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CEGL002294 Shale Barren Slopes Sparse Vegetation
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Shale Barren Slopes Sparse Vegetation
Colloquial Name: Shale Barren Slopes
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: This shale barrens slopes sparse vegetation is found in the western Great Plains and Black Hills ecoregion of the United States. In the Black Hills, this type has been provisionally applied to sparsely vegetated exposures of the Cretaceous Mowry Formation, made up of siliceous shales, clays and bentonite. Slopes are flat to moderate and of variable aspect. Soils are poor, loose and easily eroded. The Mowry Formation occurs on the periphery of the Black Hills, at elevations ranging from 915 to 1300 m (3000-4250 feet). This is a sparse vegetation type with total vegetative cover usually less than 10%. No information is available as to species composition.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: More information is needed to determine the characteristics of this type. Type includes the Mowry Shale outcrops around the Black Hills and the Pierre Shale outcrops of central and western South Dakota. A few stands are reported in areas near Badlands National Park (Von Loh et al. 1999). The Mowry Shale outcrops can grade into ~Quercus macrocarpa / Carex inops ssp. heliophila Woodland (CEGL000554)$$ or Pinus ponderosa woodlands, both with relatively sparse ground cover. See also ~Quercus macrocarpa / Mixedgrass Shale Wooded Grassland (CEGL002164)$$. The relationship of the vegetation to that found on shale outcrops elsewhere in the Great Plains is not known.
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: This is a sparse vegetation type with total vegetative cover usually less than 10%. No information is available as to species composition (Marriott and Faber-Langendoen 2000).
Dynamics: Poor soils and natural erosion prevent the development of substantial vegetative cover.
Environmental Description: Stands are reported on the Mowry Shale outcrops around the Black Hills and the Pierre Shale outcrops of central and western South Dakota. In the Black Hills, stands occur on sparsely vegetated exposures of the Cretaceous Mowry Formation, made up of siliceous shales, clays and bentonite. Slopes are flat to moderate and of variable aspect. Soils are poor, loose and easily eroded. The Mowry Formation occurs on the periphery of the Black Hills, at elevations ranging from 915 to 1300 m (3000-4250 feet) (Marriott and Faber-Langendoen 2000).
Geographic Range: This shale barrens slopes sparse vegetation is found in the western Great Plains and Black Hills region of the United States.
Nations: US
States/Provinces: ND, SD
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.686373
Confidence Level: Low
Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: GNR
Greasons: No Data Available
| Type | Name | Database Code | Classification Code |
|---|---|---|---|
| Class | 6 Open Rock Vegetation Class | C06 | 6 |
| Subclass | 6.B Temperate & Boreal Open Rock Vegetation Subclass | S04 | 6.B |
| Formation | 6.B.1 Temperate & Boreal Cliff, Scree & Other Rock Vegetation Formation | F034 | 6.B.1 |
| Division | 6.B.1.Na Eastern North American Temperate Cliff, Scree & Rock Vegetation Division | D051 | 6.B.1.Na |
| Macrogroup | 6.B.1.Na.2 Great Plains Cliff, Scree & Rock Vegetation Macrogroup | M116 | 6.B.1.Na.2 |
| Group | 6.B.1.Na.2.b Skunkbush Sumac / Blue Grama - Prickly-pear species Cliff, Scree & Rock Vegetation Group | G567 | 6.B.1.Na.2.b |
| Alliance | A3982 Great Plains Acidic Rock Outcrop Alliance | A3982 | 6.B.1.Na.2.b |
| Association | CEGL002294 Shale Barren Slopes Sparse Vegetation | CEGL002294 | 6.B.1.Na.2.b |
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: = Shale Barren Slopes Sparse Vegetation (Marriott and Faber-Langendoen 2000)
= Shale Barren Slopes Sparse Vegetation (Faber-Langendoen 2001)
= Shale Barren Slopes Sparse Vegetation (Faber-Langendoen 2001)
- Cogan, D., H. Marriott, J. Von Loh, and M. J. Pucherelli. 1999. USGS-NPS Vegetation Mapping Program, Wind Cave National Park, South Dakota. Technical Memorandum No. 8260-98-08. USDI Bureau of Reclamation Technical Services Center, Denver, CO. 225 pp.
- Darton, N. H. 1905. Description of the Sundance quadrangle, Wyoming and South Dakota. Geologic Atlas, Folio 127. U.S. Geological Survey.
- 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.).
- Marriott, H. J. 1985. Flora of the northwestern Black Hills, Crook and Weston counties, Wyoming. Unpublished M.S. thesis, Department of Botany, University of Wyoming, Laramie.
- Marriott, H. J., D. Faber-Langendoen, A. McAdams, D. Stutzman, and B. Burkhart. 1999. The Black Hills Community Inventory: Final report. The Nature Conservancy, Midwest Conservation Science Center, Minneapolis, MN.
- Marriott, H. J., and D. Faber-Langendoen. 2000. The Black Hills community inventory. Volume 2: Plant community descriptions. The Nature Conservancy, Midwest Conservation Science Center and Association for Biodiversity Information, Minneapolis, MN. 326 pp.
- Midwestern Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Minneapolis, MN.
- NDNHI [North Dakota Natural Heritage Inventory]. 2018. Unpublished data. Vegetation classification of North Dakota. North Dakota Natural Heritage Inventory, North Dakota Parks & Recreation Department, Bismarck.
- SDNHP [South Dakota Natural Heritage Program]. 2018. Unpublished data. South Dakota Natural Heritage Program, Pierre, SD.
- Von Loh, J., D. Cogan, D. Faber-Langendoen, D. Crawford, and M. Pucherelli. 1999. USGS-NPS Vegetation Mapping Program, Badlands National Park, South Dakota. USDI Bureau of Reclamation. Technical Memorandum No. 8260-99-02. Denver, CO.