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CEGL004519 Schizachyrium scoparium - Sorghastrum nutans - Paspalum plicatulum - Carex microdonta - Neptunia lutea Vertisol Grassland
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Little Bluestem - Indiangrass - Brownseed Crowngrass - Little-tooth Sedge - Yellow-puff Vertisol Grassland
Colloquial Name: Vertisol Coastal Prairie
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: This community occurs on upland Vertisols of the Beaumont and Lissie formations in the Upper and Lower Coastal Prairie of Texas. The dominant and characteristic species are Schizachyrium scoparium var. scoparium, Sorghastrum nutans, Paspalum plicatulum, Paspalum floridanum, Panicum virgatum, and Fimbristylis puberula. Other characteristic species are Carex microdonta, Neptunia lutea, Liatris spp., Aristida purpurascens, Rhynchospora spp., Sporobolus compositus, Tridens strictus, Symphyotrichum ericoides, and Muhlenbergia capillaris.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: As currently described, this community includes Schizachyrium scoparium-dominated coastal prairies on Vertisols of both the Upper and Lower Coastal Prairies of Texas. Though these areas differ environmentally (Diamond 1993), current floristic information is insufficient to classify these types separately. They may warrant separation in the future if more information becomes available. Both areas are highly fragmented, and few occurrences of Vertisol coastal prairie remain in either area. In a sample of 13 upland coastal prairies, 9 on Vertisols and 4 on Alfisols, Diamond and Smeins (1984) did not recognize the prairie communities occurring on the two soil types as distinct. These communities are classified separately here because, even though these communities share many species including the dominant grasses Schizachyrium scoparium, Sorghastrum nutans, and Paspalum plicatulum, there are also species that appear to occur more frequently in one or the other type. For example, Paspalum setaceum, Symphyotrichum pratense, Coelorachis cylindrica, Mimosa microphylla, and Aristida purpurascens occur more frequently on Alfisols, and Carex microdonta, Symphyotrichum ericoides, and Neptunia lutea occur more frequently on Vertisols. In addition, landscape features associated with the different soil types, mima mounds on Alfisols and gilgai topography on Vertisols, support the separation of these types.
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: In addition to Schizachyrium scoparium var. scoparium, Sorghastrum nutans, Paspalum plicatulum, Paspalum floridanum, Panicum virgatum, and Fimbristylis puberula, other common species include Carex microdonta, Neptunia lutea, Liatris pycnostachya, Liatris acidota, Boltonia asteroides, Aristida longespica var. geniculata, Rudbeckia nitida, Eryngium yuccifolium, Krameria lanceolata, Nemastylis geminiflora, Rhynchosia senna var. texana (= Rhynchosia texana), Pycnanthemum tenuifolium, Rhynchospora spp., Sporobolus compositus (= Sporobolus asper), Tridens strictus, Symphyotrichum ericoides (= Aster ericoides), Manfreda virginica, Eragrostis lugens, Polygala alba, Dichanthelium oligosanthes, Spartina spartinae, Ambrosia psilostachya, Euphorbia bicolor, Andropogon glomeratus, and Muhlenbergia capillaris. Other species that have been noted in Lower Coastal Prairie occurrences of this community include Steinchisma hians (= Panicum hians), Setaria leucopila, and Tridens albescens. Lower areas in some occurrences of this community are dominated by Schizachyrium scoparium var. scoparium, Euthamia gymnospermoides, Aristida longespica var. geniculata, and Iva angustifolia.
Dynamics: These grasslands are maintained by periodic fires and soil conditions generally inhospitable to the growth of trees and shrubs. In the absence of fire, this community is often invaded by Baccharis halimifolia and the woody exotics Triadica sebifera and Rosa bracteata. These species may also become predominant in prairies that are impacted by overgrazing, along with a host of increasers and exotic grasses such as Sporobolus indicus and Axonopus fissifolius.
Environmental Description: In general, Vertisols are characterized by a high clay content throughout; slickensides are often visible below the surface and cracks often visible at the surface. Because of the shrinking and swelling of the clayey soil, Vertisols often develop a surface topography with micro-highs and micro-lows (gilgai).
Geographic Range: This community occurs on upland Vertisols of the Beaumont and Lissie formations in the Coastal Prairie of Texas.
Nations: US
States/Provinces: TX
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.685868
Confidence Level: Moderate
Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: G1
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.Nb Central North American Grassland & Shrubland Division | D023 | 2.B.2.Nb |
| Macrogroup | 2.B.2.Nb.1 Big Bluestem - Indiangrass - Dense Blazingstar Tallgrass Prairie Macrogroup | M054 | 2.B.2.Nb.1 |
| Group | 2.B.2.Nb.1.a Little Bluestem - Prairie Bishop - Brownseed Crowngrass Tallgrass Prairie Group | G335 | 2.B.2.Nb.1.a |
| Alliance | A4059 Little Bluestem - Brownseed Crowngrass - Slender Little Bluestem Grassland Alliance | A4059 | 2.B.2.Nb.1.a |
| Association | CEGL004519 Little Bluestem - Indiangrass - Brownseed Crowngrass - Little-tooth Sedge - Yellow-puff Vertisol Grassland | CEGL004519 | 2.B.2.Nb.1.a |
Concept Lineage: included
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: < Schizachyrium-Paspalum-Sorghastrum community type (Diamond and Smeins 1988)
< Schizachyrium-Paspalum-Sorghastrum community type (Diamond and Smeins 1985)
< Little bluestem-brownseed paspalum-Indiangrass type (Diamond and Smeins 1990)
< Lowland Community Type (Diamond and Smeins 1984)
< Schizachyrium-Paspalum-Sorghastrum community type (Diamond and Smeins 1985)
< Little bluestem-brownseed paspalum-Indiangrass type (Diamond and Smeins 1990)
< Lowland Community Type (Diamond and Smeins 1984)
- Diamond, D. D. 1993. Classification of the plant communities of Texas (series level). Unpublished document. Texas Natural Heritage Program, Austin. 25 pp.
- Diamond, D. D., and F. E. Smeins. 1984. Remnant grassland vegetation and ecological affinities of the Upper Coastal Prairie of Texas. The Southwestern Naturalist 29:321-334.
- Diamond, D. D., and F. E. Smeins. 1985. Composition, classification and species response patterns of remnant tallgrass prairies in Texas. The American Midland Naturalist 113:249-308.
- Diamond, D. D., and F. E. Smeins. 1988. Gradient analysis of remnant true and upper coastal prairie grasslands of North America. Canadian Journal of Botany 66:2152-2161.
- Diamond, D. D., and F. E. Smeins. 1990. The prairie--The native plant communities of the blackland prairie. Unpublished draft report. Texas Department of Parks and Wildlife, Austin, TX.
- McAlister, W. H. 1988. An annotated list of the plants of the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge. Unpublished report with 1990 additions and index. 66 pp.
- Southeastern Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Durham, NC.