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CEGL001386 Prosopis glandulosa / Sporobolus flexuosus Ruderal Shrubland
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Honey Mesquite / Mesa Dropseed Ruderal Shrubland
Colloquial Name: No Data Available
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: On White Sands Missile Range, this is a major community of the Tularosa and Jornada del Muerto basins. These low-elevation stands are found on rolling coppice dunes that occur within Jornada del Muerto and Tularosa basins. The dunefield sands overlay older, developed calcareous or argillic soils. The surface topography is characterized by rolling sandy hummocks or steep dunes, but there is no overall aspect dominance. This open-canopied shrubland is characterized by large Prosopis glandulosa shrubs on slightly coppicing dunes with an abundant understory of waist-high Sporobolus flexuosus growing within the interdune spaces. Atriplex canescens, Yucca elata, and Gutierrezia sarothrae are associated species that are sparsely scattered throughout most stands (less than 9% average collective cover). Additionally, a forb layer of mostly sand-associated, late-season bloomers is present and includes Dimorphocarpa wislizeni and Baileya multiradiata. An Artemisia filifolia phase has been suggested, particularly in areas where these communities occur within a distribution matrix.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: This association may be a degraded version of the Mesa Dropseed/Soaptree Yucca grassland PA (Muldavin et al. 2000b). This association (CEGL001386) is found near the edges of vast dunefields made up of mostly other Prosopis glandulosa associations. In the stands where Prosopis glandulosa does not exhibit strong coppicing, the flora is relatively diverse, and Sporobolus flexuosus is well-represented. In stands where Prosopis glandulosa is coppicing, the flora is depauperate, and although Sporobolus flexuosus is still present in the interdunes, it is at lower cover levels. Both Sporobolus flexuosus and Prosopis glandulosa prefer sandy soils (Brown 1982a), but Prosopis glandulosa is adapted to blowing sand, responding to burial by sand with rapid meristem elongation. Sporobolus flexuosus lacks such an adaptation and is found on more stable soils. The formation of coppice dunes promotes further unstable soil conditions as vegetation and soil resources become sequestered beneath the Prosopis glandulosa canopy, while interdune areas erode and form a hard crust that precludes the establishment of vegetation (Schlesinger et al. 1990, Wan et al. 1993).
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: No Data Available
Dynamics: No Data Available
Environmental Description: No Data Available
Geographic Range: No Data Available
Nations: US
States/Provinces: NM, TX
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.684037
Confidence Level: Low - Poorly Documented
Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: GNA
Greasons: No Data Available
| Type | Name | Database Code | Classification Code |
|---|---|---|---|
| Class | 3 Desert & Semi-Desert Class | C03 | 3 |
| Subclass | 3.A Warm Desert & Semi-Desert Woodland, Scrub & Grassland Subclass | S06 | 3.A |
| Formation | 3.A.2 Warm Desert & Semi-Desert Scrub & Grassland Formation | F015 | 3.A.2 |
| Division | 3.A.2.Na North American Warm Desert Scrub & Grassland Division | D039 | 3.A.2.Na |
| Macrogroup | 3.A.2.Na.90 Honey Mesquite / Red Brome - Lehmann''s Lovegrass Desert Ruderal Scrub & Grassland Macrogroup | M512 | 3.A.2.Na.90 |
| Group | 3.A.2.Na.90.b Honey Mesquite - Velvet Mesquite Warm Desert Ruderal Scrub Group | G819 | 3.A.2.Na.90.b |
| Alliance | A3135 Honey Mesquite Ruderal Desert Sand Scrub Alliance | A3135 | 3.A.2.Na.90.b |
| Association | CEGL001386 Honey Mesquite / Mesa Dropseed Ruderal Shrubland | CEGL001386 | 3.A.2.Na.90.b |
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: = Prosopis glandulosa / Sporobolus flexuosus Plant Association (Muldavin et al. 1998d)
= Honey Mesquite/Mesa Dropseed PA (Muldavin et al. 2000b) [(Prosopis glandulosa/Sporobolus flexuosus; PROGLA/SPOFLE)]
= Honey Mesquite/Mesa Dropseed PA (Muldavin et al. 2000b) [(Prosopis glandulosa/Sporobolus flexuosus; PROGLA/SPOFLE)]
- 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.
- Brown, D. E. 1982b. Chihuahuan desertscrub. Desert Plants 4(1-4):169-179.
- Donart, G. B., D. Sylvester, and W. Hickey. 1978a. A vegetation classification system for New Mexico, USA. Pages 488-490 in: Rangeland Congress, Denver, CO, 14-18 August 1978. Society for Range Management, Denver.
- Hennessy, J. T., R. P. Gibbens, J. M. Tromble, and M. Cardenas. 1983. Vegetation changes from 1935 to 1980 in mesquite dunelands and former grasslands of southern New Mexico. Journal of Range Management 36(3):370-374.
- Muldavin, E., G. Shore, K. Taugher, and B. Milne. 1998d. A vegetation map classification and map for the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge, New Mexico. Final report submitted to USDI, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge, Socorro, NM, by the New Mexico Natural Heritage Program, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque. 73 pp. + appendices.
- Muldavin, E., Y. Chauvin, and G. Harper. 2000b. The vegetation of White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico: Volume I. Handbook of vegetation communities. Final report to Environmental Directorate, White Sands Missile Range. New Mexico Natural Heritage Program, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque. 195 pp. plus appendices
- Muldavin, E., and P. Mehlhop. 1992. A preliminary classification and test vegetation map for White Sands Missile Range and San Andreas National Wildlife Refuge, New Mexico. University of New Mexico, New Mexico Natural Heritage Program.
- Schlesinger, W. H., J. F. Reynolds, G. L. Cunningham, L. F. Huenneke, W. M. Jarrell, R. A. Virginia, and W. G. Whitford. 1990. Biological feedbacks in global desertification. Science 247:1043-1048.
- Wan, C., R. E. Sosebee, and B. L. McMichael. 1993. Soil water extraction and photosynthesis in Gutierrezia sarothrae and Sporobolus cryptandrus. Journal of Range Management 46:425-430.
- Western Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Boulder, CO.