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CEGL003430 Hordeum brachyantherum Lowland Wet Meadow
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Meadow Barley Lowland Wet Meadow
Colloquial Name: No Data Available
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: This association is found at 348-2684 m (1140-8800 feet) elevation in widely scattered mountain, basin, foothill, and valley locations ranging from the Central Coast Ranges of California, Central Valley, northwestern California, to the northern half of the Great Basin in Nevada through the southern one-third of Idaho and into southwestern Wyoming. The association is found along both intermittent and perennial streams but most commonly occurs in ephemerally moist to semipermanently saturated, often spring-fed, meadows and swales. It occurs in low- to moderate-gradient valley bottoms that range from very narrow to very wide with clayey, silty, or fine loamy soil. It is a small-patch community, generally occupying 0.1 to 1 acres. Hordeum brachyantherum typically forms a continuous layer with cover ranging from 25% to nearly 100%. Cover of graminoid associates varies and may include Carex athrostachya, Carex microptera, Danthonia californica, Deschampsia cespitosa, Eleocharis palustris, Elymus trachycaulus, Poa secunda, which is occasionally codominant, and/or Poa pratensis. Forb cover is sparse and is characterized by Camassia quamash, Epilobium spp., Mimulus guttatus, Iris missouriensis, Rumex crispus, Symphyotrichum spp., and various vernal annuals. At Pinnacles National Monument, stands can have many introduced herbaceous species (sometimes more that 30% relative cover) and typically occur in seasonal wetland meadows and adjacent to streams, with clay or silt loam soils that include serpentine or other poor-nutrient soils.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: This association has been quantitatively defined with 9 plots by Manning and Padgett (1995) from eastern and northern Nevada, supplemented with two plots and two stand observations from central and southern Idaho (Jankovsky-Jones et al. 2001, IDCDC 2002). The Poa secunda (formerly Poa nevadensis) plant association is closely related to this plant association and Poa secunda and Hordeum brachyantherum can sometimes codominate in some in stands. According to Manning and Padgett (1995), if a stand in which both species occur is clearly dominated by Poa secunda, the stand is placed in the Poa secunda plant association. If the species have nearly equivalent cover, the stand is placed in the Hordeum brachyantherum plant association. Generally, the site conditions must be fairly moist for the Hordeum brachyantherum plant association, and much drier for the Poa secunda plant association.
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: This association is characterized by moderate to dense cover of the perennial grass Hordeum brachyantherum, which typically forms a continuous layer with cover ranging from 25% to nearly 100%. Cover of graminoid associates varies and may include Carex athrostachya, Carex microptera, Danthonia californica, Deschampsia cespitosa, Eleocharis palustris, Elymus trachycaulus, and Poa secunda (= Poa nevadensis), which generally provide sparse to low cover but may occasionally codominate. Forb diversity is low and provides sparse cover, including Argentina anserina (= Potentilla anserina), Camassia quamash, Epilobium spp., Iris missouriensis, Mimulus guttatus, Pyrrocoma lanceolata (= Haplopappus lanceolatus), Symphyotrichum spp., and various vernal annuals. Introduced species such as Poa pratensis, Rumex crispus, and Taraxacum officinale are common in some stands. In California, characteristic species include a mixture of graminoids Bromus diandrus, Bromus hordeaceus, Juncus arcticus ssp. littoralis (= Juncus balticus), Leymus triticoides, and Lolium perenne ssp. multiflorum, and forbs such as Heliotropium curassavicum, Hirschfeldia incana, Lactuca serriola, Medicago polymorpha, and Rumex crispus. At Pinnacles National Monument, stands can have many introduced herbaceous species (sometimes more that 30% relative cover) and typically occur in seasonal wetland meadows and adjacent to streams, with clay or silt loam soils that include serpentine or other poor-nutrient soils.
Dynamics: In the eastern Sierra Nevada and Great Basin of Nevada, Hordeum brachyantherum is an early-seral species that can be replaced by other native mesic graminoids if left undisturbed (Manning and Padgett 1995). However, one stand sampled in Idaho is within an exclosure that has been in place from between 30 and 50 years (Jankovsky-Jones et al. 2001). The plant association can maintain dominance with moderate grazing, although excessive use will lower vigor and cover, and increase cover of Potentilla gracilis, Juncus arcticus ssp. littoralis, and Symphyotrichum spp. Heavy livestock grazing will result in the replacement of this association with other, less desirable associations such as those dominated by Agrostis stolonifera or Poa pratensis. In addition, livestock can easily compact surface soil, because the soil is typically moist with a fine-textured particle size (Manning and Padgett 1995). This may lead to site desiccation and promotion of Poa secunda.
Environmental Description: This association is found at 348-2684 m (1140-8800 feet) elevation in widely scattered mountain, basin, foothill, and valley locations ranging from the Central Coast Ranges of California, Central Valley, northwestern California, to the northern half of the Great Basin in Nevada through the southern one-third of Idaho and into southwestern Wyoming. The association is found along both intermittent and perennial streams, but most commonly it occurs in ephemerally moist to semipermanently saturated, often spring-fed, meadows and swales. It occurs in low- to moderate-gradient valley bottoms that range from very narrow to very wide with clayey, silty, or fine loamy soil. It is a small-patch community, generally occupying 0.1 to 1 acres. Parent materials are sandstones and shale that have eroded and deposited as secondary stream alluvium.
