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CEGL001519 Artemisia arbuscula ssp. thermopola / Festuca idahoensis Shrub Grassland
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Thermopola Little Sagebrush / Idaho Fescue Shrub Grassland
Colloquial Name: No Data Available
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: This plant association is described for the mountainous regions of the southern portion of the Challis Volcanics ecoregional section in central Idaho. The association is found on gently sloped ridgetops and benches at 1830 to 2685 m (6000-8800 feet) and up to 2990 m(9800 feet) elevation. Soils are typically poorly drained or subject to a lengthy period of saturation during spring. Stand structure and composition has not been studied in detail. Artemisia arbuscula ssp. thermopola is the dominant shrub species and occurs with abundant cover of Festuca idahoensis. Poa secunda and Elymus elymoides are also usually present. Carex elynoides is important in high-elevation stands reported from one site. A variety of perennial forbs are usually present. These species are characteristic of rocky sites at moderate to high elevations in the mountains, including Erigeron compositus, Antennaria rosea, Phlox hoodii, Cymopterus nivalis, Eriogonum umbellatum, and Lewisia rediviva.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: No Data Available
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: This is a poorly described grassland association, dominated by the perennial bunchgrass Festuca idahoensis (average cover not available). Several other bunchgrass species are commonly present, including Poa secunda and Elymus elymoides. Higher elevation stands may have the perennial sedge Carex elynoides as an associated species. There is a dwarf-shrub layer present (cover unavailable) of the dwarf evergreen Artemisia arbuscula ssp. thermopola. No other shrubs are described to occur. A variety of perennial forbs are usually present, most of them characteristic of rocky sites at moderate to high elevations in the mountains. These include Erigeron compositus, Antennaria rosea, Phlox hoodii, Cymopterus nivalis (= Cymopterus bipinnatus), Eriogonum umbellatum, and Lewisia rediviva. In some highly disturbed stands Festuca idahoensis may be much reduced in abundance, or even lacking, and replaced by Achnatherum lettermanii (= Stipa lettermanii), another bunchgrass.
Dynamics: No Data Available
Environmental Description: This association is found in a mountainous region, from 1830 to 2680 m (6000-8800 feet) elevation, generally on relatively flat benches and rocky ridgetops with slopes of 10-15% or less. One stand was found at 2990 m (9800 feet). Parent materials are glacial outwash and dry alluvial terraces, derived from volcanic, sedimentary and granitic rocks. The association can also occur on glaciated ridges. Soils are typically poorly drained or subject to a lengthy period of saturation during spring, and typically have strongly developed clay horizons in the profile. Artemisia arbuscula ssp. thermopola is apparently restricted to relatively high-elevation sites, usually within forest openings.
Geographic Range: The association is expected to occur in the Pioneer, Boulder, Sawtooth and White Cloud mountains of central Idaho. The range of the association has not been determined precisely.
Nations: US
States/Provinces: ID
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.685032
Confidence Level: Low
Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: G2
Greasons: No Data Available
| Type | Name | Database Code | Classification Code |
|---|---|---|---|
| Class | 3 Desert & Semi-Desert Class | C03 | 3 |
| Subclass | 3.B Cool Semi-Desert Scrub & Grassland Subclass | S11 | 3.B |
| Formation | 3.B.1 Cool Semi-Desert Scrub & Grassland Formation | F033 | 3.B.1 |
| Division | 3.B.1.Ne Western North American Cool Semi-Desert Scrub & Grassland Division | D040 | 3.B.1.Ne |
| Macrogroup | 3.B.1.Ne.2 Little Sagebrush - Black Sagebrush - Scabland Sagebrush Steppe & Shrubland Macrogroup | M170 | 3.B.1.Ne.2 |
| Group | 3.B.1.Ne.2.b Little Sagebrush - Bigelow''s Sagebrush - Black Sagebrush Steppe & Shrubland Group | G308 | 3.B.1.Ne.2.b |
| Alliance | A4122 Thermopola Little Sagebrush - Owyhee Sage / Idaho Fescue Steppe & Shrubland Alliance | A4122 | 3.B.1.Ne.2.b |
| Association | CEGL001519 Thermopola Little Sagebrush / Idaho Fescue Shrub Grassland | CEGL001519 | 3.B.1.Ne.2.b |
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: = Artemisia arbuscula ssp. thermopola / Festuca idahoensis Plant Communities (Schlatterer 1972)
< Artemisia thermopola / Festuca idahoensis Habitat Type (Hironaka et al. 1983)
< Artemisia thermopola / Festuca idahoensis Habitat Type (Hironaka et al. 1983)
- 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.
- Hironaka, M., M. A. Fosberg, and A. H. Winward. 1983. Sagebrush-grass habitat types of southern Idaho. Forestry, Wildlife, and Range Experiment Station Bulletin No. 15, University of Idaho, Moscow. 44 pp.
- Schlatterer, E. F. 1972. A preliminary description of plant communities found on the Sawtooth, White Cloud, Boulder, and Pioneer mountains. Unpublished report prepared for USDA Forest Service, Intermountain Region, Ogden, UT. 111 pp.
- Western Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Boulder, CO.