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CEGL001054 Purshia tridentata - Artemisia tridentata ssp. tridentata Shrubland
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Antelope Bitterbrush - Basin Big Sagebrush Shrubland
Colloquial Name: No Data Available
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: This plant association is described from data collected in St. Anthony Dunes area, Fremont County, Idaho, within the Snake River Basalts ecoregional section. The plant association occurs in areas of stabilized sands, in a region of actively moving dunes. It is found extending windward at approximately 365 m from the actively moving dune edge. At these sites stable sand deposits are 150 years old or greater. Soils are deep, fine- to medium-grained sand. Despite very low moisture levels during the dry season, soil moisture available to plants is apparently adequate, perhaps due to the low soil moisture tension of sand. The plant association is composed of a dense shrub layer, generally less than 2 m in height, although individuals of all shrub species were occasionally taller. Purshia tridentata and Artemisia tridentata ssp. tridentata provide the most cover, but large clumps (>10 m in diameter) of Prunus virginiana occur patchily in some examples of the association. The understory herbaceous layer is diverse, but is strongly dominated by the perennial forb Balsamorhiza sagittata and the bunchgrass Hesperostipa comata.
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 plant association is composed of a dense shrub layer, generally less than 2 m in height, although individuals of all shrub species were occasionally taller. Purshia tridentata and Artemisia tridentata provide the most cover, but large clumps (>10 m in diameter) of Prunus virginiana occur patchily in some examples of the association. The understory herbaceous layer is diverse, but is strongly dominated by the perennial forb Balsamorhiza sagittata and the bunchgrass Hesperostipa comata (= Stipa comata). Notable taxa include Amelanchier alnifolia, Antennaria dimorpha, Machaeranthera canescens (= Aster canescens), Crepis acuminata, several Eriogonum spp., Erysimum capitatum, Gayophytum humile (= Gayophytum nuttallii), and a dozen others.
Dynamics: No Data Available
Environmental Description: This association occurs in areas of stabilized sands, in a region of actively moving dune deposits, from 1525 to 1800 m (5000-5900 feet) elevation. It is found extending from roughly 100 m to over 2 km to windward from the active dunes. Sand deposits where it occurs have generally been stable for at least 70 years. Soils are deep sands, from roughly 0.5 m to over 3 m deep, left behind as the dunes advance. Despite very low moisture levels during the dry season, the tension at which moisture is held by the sand is very low, meaning that some moisture is apparently always available to plants (Chadwick and Dalke 1965).
Geographic Range: The plant association is known only from sand dune environments of the upper Snake River Plain. Sites are located in Fremont County, Idaho; within the Snake River Basalts ecoregional section.
Nations: US
States/Provinces: ID, NV
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.685706
Confidence Level: Low
Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: G1
Greasons: No Data Available
| Type | Name | Database Code | Classification Code |
|---|---|---|---|
| Class | 3 Desert & Semi-Desert Class | C03 | 3 |
| Subclass | 3.B Cool Semi-Desert Scrub & Grassland Subclass | S11 | 3.B |
| Formation | 3.B.1 Cool Semi-Desert Scrub & Grassland Formation | F033 | 3.B.1 |
| Division | 3.B.1.Ne Western North American Cool Semi-Desert Scrub & Grassland Division | D040 | 3.B.1.Ne |
| Macrogroup | 3.B.1.Ne.3 Big Sagebrush - Threetip Sagebrush - Antelope Bitterbrush Steppe & Shrubland Macrogroup | M169 | 3.B.1.Ne.3 |
| Group | 3.B.1.Ne.3.a Wyoming Big Sagebrush - Basin Big Sagebrush Steppe & Shrubland Group | G303 | 3.B.1.Ne.3.a |
| Alliance | A3198 Big Sagebrush - Mixed Shrub Dry Steppe & Shrubland Alliance | A3198 | 3.B.1.Ne.3.a |
| Association | CEGL001054 Antelope Bitterbrush - Basin Big Sagebrush Shrubland | CEGL001054 | 3.B.1.Ne.3.a |
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: = Purshia tridentata - Artemisia tridentata ssp. tridentata (Chadwick and Dalke 1965)
- 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.
- Chadwick, H. W., and P. D. Dalke. 1965. Plant succession on dune sands in Fremont County, Idaho. Ecology 46:765-780.
- Cogan, D., J. E. Taylor, and K. Schulz. 2012. Vegetation inventory project: Great Basin National Park. Natural Resource Report NPS/MOJN/NRR--2012/568. National Park Service, Fort Collins, CO. 373 pp.
- Schulz, K. A., and M. E. Hall. 2011. Vegetation inventory project: Great Basin National Park. Unpublished report submitted to USDI National Park Service, Mojave Desert Inventory and Monitoring Network. NatureServe, Western Regional Office, Boulder, CO. 30 pp. plus Appendices A-H.
- Western Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Boulder, CO.