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CEGL002298 Quartzite - Granite Rock Outcrop Sparse Vegetation
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Quartzite - Granite Rock Outcrop Sparse Vegetation
Colloquial Name: Northern Tallgrass Quartzite - Granite Rock Outcrop
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: This quartzite - granite rock outcrop community type is found on rocky, relatively level or hilly regions in the northern tallgrass region of the upper midwestern United States. The vegetation is sparse, with little soil development, and extreme temperature fluctuations. The outcrops are composed primarily of Sioux quartzite, granite and gneiss. This community, in Minnesota and South Dakota contains a sparse vegetation layer, with scattered succulents and many annuals. Vegetation growing in the patchy soils include Opuntia fragilis, Opuntia macrorhiza, Escobaria vivipara, and Lomatium orientale, as well as Selaginella rupestris, Phemeranthus parviflorus, Woodsia ilvensis, and a variety of spring and summer blooming annuals.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: This type is not well-characterized in South Dakota. The Baraboo Hills quartzite rock outcrops may be a distinct subtype, since they lack many of the Great Plains species, such as Escobaria vivipara, Lomatium orientale, and Phemeranthus parviflorus found in the Minnesota and South Dakota outcrops.
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: In Minnesota and South Dakota, this community, contains a sparse vegetation layer, with scattered succulents and many annuals. Vegetation growing in the patchy soils include Opuntia fragilis, Opuntia macrorhiza, Escobaria vivipara (= Coryphantha vivipara), and Lomatium orientale, as well as Selaginella rupestris, Phemeranthus parviflorus (= Talinum parviflorum), Woodsia ilvensis, and a variety of spring- and summer-blooming annuals (MNNHP 1993). The Minnesota and South Dakota outcrops contain Great Plains species that would not be expected in the Baraboo Hills, such as Escobaria vivipara, Lomatium orientale, and Phemeranthus parviflorus.
Dynamics: Fire appears to be important in maintaining this community. Trees and shrubs invade in the absence of fire. Juniperus virginiana is an invader throughout the range of this type, displacing the herbs, lichens, and mosses that characterize the community (MNNHP 1993).
Environmental Description: There is little soil development, and most plant species present grow in shallow, dry soil that collects in small depressions on sloping rock faces. The bedrock outcrops in the Minnesota River Valley are composed primarily of granite and gneiss, whereas the outcrops in the Cottonwood, Pipestone, and Rock counties are composed of Sioux quartzite (MNNHP 1993). The species that persist in the community must survive extreme drought and great fluctuations in the temperature of the ground surface (MNNHP 1993).
Geographic Range: This quartzite - granite rock outcrop community type is found on rocky, relatively level or hilly regions in the northern tallgrass region of the upper midwestern United States. In particular it is found in Minnesota in the Minnesota River Valley between New Ulm and Ortonville and in Cottonwood, Pipestone, and Rock counties, and in eastern South Dakota it is found east and west of Sioux Falls, and, at least historically, around Millbank. It may be found in Manitoba, but verification is needed.
Nations: CA,US
States/Provinces: MB, MN, SD
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.686455
Confidence Level: Low - Poorly Documented
Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: G3?
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.1 Shrubby Fivefingers - Rock Polypody / Cup Lichen species Eastern North American Cliff & Rock Vegetation Macrogroup | M111 | 6.B.1.Na.1 |
| Group | 6.B.1.Na.1.d Central Midwest-Interior Cliff & Rock Vegetation Group | G841 | 6.B.1.Na.1.d |
| Alliance | A4374 Little Bluestem - Rock Spikemoss Rock Outcrop Alliance | A4374 | 6.B.1.Na.1.d |
| Association | CEGL002298 Quartzite - Granite Rock Outcrop Sparse Vegetation | CEGL002298 | 6.B.1.Na.1.d |
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: = Quartzite - Granite Rock Outcrop Sparse Vegetation (Faber-Langendoen 2001) [Bedrock Glade Quartzite-Granite Subtype]
= Rock Outcrop (Southwest Section) (MNNHP 1993)
= Rock Outcrop (Southwest Section) (MNNHP 1993)
- Diamond, D. D., L. F. Elliott, M. D. DeBacker, K. M. James, D. L. Pursell, and A. Struckhoff. 2014. Vegetation mapping and classification of Pipestone National Monument, Minnesota: Project report. Natural Resource Report NPS/PIPE/NRR--2014/802. National Park Service, Fort Collins, CO. 79 pp.
- 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.).
- Greenall, J. A. 1996. Manitoba''s terrestrial plant communities. MS Report 96-02. Manitoba Conservation Data Centre, Winnipeg.
- MNNHP [Minnesota Natural Heritage Program]. 1993. Minnesota''s native vegetation: A key to natural communities. Version 1.5. Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Natural Heritage Program, St. Paul, MN. 110 pp.
- Midwestern Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Minneapolis, MN.
- Minnesota DNR [Minnesota Department of Natural Resources]. 2003-2005a. Field guide to the native plant communities of Minnesota. Three volumes: The Laurentian Mixed Forest Province (2003), The Eastern Broadleaf Forest Province (2005c), The Prairie Parkland and Tallgrass Aspen Parklands provinces (2005b). Ecological Land Classification Program, Minnesota County Biological Survey, and Natural Heritage and Nongame Research Program. Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, St. Paul.
- Minnesota DNR [Minnesota Department of Natural Resources]. 2005c. Field guide to the native plant communities of Minnesota: The Eastern Broadleaf Forest Province. Ecological Land Classification Program, Minnesota County Biological Survey, and Natural Heritage and Nongame Research Program. Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, St. Paul.
- Ode, Dave. Personal communication. South Dakota Natural Heritage Program, Pierre, SD.
- SDNHP [South Dakota Natural Heritage Program]. 2018. Unpublished data. South Dakota Natural Heritage Program, Pierre, SD.
- WDNR [Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources]. 2015. The ecological landscapes of Wisconsin: An assessment of ecological resources and a guide to planning sustainable management. PUB-SS-1131 2015. Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Madison. [http://dnr.wi.gov/topic/landscapes/Book.html]