Print Report
CEGL002270 Bouteloua gracilis - Bouteloua dactyloides Northern Plains Grassland
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Blue Grama - Buffalograss Northern Plains Grassland
Colloquial Name: Northern Plains Blue Grama - Buffalograss Prairie
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: This blue grama - buffalograss prairie is found in the northern Great Plains of the United States and possibly adjacent Canada. Stands occur on very dry slopes. In northwestern Nebraska and southwestern South Dakota, it is typically on clay pan depressions that range in size from a few square m to 1 hectare or more, but it can also occur on sandy ridgetops and hillslopes. The vegetation provides moderate to high vegetative cover, typically between 40-90%. Bouteloua gracilis is usually strongly dominant on sandier soils, while Carex filifolia is a strong dominant on clay and silty clay soils at the edge of bluffs and tables. In Badlands National Park, South Dakota, common associates on sandier soils include Pascopyrum smithii, Hesperostipa comata, Bouteloua dactyloides, Aristida purpurea, Bromus arvensis, and a variety of forbs, including Conyza canadensis. Shrubs that are typically observed in this type include Artemisia frigida, Opuntia polyacantha, Yucca glauca, and Gutierrezia sarothrae. Species commonly associated with Carex filifolia on clay and silty clay soils include Hesperostipa comata, Bouteloua gracilis, Bromus arvensis, and Ratibida columnifera. Typical shrubs are the same as those listed on sandy soils. Forbs in Nebraska include Lomatium foeniculaceum, Monolepis nuttalliana, Musineon divaricatum, Oonopsis multicaulis, and Plantago elongata. Shrubs are sparse to absent, and include Artemisia tridentata, Artemisia cana, Artemisia frigida, and, more westward in Nebraska, Ericameria nauseosa and Sarcobatus vermiculatus.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: This type can often appear as a heavily grazed form of ~Pascopyrum smithii - Bouteloua gracilis - Carex filifolia Grassland (CEGL001579)$$. Blue grama and its associated species are common understory components of this western wheatgrass grassland. This type is somewhat confusing in the northwestern Nebraska, southwestern South Dakota and Wyoming border region. It is not clear that this type extends into Wyoming, but Thilenius et al. (1995) do describe a "Bouteloua gracilis sodgrass steppe" type that shows some resemblance to this type, though it is not on clay soils and does contain some Pascopyrum smithii. Their description also includes some sparse shrubs, as in Nebraska. Nebraska''s "northwestern mixedgrass prairie" type describes the clay pan type as an inclusion (Steinauer and Rolfsmeier 2003).
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: The blue grama grassland type provides moderate to high vegetative cover, typically between 40-90%. Bouteloua gracilis is usually strongly dominant on sandier soils, while Carex filifolia is a strong dominant on clay and silty clay soils at the edge of bluffs and tables. In Badlands National Park, South Dakota, common associates on sandier soils include Pascopyrum smithii, Hesperostipa comata (= Stipa comata), Bouteloua dactyloides (= Buchloe dactyloides), Aristida purpurea, Bromus arvensis (= Bromus japonicus), and a variety of forbs, including Conyza canadensis. Shrubs that are typically observed in this type include Artemisia frigida, Opuntia polyacantha, Yucca glauca, and Gutierrezia sarothrae. Species commonly associated with Carex filifolia on clay and silty clay soils include Hesperostipa comata, Bouteloua gracilis, Bromus arvensis, and Ratibida columnifera. Typical shrubs are the same as those listed on sandy soils. (Von Loh et al. 1999). Forbs in Nebraska include Lomatium foeniculaceum, Monolepis nuttalliana, Musineon divaricatum, Oonopsis multicaulis, and Plantago elongata. Shrubs are sparse to absent, and include Artemisia tridentata, Artemisia cana, Artemisia frigida, and, more westward in Nebraska, Ericameria nauseosa (= Chrysothamnus nauseosus) and Sarcobatus vermiculatus (Steinauer and Rolfsmeier 2003).
Dynamics: Dave Ode (pers. comm. 1998) makes the following comments concerning the recovery of mixedgrass prairie from a grazing-induced shortgrass condition, such as might resemble this type: "Remember the Steer pasture of Buffalo Gap National Grassland. South of I-90 and just southeast of Wall. Mike Sterling, the regional NRCS range con, tells me that prior to 1990 that pasture was (except for the southwest corner) entirely dominated by buffalograss and blue grama. Apparently, Dan Uresk even collected some plot data from the area. Beginning in about 1991 the grazing association and the Forest Service established a better grazing system, and what you and I saw were the results of only six years of some deferred grazing system (and some ideal weather). You had asked me how long it takes to recover the western wheatgrass. I''m sure if you looked at Dan Uresk''s data and compared it with Jack Butler''s plots from the PRNA evaluation, you could get a pretty good feel for its increase in abundance."
Environmental Description: This community is found on dry slopes or xeric soils with a high clay content. In Nebraska this type can occur on level to gently sloping ground on stream terraces. Soils are poorly drained silty clay and clay. In Badlands National Park, South Dakota, stands are limited to drier soils within the project area and areas with a consistent grazing regime, including that provided by prairie dogs. Most sites are relatively flat to undulating, typically on the edges of buttes/tables, ridgetops, and hilltops. Flat sites are typically clay and silty clay soils, while ridges and hilltops tend to be sandy soils. Grazing reduces the ground cover provided by western wheatgrass, a mid-grass, allowing the shorter blue grama and its associates to dominate (Von Loh et al. 1999).
Geographic Range: This blue grama - buffalograss prairie is found in the northern Great Plains of the United States and possibly adjacent Canada, extending from northwestern Nebraska northward to the Dakotas and possibly Saskatchewan.
Nations: CA,US
States/Provinces: ND, NE, SD, SK
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.684895
Confidence Level: Low - Poorly Documented
Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: G3G5
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 | A4031 Western Wheatgrass - Green Needlegrass Northwestern Great Plains Grassland Alliance | A4031 | 2.B.2.Nb.2.c |
| Association | CEGL002270 Blue Grama - Buffalograss Northern Plains Grassland | CEGL002270 | 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: = Bouteloua gracilis - Buchloe dactyloides Xeric Soil Herbaceous Vegetation (Faber-Langendoen 2001)
= Buffalograss Type (Hanson and Whitman 1938) [uncertain if equivalent]
= Buffalograss Type (Hanson and Whitman 1938) [uncertain if equivalent]
- 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.).
- Hanson, H. C., and W. Whitman. 1938. Characteristics of major grassland types in western North Dakota. Ecological Monographs 8:58-114.
- Midwestern Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Minneapolis, MN.
- 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.
- Ode, Dave. Personal communication. South Dakota Natural Heritage Program, Pierre, SD.
- 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.
- Steinauer, G., and S. Rolfsmeier. 2003. Terrestrial natural communities of Nebraska. (Version III - June 30, 2003). Nebraska Natural Heritage Program, Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, Lincoln. 163 pp.
- Thilenius, J. F., G. R. Brown, and A. L. Medina. 1995. Vegetation on semi-arid rangelands, Cheyenne River Basin, Wyoming. General Technical Report RM-GTR-263. USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station, Fort Collins, CO. 60 pp.
- 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.