Carex richardsonii Dwarf-shrubland

Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available

Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Creeping Juniper - Shrubby-cinquefoil / Little Bluestem - Richardson''s Sedge Dwarf-shrubland

Colloquial Name: Creeping Juniper - Shrubby-cinquefoil Alvar Pavement

Hierarchy Level:  Association

Type Concept: The creeping juniper - shrubby-cinquefoil alvar pavement shrubland type occurs in the Great Lakes region of the United States and Canada, in Ontario, Canada and in northern Michigan. Stands occur on very shallow soils (usually less than 10 cm deep) over flat dolostone outcrops (pavements). The surface of the dolostone pavement is often broken into small pieces (from 1 cm to 1 m in the longest dimension) by frost heaving, sometimes called rubble pavement. These pavements are typically very droughty in summer, except right after rainfall, when ephemeral shallow pools can form on the bedrock surface. Creeping juniper - shrubby cinquefoil alvar pavement usually occurs in a patchy landscape mosaic with other alvar communities, most commonly with little bluestem alvar grassland, tufted hairgrass wet alvar grassland, juniper alvar shrubland, and alvar nonvascular pavement. This community has at least 25% cover of dwarf-shrubs (under 0.5 m tall); the dominant shrubs are Juniperus horizontalis, and/or Dasiphora fruticosa ssp. floribunda. Other characteristic species include Schizachyrium scoparium, Carex richardsonii, Carex scirpoidea, Pinus banksiana, Thuja occidentalis, Danthonia spicata, Oligoneuron album, Packera paupercula, Clinopodium arkansanum, and Tetraneuris herbacea. This community has less than 50% cover of herbaceous plants, and less than 10% cover of trees over 5 m tall. There is often a lot of exposed dolostone bedrock pavement, but exposed bedrock is always less than 50% of the ground surface area. Much of the exposed rock surface is covered with microscopic algae (e.g., Gloeocapsa alpina). Mosses and lichens are common, including Tortella tortuosa, Schistidium rivulare, Placynthium nigrum and Cetraria arenaria. This community is closely related to Little Bluestem Alvar Grassland, and the two communities are frequently interspersed.

Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available

Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available

Classification Comments: This community is closely related to Little Bluestem Alvar Grassland, ~Sporobolus heterolepis - Schizachyrium scoparium - (Carex scirpoidea) / (Juniperus horizontalis) Grassland (CEGL005234)$$, and the two communities are frequently interspersed. The primary distinction is that this type has dwarf shrubs as the tallest vegetation layer covering at least 25% of the area; whereas Little Bluestem Alvar Grassland has grasses and sedges as a taller layer, with dwarf shrubs, especially creeping juniper, growing primarily underneath the grasses and sedges. This type forms a more extensive patchy landscape mosaic with other alvar communities, most commonly with Little Bluestem Alvar Grassland (CEGL005234); Tufted Hairgrass Wet Alvar Grassland, ~Deschampsia cespitosa - (Sporobolus heterolepis, Schizachyrium scoparium) - Carex crawei - Packera paupercula Grassland (CEGL005110)$$; Juniper Alvar Shrubland, ~Juniperus communis - (Juniperus virginiana) - Rhus aromatica - Viburnum rafinesqueanum / Oligoneuron album Shrubland (CEGL005212)$$; and Alvar Nonvascular Pavement, ~Tortella tortuosa - Cladonia pocillum - Placynthium spp. Sparse Vegetation (CEGL005192)$$.

Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available

Floristics: This community has at least 25% cover of dwarf-shrubs (under 0.5 m tall); the dominant shrubs are Juniperus horizontalis and/or Dasiphora fruticosa ssp. floribunda (= Pentaphylloides floribunda). Other characteristic species include Schizachyrium scoparium, Carex richardsonii, Carex scirpoidea, Pinus banksiana, Thuja occidentalis, Danthonia spicata, Oligoneuron album (= Solidago ptarmicoides), Packera paupercula (= Senecio pauperculus), Clinopodium arkansanum (= Calamintha arkansana), and Tetraneuris herbacea (= Hymenoxys herbacea). This community has less than 50% cover of herbaceous plants, and less than 10% cover of trees over 5 m tall. This community is closely related to little bluestem alvar grassland, and the two communities are frequently interspersed. The primary distinction is that the creeping juniper - shrubby-cinquefoil alvar pavement community has dwarf-shrubs as the tallest vegetation layer covering at least 25% of the area; whereas little bluestem alvar grassland has grasses and sedges as a taller layer, with dwarf-shrubs, especially creeping juniper, growing primarily underneath the grasses and sedges. There is often a lot of exposed dolostone bedrock pavement, but exposed bedrock is always less than 50% of the ground surface area. Much of the exposed rock surface is covered with microscopic algae (e.g. Gloeocapsa alpina). Mosses and lichens are common, including Tortella tortuosa, Schistidium rivulare, Placynthium nigrum and Cetraria arenaria (Reschke et al. 1998).

