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CEGL000993 Artemisia tridentata - Atriplex confertifolia Shrubland
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Big Sagebrush - Shadscale Saltbush Shrubland
Colloquial Name: No Data Available
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: This sagebrush shrubland occurs in the northwestern Great Plains and adjacent basins and mountains of the western United States, especially in badlands regions. Stands occur on shallow to deep soils with a comparably wide range of textures. Soils are derived from sandstone and shale sedimentary formations, including those with a calcareous composition, and they tend to have both high pH (7.6-8.4) and conductivity. This type is apparently not restricted by slope or aspect, occurring on both alluvial fans/terraces and highly eroded badlands with steep slopes (>80%). The known elevational range is from approximately 915-1435 m (3000-4700 feet). The visual aspect of this association, especially where it occurs on badlands and eroded surfaces, is often that of a depauperate shrubland, often with less than 25% cover. Artemisia tridentata ssp. wyomingensis and Atriplex confertifolia constitute from 5-25% combined cover, with Artemisia tridentata strongly dominant. In the Bighorn Basin and Bighorn Sedimentary Mountains Sections of Montana, other shrubs with greater than 50% constancy (but <5% canopy cover) include Atriplex nuttallii, Sarcobatus vermiculatus, Krascheninnikovia lanata, and Ericameria nauseosa. Subshrubs Eriogonum brevicaule and Eriogonum pauciflorum are relatively constant on a regional basis. There is little consistency to the composition of the herbaceous layer, which varies from site to site across the region. The graminoids constitute the next most abundant component, but their combined cover usually does not exceed 5%; those grasses with the highest constancy are Achnatherum hymenoides, Hesperostipa comata, and Aristida purpurea. Phlox hoodii, Sphaeralcea coccinea and Opuntia polyacantha appear to have the highest constancy values, but seldom exceed 1% cover.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: With additional review, this type will likely be combined with the more widespread ~Artemisia tridentata ssp. wyomingensis - Atriplex confertifolia Shrubland (CEGL001040)$$. DeVelice and Lesica (1993) provide the only formal key to this type; they may have erred by not stipulating that Artemisia tridentata must be present (at any cover value) and noting only that Atriplex confertifolia be well-represented (>5% canopy cover). This association is distinguished by the predominance of the shrub layer (Artemisia tridentata dominant, Atriplex confertifolia subdominant) and the sparse, depauperate nature of the herbaceous component. With additional data, this type may also be appropriately classified in the sparse vegetation class.
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: The visual aspect of this association, especially where it occurs on badlands and eroded surfaces, is often that of a depauperate shrubland. Though shrub canopy cover for the modal expression of the type is less than the 25% required for a shrubland descriptor, the cover of all other layers is even less, rendering this type a shrubland. Artemisia tridentata ssp. wyomingensis and Atriplex confertifolia constitute from 5-25% combined cover, with Artemisia tridentata strongly dominant. In the Bighorn Basin and Bighorn Sedimentary Mountains Sections of Montana, other shrubs with greater than 50% constancy (but <5% canopy cover) include Atriplex nuttallii, Sarcobatus vermiculatus, Krascheninnikovia lanata (= Ceratoides lanata), and Ericameria nauseosa (= Chrysothamnus nauseosus). Subshrubs Eriogonum brevicaule and Eriogonum pauciflorum are relatively constant on a regional basis. There is little consistency to the composition of the herbaceous layer, which varies from site to site and across the region. The graminoids constitute the next most abundant component, but their combined cover usually does not exceed 5%; those grasses with the highest constancy are Achnatherum hymenoides (= Oryzopsis hymenoides), Hesperostipa comata (= Stipa comata), and Aristida purpurea. Phlox hoodii, Sphaeralcea coccinea and Opuntia polyacantha appear to have the highest constancy values, but seldom exceed 1% cover.
If one accepts the descriptions and data reported in three separate papers (Brown 1971, Knight et al. 1987, DeVelice and Lesica 1993) as representing variants of one given type, then there is considerable vegetation, habitat and geographic variability manifest within this type. This community usually occurs as small patches but ranges to large patches on less precipitous terrain. The eastern Montana badland expressions, as well as those of Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area, tend to have lower total canopy cover (13% average) with widely spaced individuals of the diagnostic species Artemisia tridentata (ssp. wyomingensis) (G.P. Jones pers. comm. 1998) and Atriplex confertifolia. Conversely, the Pryor Mountains expressions average upwards of 30% canopy cover for the shrub component alone. A melange of undergrowth forbs is present with the representation depending upon the local flora; however, Opuntia polyacantha is common to all expressions of the type, as are the grasses Achnatherum hymenoides, Aristida purpurea and Hesperostipa comata.
