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CEGL001504 Rhus trilobata / Carex filifolia Shrub Grassland
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Skunkbush Sumac / Threadleaf Sedge Shrub Grassland
Colloquial Name: Skunkbush / Threadleaf Sedge Shrub Prairie
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: This shrub-steppe is found in the northern Great Plains of the United States. This community is dominated by herbaceous vegetation, overtopped by a shrub canopy of 10-25% cover (though a more dense shrub variant is possible). The tallest shrubs are typically 0.6 m tall. The most abundant shrub is Rhus trilobata, with lesser amounts of Artemisia frigida, Gutierrezia sarothrae, Parthenocissus vitacea, Rosa arkansana, Symphoricarpos occidentalis, and Toxicodendron rydbergii. The most abundant herbaceous species is Carex filifolia, usually accompanied by Bouteloua curtipendula, Pascopyrum smithii, Schizachyrium scoparium, Koeleria macrantha, Muhlenbergia cuspidata, and Hesperostipa comata. Carex inops ssp. heliophila and Elymus lanceolatus are found in the shade of shrubs. Forbs have very low coverage. Common forbs include Artemisia dracunculus, Echinacea angustifolia, Dalea purpurea, and Phlox andicola. Stands occur on moderate to steep slopes on protected ridgetops and upper slopes of draws. The soil is sandy loam and fine sandy loams formed in Tertiary sandstone and colluvium.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: Although stands of ill-scented sumac in Badlands National Park are classified as this type, they appear to contain very little Carex filifolia. They may fit better with ~Rhus trilobata / Schizachyrium scoparium Shrub Grassland (CEGL001506)$$, reported from Montana. That type has not yet been described globally, so further review is still needed.
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: This community is dominated by herbaceous vegetation, overtopped by a shrub canopy of 10-25%. The tallest shrubs are typically 0.6 m tall (Hansen and Hoffman 1988). Total coverage is moderate; exposed mineral soil is common. The U.S. Forest Service (1992) found an average vegetation cover of 70% on 10 stands in western North Dakota, most of that graminoids and shrubs. The most abundant shrub is Rhus trilobata, with lesser amounts of Artemisia frigida, Gutierrezia sarothrae, Rosa arkansana, and Symphoricarpos occidentalis. The most abundant herbaceous species is Carex filifolia, usually accompanied by Koeleria macrantha, Muhlenbergia cuspidata, and Hesperostipa comata (= Stipa comata). Carex inops ssp. heliophila and Elymus lanceolatus are found in the shade of shrubs. Forbs have very low coverage. Common forbs include Artemisia dracunculus, Echinacea angustifolia, Dalea purpurea, Opuntia polyacantha, and Phlox andicola.
In Badlands National Park, South Dakota, this open shrub prairie type is found along with a more densely shrubby variant. The dense shrubland variant has moderate to dense vegetative cover, depending on the landscape location. Sites with extra available soil moisture, such as seeps and slumps or old river oxbows, support dense vegetative cover in the 75-100% range. Sites on ridges and hilltops support less vegetative cover, in the 50-75% range. Rhus trilobata is typically the overstory dominant, but in terms of vegetative cover, Symphoricarpos occidentalis, Toxicodendron rydbergii, and Prunus virginiana can contribute nearly equal amounts. Understory grasses often include Schizachyrium scoparium, Bouteloua curtipendula, and Poa pratensis (Von Loh et al. 1999).
In the Nebraska Pine Ridge, shrub cover is usually >50% with Rhus trilobata the most abundant species. Other common species include Toxicodendron rydbergii, Parthenocissus vitacea, Bouteloua curtipendula, Bromus spp., Nepeta cataria, Pascopyrum smithii, Poa pratensis, Parietaria pensylvanica, and Schizachyrium scoparium (Rolfsmeier and Steinauer 2010).
In Badlands National Park, South Dakota, this open shrub prairie type is found along with a more densely shrubby variant. The dense shrubland variant has moderate to dense vegetative cover, depending on the landscape location. Sites with extra available soil moisture, such as seeps and slumps or old river oxbows, support dense vegetative cover in the 75-100% range. Sites on ridges and hilltops support less vegetative cover, in the 50-75% range. Rhus trilobata is typically the overstory dominant, but in terms of vegetative cover, Symphoricarpos occidentalis, Toxicodendron rydbergii, and Prunus virginiana can contribute nearly equal amounts. Understory grasses often include Schizachyrium scoparium, Bouteloua curtipendula, and Poa pratensis (Von Loh et al. 1999).
In the Nebraska Pine Ridge, shrub cover is usually >50% with Rhus trilobata the most abundant species. Other common species include Toxicodendron rydbergii, Parthenocissus vitacea, Bouteloua curtipendula, Bromus spp., Nepeta cataria, Pascopyrum smithii, Poa pratensis, Parietaria pensylvanica, and Schizachyrium scoparium (Rolfsmeier and Steinauer 2010).
Dynamics: No Data Available
Environmental Description: This community occurs on moderate to steep slopes on protected ridgetops and upper slopes of draws (Johnston 1987, USFS 1992). Hansen and Hoffman (1988) found four stands in western South Dakota on sandy loam soil. In Badlands National Park, South Dakota, sparse stands of ill-scented sumac occur most commonly on very steep slopes, where the upper butte cliffs meet the well-vegetated butte top and along the edge of draws. The geologic formation of cliff faces is predominantly Brule siltstone that is rapidly eroding, resulting in small ledges, nearly vertical faces, and steep slopes with rocks and fine sediments. Dense stands of ill-scented sumac occur sporadically within Badlands National Park, but are a regular landscape feature along the breaks of the Cheyenne River, northwest of the park. They typically occupy ridgetops and hillslopes with gravelly to sandy soils, though a few stands are located in old oxbows along the White and Cheyenne Rivers (Von Loh et al. 1999).
