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CEGL001612 Festuca idahoensis - Danthonia intermedia Grassland
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Idaho Fescue - Timber Oatgrass Grassland
Colloquial Name: No Data Available
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: This association is a type of open meadow vegetation found in the central plateau of Yellowstone National Park and adjacent Grand Teton National Park, northwestern Wyoming. Stands occur as inclusions on dry sites in extensive moist meadows. Elevations are between 1980 and 2134 m (6500-7000 feet), and stands occur on level to gentle slopes. Substrates are deep, mesic, medium-textured, mineral soils. The vegetation is less than 3 dm tall and moderately open, with patchy moss ground cover. Festuca idahoensis and Danthonia intermedia are constant species, and other common species (that may be abundant) include Phleum alpinum, Carex praticola, Potentilla diversifolia, Antennaria corymbosa, Deschampsia cespitosa, and several other forb species. Carex filifolia is not present.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: This association is based on the description of the Festuca idahoensis - Antennaria corymbosa habitat type from wetland classification work done in Yellowstone National Park (Mattson 1984) and amended by plot data obtained from vegetation surveys in Grand Teton National Park. More survey is needed to clarify its validity, full distribution and relationships with other Festuca idahoensis associations. Whether or not this vegetation can be recognized as an association is open to question, and the characteristics that might set it apart from other Festuca idahoensis associations are unknown at present. One similar association, ~Festuca idahoensis - Carex filifolia Grassland (CEGL001898)$$, is described from the habitat type of the same name in Montana (Mueggler and Stewart 1980) and is similar compositionally to this association. It is composed of Festuca idahoensis, Carex filifolia, Gentiana affinis, Geum triflorum, and Danthonia intermedia as dominant (constant and abundant) species. It also lacks significant cover of Pseudoroegneria spicata, Pascopyrum smithii, Deschampsia cespitosa, or Elymus caninus and occurs on drier, windswept mountain slopes in or near mountain saddles, not in broad moist meadows.
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: This association is a moderately open grassland with patchy moss ground cover. Scattered shrubs, especially Artemisia tridentata ssp. vaseyana, may be present. Total vegetation cover is around 50%. Festuca idahoensis and Danthonia intermedia are constant species and are usually dominant, with 30-40% and 10% cover, respectively. Other common species (that may be codominant) include Phleum alpinum, Carex praticola, Potentilla diversifolia, Antennaria corymbosa, Antennaria microphylla, Eriogonum umbellatum, and Deschampsia cespitosa. Carex filifolia is not present.
Dynamics: No Data Available
Environmental Description: This is short, open meadow vegetation in the central plateau of Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks in northwestern Wyoming. Elevations are between 1980 and 2134 m (6500-7000 feet), and stands occur on level to gently sloping dry sites in extensive moist meadows. The soils are deep, mesic, and medium-textured.
Geographic Range: This association is found in the central plateau of Yellowstone National Park and adjacent Grand Teton National Park, northwestern Wyoming.
Nations: US
States/Provinces: MT, WY
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.686880
Confidence Level: Low
Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: G3?Q
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.a Downy Ryegrass - Idaho Fescue - Spike Fescue Grassland Group | G267 | 2.B.2.Nf.2.a |
| Alliance | A3965 Idaho Fescue - Northern Single-spike Sedge - Timber Oatgrass Central Rocky Mountain Subalpine Dry Grassland Alliance | A3965 | 2.B.2.Nf.2.a |
| Association | CEGL001612 Idaho Fescue - Timber Oatgrass Grassland | CEGL001612 | 2.B.2.Nf.2.a |
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: = Festuca idahoensis - Antennaria corymbosa Habitat Type (Mattson 1984)
>< Festuca idahoensis - Carex filifolia Habitat Type (Mueggler and Stewart 1980)
>< Festuca idahoensis - Carex filifolia Habitat Type (Mueggler and Stewart 1980)
- 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.
- Cogan, D., K. Varga, and G. Kittel. 2005. USGS-NPS Vegetation Mapping Program: Grand Teton National Park and John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Memorial Parkway. Final Project Report 2002-2005 Vegetation Mapping Project. Technical Memorandum 8260-06-02. USDI Bureau of Reclamation, Denver, CO. 87 pp. plus Appendixes A-F.
- MTNHP [Montana Natural Heritage Program]. 2002b. List of ecological communities for Montana. Montana Natural Heritage Program, Montana State Library, Helena, MT.
- Mattson, D. J. 1984. Classification and environmental relationships of wetland vegetation in central Yellowstone National Park. Unpublished thesis, University of Idaho, Moscow. 409 pp.
- Mueggler, W. F., and W. L. Stewart. 1980. Grassland and shrubland habitat types of western Montana. General Technical Report INT-66. USDA Forest Service, Intermountain Forest and Range Experiment Station, Ogden, UT. 154 pp.
- Western Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Boulder, CO.