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CEGL001620 Festuca idahoensis - Koeleria macrantha Grassland
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Idaho Fescue - Prairie Junegrass Grassland
Colloquial Name: No Data Available
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: This association is described from sites on the dissected basalt plateaus, biscuit-and-swale (mound) formations, and high- and low-elevation canyon and mountain slopes of the lower Snake River drainage. Considerable variability in species composition occurs over this range of physical environmental settings. The association occurs on relatively deep loessal soils that overlay basalt rock or colluvium. The association includes the most productive grassland stands in the Blue Mountains ecoregional section. Stands occur on gentle to steep, northwest- to northeast-facing slopes at 370 to 2015 m (1200-6600 feet) elevation. This plant association is characterized by a dense sward of bunchgrasses and a rich assemblage of forbs. Festuca idahoensis is abundant. Pseudoroegneria spicata is often the codominant bunchgrass, though the presence of Koeleria macrantha on these sites is indicative of more mesic environments, compared to adjacent Festuca idahoensis - Pseudoroegneria spicata communities. Consistent associate forbs include Triteleia grandiflora var. grandiflora, Frasera albicaulis, Castilleja hispida, Hieracium scouleri var. albertinum, and Arnica sororia.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: Johnson and Simon (1987) provide sufficient data to support division of this Festuca idahoensis - Koeleria macrantha classification unit into numerous discrete plant associations. The USNVC has lumped these associations into one and does not represent the full range of diversity presented by this vegetation.
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: This plant association is characterized by a dense sward of bunchgrasses and a rich assemblage of forbs. Festuca idahoensis is abundant. Pseudoroegneria spicata is often the codominant bunchgrass, though the presence of Koeleria macrantha on these sites is indicative of more mesic environments, compared to adjacent Festuca idahoensis - Pseudoroegneria spicata communities. Consistent associate forbs include Triteleia grandiflora var. grandiflora (= Brodiaea douglasii), Frasera albicaulis, Castilleja hispida, Hieracium scouleri var. albertinum (= Hieracium albertinum), and Arnica sororia.
Dynamics: No Data Available
Environmental Description: Sites include dissected basalt plateaus, biscuit-and-swale (mound) formations, and high- and low-elevation canyon and mountain slopes of the lower Snake River drainage. Considerable variability in species composition occurs over this range of physical environmental settings. The association occurs on relatively deep loessal soils that overlay basalt rock or colluvium. The association includes the most productive grassland stands in the Blue Mountains ecoregional section. Stands occur on gentle to steep, northwest- to northeast-facing slopes at 370 to 2015 m (1200-6600 feet) elevation.
Geographic Range: The association is known only from the Wallowa, Seven Devils, and western Salmon River mountains and Hells Canyon, a range of less than 10,000 square miles.
Nations: US
States/Provinces: CA?, ID, OR, WA
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.686449
Confidence Level: Low
Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: G3Q
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 | A3988 Idaho Fescue - Bluebunch Wheatgrass - Western Wheatgrass Mesic Grassland Alliance | A3988 | 2.B.2.Nf.2.c |
| Association | CEGL001620 Idaho Fescue - Prairie Junegrass Grassland | CEGL001620 | 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: = Festuca idahoensis - Koeleria cristata (high elevation) Plant Association (Johnson and Simon 1987)
= Festuca idahoensis - Koeleria cristata Habitat Type (Tisdale 1986)
= Festuca-Koeleria Association in the Topographic Climax, Agropyron-Poa Zone (Poulton 1955)
= Festuca idahoensis - Koeleria cristata Habitat Type (Tisdale 1986)
= Festuca-Koeleria Association in the Topographic Climax, Agropyron-Poa Zone (Poulton 1955)
- 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.
- Campbell, J. D. 1962. Grasslands of the Snake River drainage in northern Idaho and adjacent Washington. Unpublished thesis, University of Idaho, Moscow. 86pp.
- Johnson, C. G., Jr., and S. A. Simon. 1987. Plant associations of the Wallowa-Snake Province Wallowa-Whitman National Forest. Technical Paper R6-ECOL-TP-255A-86. USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Region, Wallowa-Whitman National Forest. 399 pp. plus appendices.
- Johnson, C. G., and S. A. Simon. 1985. Plant associations of the Wallowa Valley Ranger District, Part II: Steppe. USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Region, Wallowa-Whitman National Forest. 258 pp.
- Kagan, J. S., J. A. Christy, M. P. Murray, and J. A. Titus. 2004. Classification of native vegetation of Oregon. January 2004. Oregon Natural Heritage Information Center, Portland. 52 pp.
- Mueggler, W. F., and C. A. Harris. 1969. Some vegetation and soil characteristics of mountain grasslands in central Idaho. Ecology 50:671-678.
- Poulton, C. E. 1955. Ecology of the non-forested vegetation in Umatilla and Morrow counties, Oregon. Unpublished dissertation. State College of Washington, Pullman. 166 pp.
- Tisdale, E. W. 1986. Canyon grasslands and associated shrublands of west-central Idaho and adjacent areas. Bulletin No. 40. Forest, Wildlife and Range Experiment Station, University of Idaho, Moscow. 42 pp.
- WNHP [Washington Natural Heritage Program]. 2018. Unpublished data files. Washington Natural Heritage Program, Department of Natural Resources, Olympia, WA.
- Western Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Boulder, CO.