Geographic Range: This association occurs in widely scattered mountain and basin locations ranging from the northern half of the Great Basin in Nevada through the southern one-third of Idaho and extending into southwestern Wyoming. It is also reported from west-central California. Hordeum brachyantherum occurs across western North America so this association is likely more widespread.
Nations: US
States/Provinces: CA, ID, NV, OR, WY
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.684686
Confidence Level: Low
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.C Shrub & Herb Wetland Subclass | S44 | 2.C |
| Formation | 2.C.4 Temperate to Polar Freshwater Marsh, Wet Meadow & Shrubland Formation | F013 | 2.C.4 |
| Division | 2.C.4.Nb Western North American Temperate Freshwater Marsh, Wet Meadow & Shrubland Division | D031 | 2.C.4.Nb |
| Macrogroup | 2.C.4.Nb.4 Vancouverian Lowland Marsh, Wet Meadow & Shrubland Macrogroup | M073 | 2.C.4.Nb.4 |
| Group | 2.C.4.Nb.4.b Bering''s Tufted Hairgrass - Pacific Silverweed - Slough Sedge Vancouverian Freshwater Coastal Marsh & Wet Meadow Group | G517 | 2.C.4.Nb.4.b |
| Alliance | A3821 Small Camas - Nuttall''s Quillwort - Lateral Sedge Lowland Wet Prairie Alliance | A3821 | 2.C.4.Nb.4.b |
| Association | CEGL003430 Meadow Barley Lowland Wet Meadow | CEGL003430 | 2.C.4.Nb.4.b |
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: ? Cirsium fontinale - Carex serratodens - Hordeum brachyantherum Forbland Association (Evens and San 2004)
= Hordeum brachyantherum Community Type (Manning and Padgett 1995)
= Hordeum brachyantherum Community Type (Jankovsky-Jones et al. 2001)
= Hordeum brachyantherum-dominated swales within Deschampsia caespitosa prairie (Moir and Mika 1972)
= Hordeum brachyantherum Community Type (Manning and Padgett 1995)
= Hordeum brachyantherum Community Type (Jankovsky-Jones et al. 2001)
= Hordeum brachyantherum-dominated swales within Deschampsia caespitosa prairie (Moir and Mika 1972)
- Evens, J., and S. San. 2004. Vegetation associations of a serpentine area: Coyote Ridge, Santa Clara County, California. Unpublished report. California Native Plant Society, Sacramento, CA.
- Friesen, B. A., S. Blauer, K. Landgraf, J. Von Loh, J. Coles, K. Schulz, A. Tendick, A. Wight, G. Wakefield, and A. Evenden. 2010. Vegetation classification and mapping project report, Fossil Butte National Monument. Natural Resource Technical Report NPS/NCPN/NRTR--2010/319. National Park Service, Fort Collins, CO. 552 pp. [http://biology.usgs.gov/npsveg/fobu/foburpt.pdf]
- Hansen, P. L., and J. B. Hall. 2002. Classification and management of the USDI Bureau of Land Management''s riparian and wetland sites in eastern and southern Idaho. Unpublished draft prepared for the Upper Snake River District, Bureau of Land Management, by Bitterroot Restoration, Inc., Corvallis, MT.
- IDCDC [Idaho Conservation Data Center]. 2002. Unpublished riparian and wetland association occurrence and plot data on file at the Idaho Conservation Data Center, Idaho Department of Fish and Game, Boise, ID.
- IDCDC [Idaho Conservation Data Center]. 2005. Wetland and riparian plant associations in Idaho. Idaho Conservation Data Center, Idaho Department of Fish and Game, Boise. [http://fishandgame.idaho.gov/tech/CDC/ecology/wetland_riparian_assoc.cfm] (accessed 14 June 2005).
- Jankovsky-Jones, M., C. J. Murphy, and C. L. Coulter. 2001. Riparian and wetland plant associations of southwestern Idaho in the Lower Snake River District, Bureau of Land Management. Idaho Conservation Data Center, Idaho Department of Fish and Game, Boise.
- Kittel, G., E. Reyes, J. Evens, J. Buck, and D. Johnson. 2012a. Vegetation classification and mapping project report, Pinnacles National Monument. Natural Resource Report NPS/SFAN/NRR-2012/574. National Park Service, Fort Collins, CO. 428 pp.
- Manning, M. E., and W. G. Padgett. 1995. Riparian community type classification for Humboldt and Toiyabe national forests, Nevada and eastern California. USDA Forest Service, Intermountain Region. 306 pp.
- Moir, W., and P. Mika. 1972. Prairie vegetation of the Willamette Valley, Benton County, Oregon. Unpublished report on file at the Pacific Northwest Forest and Range Experiment Station, Forestry Science Laboratory, Corvallis, OR. 29 pp. + appendices.
- Smith, S. 1998b. Riparian community type classification for national forests in northeastern California: First approximation. USDA Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Research Station, Berkeley, CA.
- Western Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Boulder, CO.