If one accepts the descriptions and data reported in three separate papers (Brown 1971, Knight et al. 1987, DeVelice and Lesica 1993) as representing variants of one given type, then there is considerable vegetation, habitat and geographic variability manifest within this type. This community usually occurs as small patches but ranges to large patches on less precipitous terrain. The eastern Montana badland expressions, as well as those of Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area, tend to have lower total canopy cover (13% average) with widely spaced individuals of the diagnostic species Artemisia tridentata (ssp. wyomingensis) (G.P. Jones pers. comm. 1998) and Atriplex confertifolia. Conversely, the Pryor Mountains expressions average upwards of 30% canopy cover for the shrub component alone. A melange of undergrowth forbs is present with the representation depending upon the local flora; however, Opuntia polyacantha is common to all expressions of the type, as are the grasses Achnatherum hymenoides, Aristida purpurea and Hesperostipa comata.
Dynamics: No Data Available
Environmental Description: Within badlands landscapes this type is found on shallow, heavy-textured, and highly erosive soils, and on terrace/alluvial fan landscapes, it is associated with excessively drained substrates, often of a calcareous nature. Soils have consistently high pH and high conductivity values (within the range found for some Sarcobatus vermiculatus communities) and are derived from sedimentary parent materials. In badland settings, occupied slopes range from shallow to steep (>80%) with all aspects represented. For Montana sites the known range of elevation is from 900-1500 m (3000-4700 feet). Landscape position and site parameters have been cursorily described, at best, for the Wyoming and North Dakota occurrences.
Geographic Range: This sagebrush shrubland occurs in the northwestern Great Plains and adjacent basins and mountains of the western United States, especially in badlands regions, ranging from North Dakota west to Wyoming and Montana.
Nations: US
States/Provinces: MT, ND
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.684500
Confidence Level: Low
Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: G4
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.b Needle-and-Thread - Blue Grama Dry Mixedgrass Prairie Group | G331 | 2.B.2.Nb.2.b |
| Alliance | A4381 None | A4381 | 2.B.2.Nb.2.b |
| Association | CEGL000993 Big Sagebrush - Shadscale Saltbush Shrubland | CEGL000993 | 2.B.2.Nb.2.b |
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: > Artemisia - Atriplex - Agropyron Community (Brown 1971)
= Artemisia tridentata - Atriplex confertifolia Community Type (DeVelice et al. 1991)
= Artemisia tridentata - Atriplex confertifolia Community Type (DeVelice and Lesica 1993)
= Artemisia tridentata - Atriplex confertifolia Plant Association (DeVelice et al. 1995)
= Artemisia tridentata - Atriplex confertifolia Plant Association (DeVelice et al. 1999)
= Artemisia tridentata - Atriplex confertifolia Shrubland (Faber-Langendoen 2001)
> Atriplex - Artemisia Community (Brown 1971)
= Mixed Desert Shrubland (Knight et al. 1987)
= Artemisia tridentata - Atriplex confertifolia Community Type (DeVelice et al. 1991)
= Artemisia tridentata - Atriplex confertifolia Community Type (DeVelice and Lesica 1993)
= Artemisia tridentata - Atriplex confertifolia Plant Association (DeVelice et al. 1995)
= Artemisia tridentata - Atriplex confertifolia Plant Association (DeVelice et al. 1999)
= Artemisia tridentata - Atriplex confertifolia Shrubland (Faber-Langendoen 2001)
> Atriplex - Artemisia Community (Brown 1971)
= Mixed Desert Shrubland (Knight et al. 1987)
- 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, R. W. 1971. Distribution of plant communities in southeastern Montana badlands. The American Midland Naturalist 85(2):458-477.
- DeVelice, R. L., C. J. Hubbard, K. Boggs, S. Boudreau, M. Potkin, T. Boucher, and C. Wertheim. 1999. Plant community types of the Chugach National Forest: South-central Alaska. Technical Publication R10-TP-76. USDA Forest Service, Chugach National Forest, Alaska Region. 375 pp.
- DeVelice, R. L., J. Lichthardt, and P. S. Bourgeron. 1991. A preliminary classification of the plant communities of northeastern Montana. Prepared for the Montana Natural Heritage Program. Helena, MT. 144 pp.
- DeVelice, R. L., S. V. Cooper, J. T. McGarvey, J. Lichthardt, and P. S. Bourgeron. 1995. Plant communities of northeastern Montana: A first approximation. Montana Natural Heritage Program, Helena, MT. 116 pp.
- DeVelice, R. L., and P. Lesica. 1993. Plant community classification for vegetation on BLM lands, Pryor Mountains, Carbon County, Montana. Unpublished report by Montana Natural Heritage Program, Helena, MT. 78 pp.
- 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.).
- Jones, George P. Personal communication. Ecologist, Wyoming Natural Diversity Database, Laramie, WY.
- Knight, D. H., G. P. Jones, Y. Akashi, and R. W. Myers. 1987. Vegetation ecology in the Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area. Unpublished report prepared for the USDI National Park Service and University of Wyoming-National Park Service Research.
- MTNHP [Montana Natural Heritage Program]. 2002b. List of ecological communities for Montana. Montana Natural Heritage Program, Montana State Library, Helena, MT.
- NDNHI [North Dakota Natural Heritage Inventory]. 2018. Unpublished data. Vegetation classification of North Dakota. North Dakota Natural Heritage Inventory, North Dakota Parks & Recreation Department, Bismarck.
- 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.