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CEGL002246 Schizachyrium scoparium - Bouteloua curtipendula - Bouteloua gracilis Central Plains Grassland

Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available

Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Little Bluestem - Sideoats Grama - Blue Grama Central Plains Grassland

Colloquial Name: Central Great Plains Little Bluestem Prairie

Hierarchy Level:  Association

Type Concept: This little bluestem - sideoats grama grassland community is found in the south-central Great Plains of the United States. Stands occur on level to moderately sloping uplands, but are more likely to be on steep ravine slopes. The loam, clay loam, silty loam, or silty soils are usually formed over limestone. They are shallow to moderately deep, well-drained, and usually contain a substantial amount of rock fragments. The vegetation often forms two layers, a shorter layer of grasses and a taller layer of mixed grasses and forbs. Cover is moderately dense to dense in most stands. The vegetation is characteristically dominated by three species, Schizachyrium scoparium, Bouteloua curtipendula, and Bouteloua gracilis. The first two are mid grasses and the latter is a short grass. Schizachyrium scoparium is often the tallest dominant grass, reaching 0.5-0.8 m in Oklahoma. Andropogon gerardii, Sporobolus cryptandrus, and Sorghastrum nutans are present, especially on lower slopes. The short grasses Bouteloua dactyloides and Bouteloua hirsuta grow on upper slopes and level ground. Forbs include Ambrosia psilostachya, Dalea enneandra, Echinacea angustifolia, Liatris punctata, Calylophus serrulatus, and Psoralidium tenuiflorum.

Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available

Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available

Classification Comments: Characteristics of this type that distinguish it from other mixedgrass prairie types need to be further studied. This type may be synonymous with ~Schizachyrium scoparium - Bouteloua curtipendula Western Great Plains Grassland (CEGL001594)$$.

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

Floristics: The vegetation in this community often forms two layers, a shorter layer of grasses and a taller layer of mixed grasses and forbs (Kuchler 1974). Cover is moderately dense to dense in most stands (Weaver and Albertson 1956). The vegetation is characteristically dominated by three species, Schizachyrium scoparium, Bouteloua curtipendula, and Bouteloua gracilis. The first two are mid grasses and the latter is a short grass. Schizachyrium scoparium is often the tallest dominant grass, reaching 0.5-0.8 m in Oklahoma (Bruner 1931). Andropogon gerardii, Sporobolus cryptandrus, and Sorghastrum nutans are present, especially on lower slopes. The short grasses Bouteloua dactyloides (= Buchloe dactyloides) and Bouteloua hirsuta grow on upper slopes and level ground. Forbs include Ambrosia psilostachya, Dalea enneandra, Echinacea angustifolia, Liatris punctata, Calylophus serrulatus (= Oenothera serrulata), and Psoralidium tenuiflorum (= Psoralea tenuiflora).

Dynamics:  No Data Available
Environmental Description:  This community is primarily found on level to moderately sloping uplands, but is more likely to be on steep ravine slopes in western Kansas (Kuchler 1974). The loam, clay loam, silty loam, or silty soils usually formed over limestone. They are shallow to moderately deep, well-drained, and usually contain a substantial amount of rock fragments (Heitschmidt et al. 1970, Johnston 1987).
Geographic Range: This little bluestem - sideoats grama grassland community is found in the south-central Great Plains of the United States, particularly in Kansas and Oklahoma.

Nations: US

States/Provinces:  KS, OK


Confidence Level: Low - Poorly Documented

Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: G2G4

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.a Little Bluestem - Sideoats Grama - Western Wheatgrass Mixedgrass Prairie Group G133 2.B.2.Nb.2.a
Alliance A4042 Little Bluestem - Sideoats Grama Central Plains Grassland Alliance A4042 2.B.2.Nb.2.a
Association CEGL002246 Little Bluestem - Sideoats Grama - Blue Grama Central Plains Grassland CEGL002246 2.B.2.Nb.2.a
Concept Lineage: No Data Available

Predecessors: No Data Available

Obsolete Names: No Data Available

Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: > Andropogon Community (Heitschmidt et al. 1970)
> Bouteloua - Andropogon Community (Heitschmidt et al. 1970)
> Bouteloua Community (Heitschmidt et al. 1970)
= Schizachyrium scoparium - Bouteloua curtipendula - Bouteloua gracilis Central Plains Herbaceous Vegetation (Faber-Langendoen 2001)
< Bluestem - Grama Prairie (Küchler 1974) [is similar to this community, but it is a geographic type that includes other vegetation-based communities in west-central Kansas. His description probably includes more mesophytic species than this community does.]
= Little Bluestem Community, Western Kansas (Weaver and Albertson 1956) [uncertain if equivalent]
< Mixed Prairie (Bruner 1931)
Concept Author(s): D. Faber-Langendoen (2001)

Author of Description: J. Drake

Acknowledgements: No Data Available

Version Date: 01-03-96
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  • Crockett, J. J. 1962. Grassland communities of the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge. Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, University of Oklahoma, Norman.
  • Crockett, J. J. 1964. Influence of soils and parent materials on grasslands of the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge, Oklahoma. Ecology 45:326-335.
  • 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.).
  • Heitschmidt, R. K., G. K. Hulett, and G. W. Tomanek. 1970. Vegetational map and community structure of a west central Kansas prairie. Southwestern Naturalist 14(3):337-350.
  • Hoagland, B. 2000. The vegetation of Oklahoma: A classification for landscape mapping and conservation planning. The Southwestern Naturalist 45(4):385-420.
  • Johnston, B. C. 1987. Plant associations of Region Two: Potential plant communities of Wyoming, South Dakota, Nebraska, Colorado, and Kansas. R2-ECOL-87-2. USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Region. Lakewood, CO. 429 pp.
  • Kindscher, K., H. Kilroy, J. Delisle, Q. Long, H. Loring, K. Dobbs, and J. Drake. 2011b. Vegetation mapping and classification of Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve: Project report. Natural Resource Report NRR/HTLN/NRR--2011/346. National Park Service, Fort Collins, CO. 76 pp.
  • Küchler, A. W. 1974. A new vegetation map of Kansas. Ecology 55:586-604 (with map supplement).
  • Lauver, C. L., K. Kindscher, D. Faber-Langendoen, and R. Schneider. 1999. A classification of the natural vegetation of Kansas. The Southwestern Naturalist 44:421-443.
  • Midwestern Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Minneapolis, MN.
  • Osborn, B., and W. H. Kellogg. 1943. Wildlife occurrence and habitat conditions in Roger Mills and Custer counties, Oklahoma. Proceedings of the Oklahoma Academy of Science 23:41-43.
  • Salas, D. E., T. Folts-Zettner, R. W. Sanders, and J. Drake. 2010c. Vegetation classification and mapping at Chickasaw National Recreation Area. Natural Resource Technical Report NPS/SOPN/NRTR--2010/286. National Park Service, Fort Collins, CO. 176 pp.
  • Smith, A. L. 1998a. Environmental and management effects on plant species composition within ecological sites of the Black Kettle National Grassland in western Oklahoma. Unpublished M.S. thesis, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater.
  • Smith, C. C. 1940. Biotic and physiographic succession on abandoned eroded farmland. Ecological Monographs 10:421-484.
  • Weaver, J. E., and F. W. Albertson. 1956. Grasslands of the Great Plains: Their nature and use. Johnsen Publishing Co., Lincoln, NE. 395 pp.