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CEGL002038 Pascopyrum smithii - Bouteloua dactyloides - (Phyla cuneifolia, Oenothera canescens) Wet Meadow
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Western Wheatgrass - Buffalograss - (Wedgeleaf, Spotted Evening-primrose) Wet Meadow
Colloquial Name: Wheatgrass Playa Grassland
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: This wheatgrass playa grassland community represents the common vegetation type of playa lake basins (depressional wetlands) under rangeland conditions in the southern and central Great Plains of the United States. In the central Plains soils are dense silts and clays, occasionally loess-derived, that flood in winter and dry out by early summer. Perennial herbaceous graminoids and forbs <1 m tall dominate the community, with composition varying depending on water levels. In the central Plains Pascopyrum smithii is most abundant, with Agrostis hyemalis, Eleocharis palustris, Eleocharis macrostachya, Elymus virginicus, and Hordeum jubatum locally abundant. Bouteloua dactyloides can be abundant in grazed sites. Early-season ephemeral annuals include Alopecurus carolinianus, Elatine rubella, Myosurus minimus, Veronica peregrina ssp. xalapensis, and more westward Limosella aquatica and Plagiobothrys scouleri. Perennial forbs, including Ambrosia grayi, Phyla cuneifolia, Oenothera canescens, Rorippa sinuata, and Vernonia fasciculata, are conspicuous in places. In the southern Plains, species characteristic of the type include Bouteloua dactyloides, Distichlis spicata, and Panicum obtusum.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: In Nebraska this type includes stands in the Rainwater Basin of south-central Nebraska, and perhaps even some stands in eastern Nebraska where Pascopyrum smithii is found in clay pan depressions. However, some of these eastern or more northern depressions may better fit with ~Pascopyrum smithii - (Elymus trachycaulus) Clay Pan Wet Meadow (CEGL002239)$$.
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: Perennial herbaceous graminoids and forbs <1 m tall dominate the community, with composition varying depending on water levels. In the central Plains Pascopyrum smithii is most abundant, with Agrostis hyemalis, Eleocharis palustris, Eleocharis macrostachya, Elymus virginicus, and Hordeum jubatum locally abundant. Bouteloua dactyloides (= Buchloe dactyloides) can be abundant in grazed sites. Early-season ephemeral annuals include Alopecurus carolinianus, Elatine rubella, Myosurus minimus, Veronica peregrina ssp. xalapensis, and, more westward Limosella aquatica and Plagiobothrys scouleri. Perennial forbs, including Ambrosia grayi, Phyla cuneifolia, Oenothera canescens, Rorippa sinuata, and Vernonia fasciculata, are conspicuous in places (Lauver et al. 1999, Steinauer and Rolfsmeier 2003). In the southern Plains, species characteristic of the type include Bouteloua dactyloides, Distichlis spicata, and Panicum obtusum (Weakley et al. 1998).
Dynamics: No Data Available
Environmental Description: This type is found in playa type depressional wetlands across the southern and central Great Plains of the United States. In the central Plains soils are dense (occasionally loess-derived) silts and clays that flood in winter and dry out by early summer (Steinauer and Rolfsmeier 2003).
Geographic Range: This wheatgrass playa grassland community is found in playa lake basins (depressional wetlands) in the southern and central Great Plains of the United States.
Nations: US
States/Provinces: CO, KS, NE, OK, TX, WY
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.685161
Confidence Level: Low - Poorly Documented
Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: G2G3
Greasons: No Data Available
| Type | Name | Database Code | Classification Code |
|---|---|---|---|
| Class | 2 Shrub & Herb Vegetation Class | C02 | 2 |
| Subclass | 2.C Shrub & Herb Wetland Subclass | S44 | 2.C |
| Formation | 2.C.4 Temperate to Polar Freshwater Marsh, Wet Meadow & Shrubland Formation | F013 | 2.C.4 |
| Division | 2.C.4.Nd Eastern North American Temperate Freshwater Marsh, Wet Meadow & Shrubland Division | D323 | 2.C.4.Nd |
| Macrogroup | 2.C.4.Nd.5 Prairie Cordgrass - Cattail species - Bulrush species Great Plains Marsh, Wet Meadow, Shrubland & Playa Macrogroup | M071 | 2.C.4.Nd.5 |
| Group | 2.C.4.Nd.5.e Western Wheatgrass - Vine-mesquite - Buffalograss Playa & Rainwater Basin Wetland Group | G136 | 2.C.4.Nd.5.e |
| Alliance | A3597 Western Wheatgrass Wet Meadow Alliance | A3597 | 2.C.4.Nd.5.e |
| Association | CEGL002038 Western Wheatgrass - Buffalograss - (Wedgeleaf, Spotted Evening-primrose) Wet Meadow | CEGL002038 | 2.C.4.Nd.5.e |
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: = Pascopyrum smithii - Buchloe dactyloides - (Phyla cuneifolia, Oenothera canescens) Herbaceous Vegetation (Faber-Langendoen 2001)
? Cluster 7 (Hoagland 2002)
= Transition zone (Gilbert 1989)
= Wheatgrass Playa Grassland (Steinauer and Rolfsmeier 2003)
? Cluster 7 (Hoagland 2002)
= Transition zone (Gilbert 1989)
= Wheatgrass Playa Grassland (Steinauer and Rolfsmeier 2003)
- Ackerfield, J. 2015. Flora of Colorado. Botanical Research Institute of Texas, Fort Worth, TX. 818 pp.
- CNHP [Colorado Natural Heritage Program]. 2006-2017. Tracked natural plant communities. Colorado Natural Heritage Program, Colorado State University, Fort Collins. [https://cnhp.colostate.edu/ourdata/trackinglist/plant_communities/]
- 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.).
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- Midwestern Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Minneapolis, MN.
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- 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.
- WNDD [Wyoming Natural Diversity Database]. No date. Unpublished data on file. Wyoming Natural Diversity Database, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY.
- Weakley, A. S., K. D. Patterson, S. Landaal, M. Pyne, and others, compilers. 1998. International classification of ecological communities: Terrestrial vegetation of the Southeastern United States. Working draft of March 1998. The Nature Conservancy, Southeast Regional Office, Southern Conservation Science Department, Community Ecology Group. Chapel Hill, NC. 689 pp.