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CEGL005100 Danthonia spicata - Poa compressa - (Schizachyrium scoparium) Grassland
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Poverty Oatgrass - Canada Bluegrass - (Little Bluestem) Grassland
Colloquial Name: Poverty Oatgrass Dry Alvar Grassland
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: The poverty grass dry alvar grassland type occurs in the Great Lakes region of the United States and Canada, in southern Ontario, northern New York, and northern Michigan. Stands occur on shallow soils over flat limestone and dolostone outcrops (pavements). This community may occur in a patchy landscape mosaic with other alvar communities, most commonly juniper alvar shrubland, and annual alvar pavement-grassland. Soils of poverty grass dry alvar grasslands are very shallow loams (usually less than 10 cm deep). This community has a characteristic soil moisture regime of summer drought in most years. This grassland seems to occur on well-drained soils that are rarely, if ever, saturated or flooded; this interpretation is based on soil texture. Poverty grass dry alvar grassland is dominated by Danthonia spicata and Poa compressa, and sometimes Schizachyrium scoparium. There is less than 10% cover of trees, and less than 25% cover of shrubs. There is usually about 50% cover of herbs, and up to about 50% cover of nonvascular plants (mosses, lichens, and algae) growing on exposed limestone or dolostone pavement areas that occur as patches within the grassland. These grasslands are sometimes disturbed by grazing, which introduces exotic species and pasture grasses such as Phleum pratense.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: The name of this type needs review, as it lacks good diagnostic species to associate it with alvar. This community may occur in a patchy landscape mosaic with other alvar communities, most commonly Juniper Alvar Shrubland, ~Juniperus communis - (Juniperus virginiana) - Rhus aromatica - Viburnum rafinesqueanum / Oligoneuron album Shrubland (CEGL005212)$$; and Annual Alvar Pavement Grassland, ~Sporobolus neglectus - Sporobolus vaginiflorus - Trichostema brachiatum - Panicum philadelphicum - (Poa compressa) Alvar Grassland (CEGL005235)$$.
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: The vegetation contains a grassland cover dominated by Danthonia spicata and Poa compressa (introduced), and sometimes Schizachyrium scoparium. There is less than 10% cover of trees, and less than 25% cover of shrubs. There is usually about 50% cover of herbs, and up to about 50% cover of nonvascular plants (mosses, lichens, and algae) growing on exposed limestone or dolostone pavement areas that occur as patches within the grassland. These grasslands are sometimes disturbed by grazing, which introduces exotic species and pasture grasses such as Phleum pratense (Reschke et al. 1998).
Dynamics: No Data Available
Environmental Description: Stands occur on shallow soils over flat limestone and dolostone outcrops (pavements). Soils of poverty grass dry alvar grasslands are very shallow loams (usually less than 10 cm deep). This community has a characteristic soil moisture regime of summer drought in most years. This grassland seems to occur on well-drained soils that are rarely, if ever, saturated or flooded; this interpretation is based on soil texture (Reschke et al. 1998).
Geographic Range: The poverty grass dry alvar grassland type occurs in the Great Lakes region of the United States and Canada, being found in southern Ontario, northern New York, and northern Michigan.
Nations: CA,US
States/Provinces: MI, NY, ON, QC?
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.685201
Confidence Level: Moderate
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.Nc Eastern North American Grassland & Shrubland Division | D024 | 2.B.2.Nc |
| Macrogroup | 2.B.2.Nc.5 Shrubby-cinquefoil - Bristleleaf Sedge Calcareous Scrub & Grassland Macrogroup | M507 | 2.B.2.Nc.5 |
| Group | 2.B.2.Nc.5.a Little Bluestem - Prairie Dropseed - Common Juniper Alvar Grassland & Shrubland Group | G061 | 2.B.2.Nc.5.a |
| Alliance | A3104 Prairie Dropseed - Tufted Hairgrass / Shrubby-cinquefoil Alvar Grassland Alliance | A3104 | 2.B.2.Nc.5.a |
| Association | CEGL005100 Poverty Oatgrass - Canada Bluegrass - (Little Bluestem) Grassland | CEGL005100 | 2.B.2.Nc.5.a |
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: = Danthonia spicata - Poa compressa - (Schizachyrium scoparium) Herbaceous Vegetation (Reschke et al. 1998)
= Danthonia spicata - Poa compressa - (Schizachyrium scoparium) Herbaceous Vegetation (Faber-Langendoen 2001)
= Danthonia spicata - Poa compressa - (Schizachyrium scoparium) Herbaceous Vegetation (Faber-Langendoen 2001)
- Edinger, G. J., D. J. Evans, S. Gebauer, T. G. Howard, D. M. Hunt, and A. M. Olivero, editors. 2014a. Ecological communities of New York state. Second edition. A revised and expanded edition of Carol Reschke''s ecological communities of New York state. New York Natural Heritage Program, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Albany, NY.
- 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.).
- Kost, M. A., D. A. Albert, J. G. Cohen, B. S. Slaughter, R. K. Schillo, C. R. Weber, and K. A. Chapman. 2007. Natural communities of Michigan: Classification and description. Report No. 2007-21, Michigan Natural Features Inventory, Lansing. 314 pp. [http://web4.msue.msu.edu/mnfi/reports/2007-21_Natural_Communites_of_Michigan_Classification_and_Description.pdf]
- Lee, H., W. Bakowsky, J. Riley, J. Bowles, M. Puddister, P. Uhlig, and S. McMurray. 1998. Ecological land classification for southern Ontario: First approximation and its application. Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, Southcentral Science Section, Science Development and Transfer Branch. SCSS Field Guide FG-02.
- Midwestern Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Minneapolis, MN.
- ONHIC [Ontario Natural Heritage Information Centre]. 2018. Unpublished data. Ontario Natural Heritage Information Centre, Ministry of Natural Resources, Ontario, Canada.
- Reschke, C., R. Reid, J. Jones, T. Feeney, and H. Potter, on behalf of the Alvar Working Group. 1998. Conserving Great Lakes Alvars. Final Technical Report of the International Alvar Conservation Initiative. The Nature Conservancy, Great Lakes Program, Chicago, IL. 119 pp. plus 4 appendices.