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CEGL001894 Dryas octopetala - Polygonum viviparum Alpine Dwarf-shrub Meadow
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Eight-petal Mountain-avens - Alpine Bistort Alpine Dwarf-shrub Meadow
Colloquial Name: No Data Available
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: This association is a minor type that has been substantiated from throughout the alpine of southwestern, northwestern and central Montana, and is likely to occur as far north as Canada''s Jasper National Park and south to Colorado''s Front Range. This is an alpine, fell-field association, ranging in elevation from 2070 to over 3000 m (6790-9840 feet). It is found on gentle to steep slopes with all but southerly aspects. Parent materials include a wide range of sedimentary rock with limestone and siltstone (argillite) predominating. Soils are typically sandy clay derived from limestone (or other calcareous substrate) and quartzite. Gravel content of soil ranges from 5-30%. Soil moisture content during the growing season is high. Disturbance from solifluction, slumps, and earthflows is common. This Dryas octopetala type is more mesic than others currently described, which is attributable to exposures with less solar insolation, placements in the landscape receiving less wind and greater snow deposition and duration. A dwarf-shrub layer dominates the vegetation cover of this community. Dryas octopetala forms mats that range from 30-80% in cover. Dwarf Salix spp. can be common to codominant, including Salix reticulata, Salix arctica, or Salix nivalis. The herbaceous layer is sparse (<20% cover) and is dominated by the forbs Polygonum viviparum, Polygonum bistortoides, Zigadenus elegans, and Oxytropis borealis var. viscida. Forb diversity in the Glacier National Park occurrences is high, with over 100 species represented in 30 plots, and its cover generally exceeds that of the graminoids. Graminoid cover is low (<10%) and mostly composed of Carex elynoides, Carex rupestris, Carex albonigra, Kobresia simpliciuscula, Kobresia myosuroides, and Festuca brachyphylla. Moss and lichen cover is high on some plots (>50%). Diagnostic of this alpine association is a dwarf-shrub layer dominated by Dryas octopetala with Polygonum viviparum dominant in the herbaceous layer.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: The Canadian literature describes similar vegetation types occurring in similar environments and in Montana. Also, in Colorado, moist Dryas octopetala-dominated fell-fields with Polygonum viviparum have been described, but dwarf Salix spp. were not a component. Crosswalking needs to be conducted among these various representations of what could be one association. See Cooper et al. (1999) for discussion and references. Additional inventory for communities that could represent this association should be conducted in the alpine of mountains of Colorado, Wyoming, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta and British Columbia.
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: A dwarf-shrub layer dominates the vegetation cover of this community. Dryas octopetala forms mats that range from 30-80% in cover. Dwarf Salix spp. can be common to codominant, including Salix reticulata, Salix arctica or Salix nivalis. The herbaceous layer is sparse (<20% cover) and is dominated by the forbs Polygonum viviparum, Polygonum bistortoides, Zigadenus elegans, and Oxytropis borealis var. viscida (= Oxytropis viscida). Other common species include Minuartia obtusiloba, Silene acaulis, Hedysarum sulphurescens, Besseya wyomingensis, Lloydia serotina, Potentilla diversifolia, Oxytropis campestris, Smelowskia calycina, Solidago multiradiata, Selaginella densa var. scopulorum (= Selaginella scopulorum), and Selaginella densa var. standleyi (= Selaginella standleyi). Forb diversity in the Glacier National Park occurrences is high, with over 100 species represented in 30 plots, and its cover generally exceeds that of the graminoids. Graminoid cover is low (<10%) and mostly composed of Carex elynoides, Carex rupestris, Carex albonigra, Kobresia simpliciuscula, Kobresia myosuroides, and Festuca brachyphylla. Moss and lichen cover is high on some plots (>50%). Diagnostic of this alpine association is a dwarf-shrub layer dominated by Dryas octopetala with Polygonum viviparum dominant in the herbaceous layer.
Dynamics: No Data Available
Environmental Description: This is an alpine, fell-field association, ranging in elevation from 2070 to over 3000 m (6790-9840 feet). It is found on gentle to steep slopes with all but southerly aspects. Parent materials include a wide range of sedimentary rock with limestone and siltstone (argillite) predominating. Soils are typically sandy clay derived from limestone (or other calcareous substrate) and quartzite. Gravel content of soil ranges from 5-30%. Soil moisture content during the growing season is high. Disturbance from solifluction, slumps, and earthflows is common. This Dryas octopetala type is more mesic than others currently described, which is attributable to exposures with less solar insolation, placements in the landscape receiving less wind and greater snow deposition and duration (Cooper et al. 1997). Organic matter and nitrogen content were the highest in this association than any other non-wetland community in the alpine of southwestern Montana (Cooper et al. 1997).
Geographic Range: This association has been substantiated from throughout the alpine of southwestern Montana (Beaverhead Mountains Section) with occurrences in Glacier National Park and the Big Snowy Mountains of central Montana. The association is likely to occur as far north as Canada''s Jasper National Park and south to Colorado''s Front Range. Additional inventory will probably find additional occurrences in the Rocky Mountain Front Range of Montana.
Nations: CA,US
States/Provinces: AB, BC?, CO, MT, WY?
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.685067
Confidence Level: Low
Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: G3?
Greasons: No Data Available
| Type | Name | Database Code | Classification Code |
|---|---|---|---|
| Class | 4 Polar & High Montane Scrub, Grassland & Barrens Class | C04 | 4 |
| Subclass | 4.B Temperate to Polar Alpine & Tundra Vegetation Subclass | S12 | 4.B |
| Formation | 4.B.1 Temperate & Boreal Alpine Tundra Formation | F037 | 4.B.1 |
| Division | 4.B.1.Nb Western North American Alpine Tundra Division | D043 | 4.B.1.Nb |
| Macrogroup | 4.B.1.Nb.2 Eight-petal Mountain-avens - Blackroot Sedge - Moss Campion Alpine Tundra Macrogroup | M099 | 4.B.1.Nb.2 |
| Group | 4.B.1.Nb.2.a Eight-petal Mountain-avens - Mountain-heath species - Arctic Willow Alpine Dwarf-shrubland & Krummholz Group | G316 | 4.B.1.Nb.2.a |
| Alliance | A3178 Entireleaf Mountain-avens - Eight-petal Mountain-avens - Kinnikinnick Rocky Mountain Fell-field Dwarf-shrubland Alliance | A3178 | 4.B.1.Nb.2.a |
| Association | CEGL001894 Eight-petal Mountain-avens - Alpine Bistort Alpine Dwarf-shrub Meadow | CEGL001894 | 4.B.1.Nb.2.a |
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: = Dryas octopetala - Polygonum viviparum (Allen 2005)
= Dryas octopetala - Polygonum viviparum Dwarf-shrub Herbaceous Vegetation (Cooper et al. 1999)
= Dryas octopetala/Polygonum viviparum c.t. (Cooper et al. 1997)
< Dryas Vegetation (Bamberg and Major 1968)
= Dryas octopetala - Polygonum viviparum Dwarf-shrub Herbaceous Vegetation (Cooper et al. 1999)
= Dryas octopetala/Polygonum viviparum c.t. (Cooper et al. 1997)
< Dryas Vegetation (Bamberg and Major 1968)
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