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CEGL001735 Yucca elata / Bouteloua eriopoda Shrub Grassland
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Soaptree Yucca / Black Grama Shrub Grassland
Colloquial Name: No Data Available
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: On White Sands Missile Range this is a major community of the northern Jornada del Muerto basin as well as the Mockingbird, San Andres, and San Augustine Mountains. It is also known from the southern Jornada basin. This community is most abundant on rolling sandy plains and scattered along the upper slopes of alluvial fans. Elevation ranges from 1400 to 1950 m (4600-6400 feet). Soils are predominantly deep, coarse-textured loams, although argillic horizons may occasionally occur. Slope grades are mostly gentle, with little aspect differentiation. This Chihuahuan Desert grassland consists of thick and often luxuriant Bouteloua eriopoda with regularly scattered Yucca elata forming a conspicuous shrub layer. Other common shrub associates include Gutierrezia sarothrae and Opuntia phaeacantha. The herbaceous layer is highly diverse. Yet, among the 30 grasses known from the association, only Sporobolus flexuosus is an occasional codominant and well-represented. A wide variety of forbs are also possible (71 species). Machaeranthera pinnatifida var. pinnatifida, Senecio flaccidus, Thelesperma megapotamicum, and Bahia absinthifolia are the more constant species.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: ~Bouteloua eriopoda - Bouteloua gracilis Grassland (CEGL001748)$$, Black Grama-Blue Grama/Soaptree Yucca PA and Black Grama-Blue Grama/Banana Yucca PA (Muldavin et al. 2000b) are closely related, and may be transitional between Great Plains and the Chihuahuan Desert grasslands represented by this type. ~Ephedra torreyana / Bouteloua eriopoda Shrub Grassland (CEGL001731)$$ is also on sandy soils, but lacks Yucca elata. Yucca elata is also associated with deep, sandy soils (Smith and Ludwig 1978, McClaren 1995). Bouteloua eriopoda is a dominant on coarse soils in other parts of the Chihuahuan Desert (Brown 1982a, Cornelius et al. 1991, Wondzell et al.1987) and, in this community, Bouteloua eriopoda is at much higher cover compared to the surrounding Bouteloua eriopoda - Bouteloua gracilis grassland.
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: This Chihuahuan Desert grassland consists of thick and often luxuriant Bouteloua eriopoda with regularly scattered Yucca elata forming a conspicuous shrub layer. Other common shrub associates include Gutierrezia sarothrae and Opuntia phaeacantha. The herbaceous layer is highly diverse. Yet, among the 30 grasses known from the association, only Sporobolus flexuosus is an occasional codominant and well-represented. A wide variety of forbs are also possible (71 species). Machaeranthera pinnatifida var. pinnatifida, Senecio flaccidus, Thelesperma megapotamicum, and Bahia absinthifolia are the more constant species.
Dynamics: No Data Available
Environmental Description: This community is most abundant on rolling sandy plains and scattered along the upper slopes of alluvial fans. Elevation ranges from 1400 to 1950 m (4600-6400 feet). Soils are predominantly deep, coarse-textured loams, although argillic horizons may occasionally occur. Slope grades are mostly gentle, with little aspect differentiation.
Geographic Range: This associationis found in south-central, southwestern and southeastern New Mexico. It may extend into the Trans-Pecos area of Texas and into northern Mexico.
Nations: MX?,US
States/Provinces: MXCHH?, NM, TX?
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.684227
Confidence Level: Low - Poorly Documented
Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: G2
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.3 Black Grama - Bullgrass - Tobosa Grass Chihuahuan Semi-Desert Grassland Macrogroup | M087 | 3.A.2.Na.3 |
| Group | 3.A.2.Na.3.c Soaptree Yucca / Black Grama - Mesa Dropseed Semi-Desert Grassland Group | G491 | 3.A.2.Na.3.c |
| Alliance | A3244 Soaptree Yucca - Torrey''s Joint-fir / Black Grama Sandy Plains Semi-Desert Grassland Alliance | A3244 | 3.A.2.Na.3.c |
| Association | CEGL001735 Soaptree Yucca / Black Grama Shrub Grassland | CEGL001735 | 3.A.2.Na.3.c |
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: = Bouteloua eriopoda / Yucca elata PA (Muldavin and Mehlhop 1992)
>< Black Grama-Blue Grama/Soaptree Yucca PA (Muldavin et al. 2000b) [(Bouteloua eriopoda-Bouteloua gracilis/Yucca elata: BOUERI-BOUGRA/YUCELA)]
= Black Grama/Soaptree Yucca PA (Muldavin et al. 2000b) [(Bouteloua eriopoda/Yucca elata; BOUERI/YUCELA)]
>< Black Grama-Blue Grama/Soaptree Yucca PA (Muldavin et al. 2000b) [(Bouteloua eriopoda-Bouteloua gracilis/Yucca elata: BOUERI-BOUGRA/YUCELA)]
= Black Grama/Soaptree Yucca PA (Muldavin et al. 2000b) [(Bouteloua eriopoda/Yucca elata; BOUERI/YUCELA)]
- 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.
- Cornelius, J. M., P. R. Kemp, J. A. Ludwig, and G. L. Cunningham. 1991. The distribution of vascular plant species and guilds in space and time along a desert gradient. Journal of Vegetation Science 2:59-72.
- McClaren, M. P. 1995. Desert grassland and grasses. Pages 1-30 in: M. P. McClaren and T.R.Van Devender, editors. The desert grassland. University of Arizona Press, Tucson.
- 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.
- Smith, S. D., and J. A. Ludwig. 1978. The distribution and phytosociology of Yucca elata in southern New Mexico. American Midland Naturalist 100(1):202-211.
- Western Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Boulder, CO.
- Wondzell, S. M., G. L. Cunningham, and D. Bachelet. 1987. A hierarchical classification of landforms: Some implications for understanding local and regional vegetation dynamics. Pages 15-23 in: E. L. Aldon, C. E. Gonzales Vicente, and W. H. Moir, editors. Strategies for Classification and Management of Native Vegetation for Food Production in Arid Zones, October 12-16, 1987. General Technical Report RM-GTR-150. USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station, Fort Collins, CO.