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CEGL002035 Schizachyrium scoparium - Bouteloua curtipendula - Bouteloua hirsuta - (Yucca glauca) Grassland

Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available

Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Little Bluestem - Sideoats Grama - Hairy Grama - (Soapweed Yucca) Grassland

Colloquial Name: Loess Hills Little Bluestem Dry Prairie

Hierarchy Level:  Association

Type Concept: This bluestem - grama grass dry prairie type is found on the loess bluffs along the east side of Missouri River in the central midwestern United States. The soil is somewhat rapidly drained and very shallow (0-40 cm). The vegetative structure is composed of a single layer of dominant grasses intermixed with forbs. Shrubs, especially Yucca glauca, are sometimes present. This community is a short to midgrass prairie dominated by the bunchgrasses Andropogon gerardii, Bouteloua curtipendula, and Schizachyrium scoparium. Bouteloua hirsuta can be common. Sporobolus cryptandrus, Dalea leporina, Dalea candida, Dalea enneandra, Astragalus lotiflorus, and Astragalus missouriensis can also be common. Other herbaceous species include Pulsatilla patens ssp. multifida, Symphyotrichum sericeum, Bouteloua dactyloides, Bouteloua gracilis, Delphinium carolinianum, Gaura coccinea, and Pediomelum argophyllum, and the lichens Placidium lachneum and Psora decipiens.

Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available

Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available

Classification Comments: Rosburg and Glenn-Lewin (1996) appear to separate out several subtypes that all fall within this type, from "bluff colluvium" to "midgrass" types.

Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available

Floristics: The vegetative structure is composed of a single layer of dominant grasses intermixed with forbs. Shrubs are sometimes present. This community is a short to midgrass prairie dominated by the bunchgrasses Andropogon gerardii, Bouteloua curtipendula, and Schizachyrium scoparium. Bouteloua hirsuta can be common. Sporobolus cryptandrus, Dalea leporina, Dalea candida, Dalea enneandra, Astragalus lotiflorus, and Astragalus missouriensis can also be common. Other herbaceous species include Pulsatilla patens ssp. multifida (= Anemone patens), Symphyotrichum sericeum (= Aster sericeus), Bouteloua dactyloides (= Buchloe dactyloides), Bouteloua gracilis, Delphinium carolinianum, Gaura coccinea, and Pediomelum argophyllum, and the lichens Placidium lachneum (= Dermatocarpon lachneum) and Psora decipiens (Nelson 1985, Rosburg and Glenn-Lewin 1996).

Dynamics:  This community is maintained by a combination of drought and fire (Nelson 1985).
Environmental Description:  This community occurs on south and west aspects of moderately steep to steep slopes (45° or greater) of dissected hill or plains, crests of sharp ridges, and blufftops along larger watercourses. The soil is somewhat rapidly drained and very shallow loess (0-40 cm). The parent material is loess, glacial till, or, less commonly, gravel. The Loess Hills on the Nebraska and Kansas side of the Missouri River generally have an eastern aspect and thus contain few good examples of this type (Nelson 1985, Rosburg and Glenn-Lewin 1996).
Geographic Range: This bluestem - grama grass dry prairie type is typically found along the east side of Missouri River in the central midwestern United States, occurring on south- and west-facing loess bluffs in Missouri and Iowa, and less commonly on the west (Nebraska) side of the river..

Nations: US

States/Provinces:  IA, MO, NE


Confidence Level: Low - Poorly Documented

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.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.1 Big Bluestem - Indiangrass - Dense Blazingstar Tallgrass Prairie Macrogroup M054 2.B.2.Nb.1
Group 2.B.2.Nb.1.c Big Bluestem - Indiangrass - Porcupine Grass Tallgrass Prairie Group G333 2.B.2.Nb.1.c
Alliance A4047 Little Bluestem - Indiangrass Central Sand & Gravel Grassland Alliance A4047 2.B.2.Nb.1.c
Association CEGL002035 Little Bluestem - Sideoats Grama - Hairy Grama - (Soapweed Yucca) Grassland CEGL002035 2.B.2.Nb.1.c
Concept Lineage: No Data Available

Predecessors: No Data Available

Obsolete Names: No Data Available

Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: = Schizachyrium scoparium - Bouteloua curtipendula - Bouteloua hirsuta - (Yucca glauca) Herbaceous Vegetation (Faber-Langendoen 2001)
= Loess Bluff Prairie (Steinauer and Rolfsmeier 2003)
= dry prairie (Nelson 1985)
Concept Author(s): D. Faber-Langendoen (2001)

Author of Description: J. Drake, D. Faber-Langendoen, and D. M. Ambrose

Acknowledgements: No Data Available

Version Date: 03-03-94
  • 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.).
  • INAI [Iowa Natural Areas Inventory]. 2017. Vegetation classification of Iowa. Iowa Natural Areas Inventory, Iowa Department of Natural Resources, Des Moines.
  • Midwestern Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Minneapolis, MN.
  • Nelson, P. 2010. The terrestrial natural communities of Missouri. Revised edition. Missouri Natural Areas Committee, Department of Natural Resources and the Department of Conservation, Jefferson City.
  • Nelson, P. W. 1985. The terrestrial natural communities of Missouri. Missouri Natural Areas Committee, Jefferson City. 197 pp. Revised edition, 1987.
  • 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.
  • Rosburg, T. R., and D. C. Glenn-Lewin. 1996. Species composition and environmental characteristics of grassland and ecotonal plant communities in the Loess Hills of western Iowa (USA). Natural Areas Journal 16:318-334.
  • 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.