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CEGL001991 Suaeda moquinii Wet Shrubland
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Mojave Seablite Wet Shrubland
Colloquial Name: No Data Available
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: These shrublands occur in alkaline desert basins or playas in Nevada, Arizona, Utah, and southern and eastern California. The vegetation has a generally sparse shrub layer that is less than 1.5 m tall and strongly dominated by Suaeda moquinii with scattered Atriplex polycarpa, Atriplex canescens, Allenrolfea occidentalis, or Sarcobatus vermiculatus in some stands. The sparse herbaceous layer may include the forbs Bassia hyssopifolia and Salicornia depressa. Graminoids are not abundant except for Distichlis spicata and occasional Sporobolus airoides or Sporobolus cryptandrus. The adjacent shrublands are dominated by Sarcobatus vermiculatus or Atriplex spp. Sites are generally flat to gently sloping saline valley bottoms, floodplains and playas, saline seeps, and along intermittent washes at elevations ranging from sea level to 1640 m (5381 feet). Soils are deep, saline, alkaline clay loams.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: This association is largely known and described from National Park Service inventory efforts in the Colorado Plateau.
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: This association is characterized by a sparse to open shrub layer less than 1.5 m tall that is strongly dominated by Suaeda moquinii sometimes with scattered Atriplex confertifolia, Atriplex corrugata, Atriplex polycarpa, Atriplex canescens, Allenrolfea occidentalis, Lycium andersonii, Opuntia polyacantha var. erinacea (= Opuntia erinacea), or Sarcobatus vermiculatus. The sparse herbaceous layer may include the forbs Bassia hyssopifolia, Eriogonum inflatum, Erodium cicutarium, or Salicornia depressa (= Salicornia europaea). Graminoids are not abundant except for Achnatherum hymenoides, Distichlis spicata, and occasional Sporobolus airoides or Sporobolus cryptandrus.
Dynamics: Suaeda moquinii is a halophyte, and high soil salinity appears to be an important environmental variable for this community. The stand described by Faden (1977) had soil salinity between 0.11-8.55% (mean 2.00%), which was ten times more than the Atriplex polycarpa community (0.20%) and Atriplex polycarpa - Atriplex confertifolia community (0.08%), and 100 time more than other communities of the desert playas, such as Krascheninnikovia lanata (0.03%), Ambrosia dumosa (0.02%), and Ambrosia dumosa - Larrea tridentata (0.01%) communities which have low salinity.
Environmental Description: Sites are generally flat to gently sloping saline or alkaline valley bottoms, floodplains and playas, saline seeps, and along intermittent washes at elevations ranging from sea level to 1640 m (5381 feet). Soils are deep, saline, alkaline clay loams derived from alluvium.
Geographic Range: This shrubland association occurs in saline overflow areas in bottomlands in the Colorado Plateau, Great Basin, Mojave, Colorado, and Sonoran deserts, and in the southern part of the Great Central Valley of California. The species occurs throughout the western U.S., so this type may be more widespread.
Nations: US
States/Provinces: AZ, CA, CO, NM, NV, UT
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.686640
Confidence Level: Low
Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: G5
Greasons: No Data Available
| Type | Name | Database Code | Classification Code |
|---|---|---|---|
| Class | 2 Shrub & Herb Vegetation Class | C02 | 2 |
| Subclass | 2.C Shrub & Herb Wetland Subclass | S44 | 2.C |
| Formation | 2.C.5 Salt Marsh Formation | F035 | 2.C.5 |
| Division | 2.C.5.Nd North American Western Interior Brackish Marsh, Playa & Shrubland Division | D036 | 2.C.5.Nd |
| Macrogroup | 2.C.5.Nd.1 Warm & Cool Desert Alkali-Saline Marsh, Playa & Shrubland Macrogroup | M082 | 2.C.5.Nd.1 |
| Group | 2.C.5.Nd.1.b Greasewood - Saltbush species Alkaline-Saline Wet Scrub Group | G537 | 2.C.5.Nd.1.b |
| Alliance | A3880 Mojave Seablite - Red Swampfire - Alkali Goldenbush Alkaline Wet Scrub Alliance | A3880 | 2.C.5.Nd.1.b |
| Association | CEGL001991 Mojave Seablite Wet Shrubland | CEGL001991 | 2.C.5.Nd.1.b |
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: = Suaeda fruticosa Community (Faden 1977) [Suaeda fruticosa is a synonym for Suaeda moquinii.]
= Suaeda moquinii (Sawyer et al. 2009) [36.200.01]
= Suaeda moquinii Association (Evens et al. 2014)
= Suaeda moquinii (Sawyer et al. 2009) [36.200.01]
= Suaeda moquinii Association (Evens et al. 2014)
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