Dynamics:  No Data Available
Environmental Description:  Stands occur on very shallow soils (usually less than 10 cm deep) over flat dolostone outcrops (pavements). The surface of the dolostone pavement is often broken into small pieces (from 1 cm to 1 m in the longest dimension) by frost heaving, sometimes called rubble pavement. These pavements are typically very droughty in summer, except right after rainfall, when ephemeral shallow pools can form on the bedrock surface (Reschke et al. 1998).
Geographic Range: The creeping juniper - shrubby-cinquefoil alvar pavement type occurs in the Great Lakes region of the United States and Canada, where it is found in Ontario (primarily on the Bruce Peninsula, Manitoulin Island, the islands north of Manitoulin) and in northern Michigan.

Nations: CA,US

States/Provinces:  MI, ON


Confidence Level: High

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.Nc Eastern North American Grassland & Shrubland Division D024 2.B.2.Nc
Macrogroup 2.B.2.Nc.5 Shrubby-cinquefoil - Bristleleaf Sedge Calcareous Scrub & Grassland Macrogroup M507 2.B.2.Nc.5
Group 2.B.2.Nc.5.a Little Bluestem - Prairie Dropseed - Common Juniper Alvar Grassland & Shrubland Group G061 2.B.2.Nc.5.a
Alliance A3104 Prairie Dropseed - Tufted Hairgrass / Shrubby-cinquefoil Alvar Grassland Alliance A3104 2.B.2.Nc.5.a
Association CEGL005236 Creeping Juniper - Shrubby-cinquefoil / Little Bluestem - Richardson''s Sedge Dwarf-shrubland CEGL005236 2.B.2.Nc.5.a
Concept Lineage: No Data Available

Predecessors: No Data Available

Obsolete Names: No Data Available

Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: = Juniperus horizontalis - Dasiphora fruticosa ssp. floribunda / Schizachyrium scoparium - Carex richardsonii Dwarf-shrubland (Reschke et al. 1998)
= Juniperus horizontalis - Dasiphora fruticosa ssp. floribunda / Schizachyrium scoparium - Carex richardsonii Dwarf-shrubland (Faber-Langendoen 2001)
Concept Author(s): C. Reschke et al. (1998)

Author of Description: C. Reschke

Acknowledgements: No Data Available

Version Date: 04-22-99
  • Faber-Langendoen, D., editor. 2001. Plant communities of the Midwest: Classification in an ecological context. Association for Biodiversity Information, Arlington, VA. 61 pp. plus appendix (705 pp.).
  • Kost, M. A., D. A. Albert, J. G. Cohen, B. S. Slaughter, R. K. Schillo, C. R. Weber, and K. A. Chapman. 2007. Natural communities of Michigan: Classification and description. Report No. 2007-21, Michigan Natural Features Inventory, Lansing. 314 pp. [http://web4.msue.msu.edu/mnfi/reports/2007-21_Natural_Communites_of_Michigan_Classification_and_Description.pdf]
  • Lee, H., W. Bakowsky, J. Riley, J. Bowles, M. Puddister, P. Uhlig, and S. McMurray. 1998. Ecological land classification for southern Ontario: First approximation and its application. Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, Southcentral Science Section, Science Development and Transfer Branch. SCSS Field Guide FG-02.
  • Midwestern Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Minneapolis, MN.
  • ONHIC [Ontario Natural Heritage Information Centre]. 2018. Unpublished data. Ontario Natural Heritage Information Centre, Ministry of Natural Resources, Ontario, Canada.
  • Reschke, C., R. Reid, J. Jones, T. Feeney, and H. Potter, on behalf of the Alvar Working Group. 1998. Conserving Great Lakes Alvars. Final Technical Report of the International Alvar Conservation Initiative. The Nature Conservancy, Great Lakes Program, Chicago, IL. 119 pp. plus 4 appendices.