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CEGL000958 Arctostaphylos pungens Shrubland
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Pointleaf Manzanita Shrubland
Colloquial Name: No Data Available
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: This chaparral association has been described from the Virgin Mountains in southern Nevada, Markagunt Plateau in southwestern Utah, the Mogollon Rim in Arizona south to the Animas Mountains in southwestern New Mexico. Sites include dry, gentle to moderate slopes of mountains and plateaus. Substrates are variable and range from rocky, coarse-textured soil to clay loam. The vegetation is characterized by a typically dense, tall-shrub layer dominated by Arctostaphylos pungens (50-70% cover) with sparse short-shrub or herbaceous layers. Associated shrubs vary geographically with Arctostaphylos patula, Amelanchier utahensis, Ceanothus spp., Cercocarpus ledifolius, Ephedra viridis, Garrya flavescens, Mahonia fremontii, Quercus gambelii, Quercus turbinella, or Robinia neomexicana present in the northern extant and Arctostaphylos pringlei, Ceanothus spp., Garrya wrightii, Nolina microcarpa, Quercus hypoleucoides, Quercus turbinella, or scattered Quercus rugosa or Pinus discolor trees present in the southern extent. The herbaceous layer, if present, consists of sparse cover of grasses or forbs.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: No Data Available
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: This association is characterized by a dense tall-shrub layer dominated by Arctostaphylos pungens with sparse short-shrub and herbaceous layers. Stands in Nevada include associated species such as Cercocarpus ledifolius, Robinia neomexicana, Garrya flavescens, Ephedra viridis, Quercus turbinella, Amelanchier utahensis, Mahonia fremontii, and Ceanothus greggii. In Utah the shrub layer was open (about 20% cover) with 10% cover of Arctostaphylos pungens. Arctostaphylos patula, Amelanchier utahensis, Quercus gambelii, and Ceanothus fendleri were present in small amounts. Penstemon caespitosus and other scattered forbs were present. In Arizona, stands averaged 86% shrub canopy cover and were dominated by Arctostaphylos pungens (55%), with 12% cover Ceanothus spp., 9% cover Arctostaphylos pringlei, and scattered Quercus turbinella and other shrub species. In New Mexico stands were less diverse. Arctostaphylos pungens canopy cover was 70% with less than 5% tree cover of Quercus hypoleucoides, Quercus rugosa and Pinus discolor. Other species were sparse and included less than 5% cover of Nolina microcarpa and Garrya wrightii. Introduced annual species are common in some stands.
Dynamics: Arctostaphylos pungens is a fire-adapted species that reproduces prolifically from heat-scarified seeds after fires (Carmichael et al. 1978). Armstrong (1969) considers these shrublands a fire disclimax. Prior to a fire, the Arctostaphylos pungens shrubland he described was a Pinus monophylla / Juniperus osteosperma woodland because of the numerous stumps present. He believed the lack of tree regeneration was caused by the low rainfall and re-occurring fires. Bourgeron et al. (1993b) suggest that this a seral phase of the Pinus discolor / Quercus hypoleucoides woodland. Most of the woody species associated with this association are fire-adapted and often replace burned-over conifer woodlands (Carmichael et al. 1978). This all would indicate that fire promotes/maintains this community.
Environmental Description: This chaparral association has been described from the Virgin Mountains in southern Nevada, Markagunt Plateau in southwestern Utah, the Mogollon Rim in Arizona south to the Animas Mountains in southwestern New Mexico. Elevation ranges from 980-2470 m (3200-8100 feet). Sites include dry gentle to moderate slopes of mountains and plateaus. Substrates range from coarse textured, gravelly soils with rocks to clay loam. Parent material includes rhyolite, granite, quartzite and sandstone.
Geographic Range: This association occurs from the Virgin Mountains in extreme southeastern Nevada and adjacent Utah to the Gray Ranch in extreme southwestern New Mexico. It likely occurs in adjacent Mexico.
Nations: US
States/Provinces: AZ, NM, NV, UT
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.685500
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.Ng Western North American Interior Chaparral Division | D061 | 2.B.2.Ng |
| Macrogroup | 2.B.2.Ng.2 Sonoran Scrub Oak - Pointleaf Manzanita - Desert Ceanothus Warm Interior Chaparral Macrogroup | M091 | 2.B.2.Ng.2 |
| Group | 2.B.2.Ng.2.b Sonoran Scrub Oak - Desert Ceanothus - Mexican Manzanita Chaparral Group | G281 | 2.B.2.Ng.2.b |
| Alliance | A3790 Pointleaf Manzanita - Pringle''s Manzanita - Desert Ceanothus Chaparral Alliance | A3790 | 2.B.2.Ng.2.b |
| Association | CEGL000958 Pointleaf Manzanita Shrubland | CEGL000958 | 2.B.2.Ng.2.b |
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: = Arctostaphylos pungens / Bouteloua curtipendula PA (Muldavin et al. 1998a)
= Arctostaphylos pungens PA (Bourgeron et al. 1993b)
= Arctostaphylos pungens PA (Bourgeron et al. 1995a)
= Chaparral Community (Armstrong 1969)
= Pointleaf Manzanita Association (Carmichael et al. 1978)
= Arctostaphylos pungens PA (Bourgeron et al. 1993b)
= Arctostaphylos pungens PA (Bourgeron et al. 1995a)
= Chaparral Community (Armstrong 1969)
= Pointleaf Manzanita Association (Carmichael et al. 1978)
- Armstrong, J. D. 1969. Vegetation of the Virgin Mountains, Clark County, Nevada. Unpublished thesis, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. 104 pp.
- Bourgeron, P. S., L. D. Engelking, H. C. Humphries, E. Muldavin, and W. H. Moir. 1993b. Assessing the conservation value of the Gray Ranch: Rarity, diversity and representativeness. Unpublished report prepared for The Nature Conservancy by the Western Heritage Task Force, Boulder, CO. (Volume I and II).
- Bourgeron, P. S., L. D. Engelking, H. C. Humphries, E. Muldavin, and W. H. Moir. 1995a. Assessing the conservation value of the Gray Ranch: Rarity, diversity and representativeness. Desert Plants 11(2-3):3-68.
- 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.
- Carmichael, R. S., O. D. Knipe, C. P. Pase, and W. W. Brady. 1978. Arizona chaparral: Plant associations and ecology. Research Paper RM-202. USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station, Fort Collins, CO. 16 pp.
- Cogan, D., M. Reid, K. Schulz, and M. Pucherelli. 2004. Zion National Park, Utah 1999-2003. Vegetation Mapping Project. Technical Memorandum 8260-03-01. Remote Sensing and GIS Group Technical Service Center, Bureau of Reclamation, Denver, CO. Appendix F: Vegetation Association Descriptions for Zion.
- Kearsley, M. J. C., K. Green, M. Tukman, M. Reid, M. Hall, T. J. Ayers, and K. Christie. 2015. Grand Canyon National Park-Grand Canyon / Parashant National Monument vegetation classification and mapping project. Natural Resource Report NPS/GRCA/NRR--2015/913. National Park Service, Fort Collins, CO. 75 pp. plus appendices.
- Muldavin, E., V. Archer, and P. Neville. 1998a. A vegetation map of the Borderlands Ecosystem Management Area. Final report submitted to USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Experiment Station, Flagstaff, AZ, by the New Mexico Natural Heritage Program, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM. 58 pp.
- Reid, M. S., and M. E. Hall. 2010. Vegetation classification of Grand Canyon National Park. Draft report submitted to National Park Service, Fort Collins, CO.
- Western Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Boulder, CO.