In the Nebraska Pine Ridge, this community occurs on moderately steep footslopes of escarpments, usually on north-facing slopes with well-drained loams and fine sandy loams formed in calcareous Tertiary sandstone and colluvium.
In the Nebraska Pine Ridge, this community occurs on moderately steep footslopes of escarpments, usually on north-facing slopes with well-drained loams and fine sandy loams formed in calcareous Tertiary sandstone and colluvium.
Geographic Range: This sumac shrub-steppe is found in the northern Great Plains of the United States, including eastern Montana, the western Dakotas and Nebraska.
Nations: US
States/Provinces: MT, ND, NE, SD
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.684486
Confidence Level: Moderate
Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: G3
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.Nb Central North American Grassland & Shrubland Division | D023 | 2.B.2.Nb |
| Macrogroup | 2.B.2.Nb.2 Needle-and-Thread - Western Wheatgrass - Plains Rough Fescue Grassland Macrogroup | M051 | 2.B.2.Nb.2 |
| Group | 2.B.2.Nb.2.c Western Wheatgrass - Needle-and-Thread - Little Bluestem Mixedgrass Prairie Group | G141 | 2.B.2.Nb.2.c |
| Alliance | A4383 Creeping Juniper - Skunkbush Sumac - Shrubby-cinquefoil Shrubland Alliance | A4383 | 2.B.2.Nb.2.c |
| Association | CEGL001504 Skunkbush Sumac / Threadleaf Sedge Shrub Grassland | CEGL001504 | 2.B.2.Nb.2.c |
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: < Rhus aromatica / Carex filifolia Habitat Type (Hansen and Hoffman 1988)
= Rhus aromatica / Carex filifolia Habitat Type (Hansen et al. 1984)
= Rhus aromatica / Carex filifolia Plant Association (Johnston 1987)
= Rhus aromatica / Muhlenbergia cuspidata (USFS 1992)
= Rhus trilobata / Carex filifolia Shrub Herbaceous Vegetation (Faber-Langendoen 2001)
= Rhus aromatica / Carex filifolia Habitat Type (Hansen et al. 1984)
= Rhus aromatica / Carex filifolia Plant Association (Johnston 1987)
= Rhus aromatica / Muhlenbergia cuspidata (USFS 1992)
= Rhus trilobata / Carex filifolia Shrub Herbaceous Vegetation (Faber-Langendoen 2001)
- 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.
- 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.).
- Hansen, P. L. 1985. An ecological study of the vegetation of the Grand River/Cedar River, Sioux, and Ashland districts of the Custer National Forest. Unpublished dissertation, South Dakota State University. 257 pp.
- Hansen, P. L., G. R. Hoffman, and A. J. Bjugstad. 1984. The vegetation of Theodore Roosevelt National Park, North Dakota: A habitat type classification. General Technical Report RM-113. USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station, Fort Collins, CO. 35 pp.
- Hansen, P. L., and G. R. Hoffman. 1986. Selected habitat types of the Custer National Forest. Pages 79-81 in: G. K. Clambey and R. H. Pemble, editors. The prairie: Past, present and future. Proceedings of the Ninth North American Prairie Conference. Tri-College University Center for Environmental Studies, Fargo, ND. 264 pp.
- Hansen, P. L., and G. R. Hoffman. 1988. The vegetation of the Grand River/Cedar River, Sioux, and Ashland districts of the Custer National Forest: A habitat type classification. General Technical Report RM-157. USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station, Fort Collins, CO. 68 pp.
- Johnston, B. C. 1987. Plant associations of Region Two: Potential plant communities of Wyoming, South Dakota, Nebraska, Colorado, and Kansas. R2-ECOL-87-2. USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Region. Lakewood, CO. 429 pp.
- MTNHP [Montana Natural Heritage Program]. 2002b. List of ecological communities for Montana. Montana Natural Heritage Program, Montana State Library, Helena, MT.
- Rolfsmeier, S. B., and G. Steinauer. 2010. Terrestrial ecological systems and natural communities of Nebraska (Version IV - March 9, 2010). Nebraska Natural Heritage Program, Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. Lincoln, NE. 228 pp.
- SDNHP [South Dakota Natural Heritage Program]. 2018. Unpublished data. South Dakota Natural Heritage Program, Pierre, SD.
- USFS [U.S. Forest Service]. 1992. Draft habitat types of the Little Missouri National Grasslands. Medora and McKenzie ranger districts, Custer National Forest. Dickinson, ND.
- Von Loh, J., D. Cogan, D. Faber-Langendoen, D. Crawford, and M. Pucherelli. 1999. USGS-NPS Vegetation Mapping Program, Badlands National Park, South Dakota. USDI Bureau of Reclamation. Technical Memorandum No. 8260-99-02. Denver, CO.
- Von Loh, J., D. Cogan, D. J. Butler, D. Faber-Langendoen, D. Crawford, and M. J. Pucherelli. 2000. USGS-NPS Vegetation Mapping Program, Theodore Roosevelt National Park, North Dakota. USDI Bureau of Reclamation, Denver, CO. 252 pp.
- Western Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Boulder, CO.