Print Report
CEGL001665 Pseudoroegneria spicata - Carex filifolia Grassland
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Bluebunch Wheatgrass - Threadleaf Sedge Grassland
Colloquial Name: Bluebunch Wheatgrass - Threadleaf Sedge Mixed Prairie
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: Stands of this association occur on level or gently sloping upland sites with loam or silt loam soils. This is an herbaceous vegetation type in which graminoids contribute most of the cover. A number of forbs may be present, but forbs and shrubs contribute little cover to the vegetation. Pseudoroegneria spicata dominates the vegetation, and Carex filifolia contributes substantial cover. Small amounts of Bouteloua gracilis may be present.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: This association seems to resemble very closely, in environment and vegetation, the more widespread ~Pseudoroegneria spicata - Bouteloua gracilis Grassland (CEGL001664)$$, except that this association contains little or no Bouteloua gracilis. The geographic ranges of the two associations overlap, and it is unclear whether good reasons exist to differentiate the two. The Pseudoroegneria spicata - Bouteloua gracilis association is dominated by Pseudoroegneria spicata, and stands of that association may also contain substantial amounts of Carex filifolia. But in that association, Bouteloua gracilis contributes as much cover as does Carex filifolia, while in this association, Bouteloua gracilis contributes substantially less cover than does Carex filifolia.
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: Graminoids contribute most of the cover, and forbs are secondary; shrubs may be present as scattered individuals or clumps that contribute little cover to the vegetation. Pseudoroegneria spicata dominates the vegetation, and Carex filifolia contributes substantial cover. Hesperostipa comata (= Stipa comata), Koeleria macrantha, and Carex inops ssp. heliophila (= Carex heliophila) (in Great Plains stands) often are present in smaller amounts, but they may contribute as much cover as does Carex filifolia. Bouteloua gracilis is absent or present only in small amounts. Cheatgrass (Bromus arvensis (= Bromus japonicus), Bromus tectorum) is present in many stands and may contribute nearly as much cover as does Pseudoroegneria spicata. The vegetation may contain small amounts of numerous forbs. Shrubs are absent or present only as scattered individuals (especially Artemisia tridentata ssp. wyomingensis), but the subshrubs Artemisia frigida and Gutierrezia sarothrae usually are present in small amounts.
Dynamics: No Data Available
Environmental Description: Stands of this association have been described from nearly level sites (some windswept) with loam and silt loam soils. Elevations range from about 1220 m (4100 feet) on the Great Plains to about 2130 m (7000 feet) on the west flank of the Bighorn Mountains.
Geographic Range: This association has been described from two stands in southeastern Montana (Hansen and Hoffman 1988) and from two stands (Fisser 1964) and cursory information (Despain 1973a) in north-central Wyoming.
Nations: US
States/Provinces: MT, WY
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.685402
Confidence Level: Low
Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: G4
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.Nf Western North American Grassland & Shrubland Division | D022 | 2.B.2.Nf |
| Macrogroup | 2.B.2.Nf.2 Saskatoon Serviceberry / Idaho Fescue - Bluebunch Wheatgrass Grassland & Shrubland Macrogroup | M048 | 2.B.2.Nf.2 |
| Group | 2.B.2.Nf.2.c Rough Fescue - Idaho Fescue - Bluebunch Wheatgrass Central Rocky Mountain Foothill Grassland Group | G273 | 2.B.2.Nf.2.c |
| Alliance | A3987 Idaho Fescue - Bluebunch Wheatgrass - Sandberg Bluegrass Dry Grassland Alliance | A3987 | 2.B.2.Nf.2.c |
| Association | CEGL001665 Bluebunch Wheatgrass - Threadleaf Sedge Grassland | CEGL001665 | 2.B.2.Nf.2.c |
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: = Agropyron spicatum / Carex filifolia Habitat Type (Hansen 1985)
> Agropyron spicatum / Carex filifolia Habitat Type (Hansen and Hoffman 1988) [Hansen and Hoffman''s (1988) habitat type supports this association in southeastern Montana.]
> Agropyron spicatum communities (Despain 1973a) [Despain''s (1973a) description of the vegetation on the western slope of the Bighorn Mountains is brief, but his grassland communities appear to belong to this association.]
> Roegneria spicata / Carex filifolia Plant Association (Johnston 1987) [Johnston''s (1987) plant association is taken from Hansen and Hoffman (1988).]
> Agropyron spicatum / Carex filifolia Habitat Type (Hansen and Hoffman 1988) [Hansen and Hoffman''s (1988) habitat type supports this association in southeastern Montana.]
> Agropyron spicatum communities (Despain 1973a) [Despain''s (1973a) description of the vegetation on the western slope of the Bighorn Mountains is brief, but his grassland communities appear to belong to this association.]
> Roegneria spicata / Carex filifolia Plant Association (Johnston 1987) [Johnston''s (1987) plant association is taken from Hansen and Hoffman (1988).]
- 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.
- Cotter-Ferguson Project. No date. Application No. 490, on file at Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality, Land Quality Division, Cheyenne.
- Despain, D. G. 1973a. Vegetation of the Big Horn Mountains, Wyoming, in relation to substrate and climate. Ecological Monographs 43(3):329-354.
- Fisser, H. G. 1964. Range survey in Wyoming''s Big Horn Basin of Wyoming. Wyoming Agricultural Experiment Station Bulletin 424.
- Hansen, P. L. 1985. An ecological study of the vegetation of the Grand River/Cedar River, Sioux, and Ashland districts of the Custer National Forest. Unpublished dissertation, South Dakota State University. 257 pp.
- Hansen, P. L., and G. R. Hoffman. 1988. The vegetation of the Grand River/Cedar River, Sioux, and Ashland districts of the Custer National Forest: A habitat type classification. General Technical Report RM-157. USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station, Fort Collins, CO. 68 pp.
- 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.
- MTNHP [Montana Natural Heritage Program]. 2002b. List of ecological communities for Montana. Montana Natural Heritage Program, Montana State Library, Helena, MT.
- Rice, P. M., E. W. Schweiger, W. Gustafson, C. Lea, D. Manier, D. Shorrock, B. Frakes, and L. O''Gan. 2012b. Vegetation classification and mapping project report: Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument. Natural Resource Report NPS/ROMN/NRR--2012/590. National Park Service, Fort Collins, CO. 147 pp.
- Western Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Boulder, CO.