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CEGL002050 Eroding Great Plains Badlands Sparse Vegetation
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Eroding Great Plains Badlands Sparse Vegetation
Colloquial Name: Great Plains Eroding Badlands
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: This eroding slopes, badlands sparse vegetation type is found in the badlands formations of the western Great Plains of the United States and Canada. Badlands are produced by a combination of factors, including elevation, type of rainfall, carving action of streams, and a particular material. Badlands are basically a type of mature dissection with a finely textured drainage pattern and steep slopes. Eroding slopes form where the land lies well above its local base level. The land must also be easily erodible, or vegetation cover will stabilize the surface. An arid climate will also discourage vegetation growth and will tend to have infrequent, but torrential, rains with great eroding action. The soils in these eroding slopes are generally poorly consolidated clays with bands of sandstone or isolated conglomerates. The badland clays may be almost devoid of vegetation. Widely scattered individuals of Grindelia squarrosa, Gutierrezia sarothrae, or Eriogonum pauciflorum may be present. Eriogonum visheri, a spring annual, is a rare plant found primarily in badlands in the Dakotas. Astragalus barrii is another uncommon Great Plains species that is associated with these badlands habitats.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: This type is essentially devoid of any vegetation and is typically restricted to highly eroded slopes and badland walls. Areas in South Dakota where vegetation is still sparse and widely scattered, but is more consistently present, are classified as either ~Eriogonum pauciflorum - Gutierrezia sarothrae Badlands Sparse Vegetation (CEGL005270)$$, which occurs on flat, erosional outwash fans in the badlands, or ~Artemisia longifolia Badlands Sparse Vegetation (CEGL002195)$$.
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: The clay soils of the badland eroding slopes and walls are almost devoid of vegetation. Widely scattered individuals of Grindelia squarrosa, Gutierrezia sarothrae, or Eriogonum pauciflorum may be present. Eriogonum visheri, a spring annual, is a rare plant found primarily in badlands in the Dakotas. Astragalus barrii is another uncommon Great Plains species that is associated with these badlands habitats (Froiland 1990).
Dynamics: No Data Available
Environmental Description: Badlands eroding slopes are produced by a combination of factors, including elevation, type of rainfall, carving action of streams, and a particular material. Badlands are basically a type of mature dissection with a finely textured drainage pattern and steep slopes. They form where the land lies well above its local base level. The land must also be easily erodible, or vegetation cover will stabilize the surface. An arid climate will also discourage vegetation growth and will tend to have infrequent, but torrential, rains with great eroding action. In the Great Plains, the geologic formations where eroding slope are found include Cretaceous shales, Oligocene siltstones, sandstones, and clayey mudstones (Von Loh et al. 1999). The soils of the eroding slopes are generally poorly consolidated clays with bands of sandstone or isolated conglomerates (Froiland 1990).
Geographic Range: This badlands eroding slope type is found in the badlands formations of the western Great Plains of the United States and Canada.
Nations: CA?,US
States/Provinces: ND, NE, SD, SK?
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.687090
Confidence Level: Moderate
Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: G4G5
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.3 Great Plains Badlands Vegetation Macrogroup | M115 | 6.B.1.Na.3 |
| Group | 6.B.1.Na.3.a Greasewood / Few-flower Buckwheat - Broom Snakeweed Badlands Group | G566 | 6.B.1.Na.3.a |
| Alliance | A3979 Few-flower Buckwheat - Broom Snakeweed Badlands Alliance | A3979 | 6.B.1.Na.3.a |
| Association | CEGL002050 Eroding Great Plains Badlands Sparse Vegetation | CEGL002050 | 6.B.1.Na.3.a |
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: = Eroding Great Plains Badlands Sparse Vegetation (Faber-Langendoen 2001)
- 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.).
- Froiland, S. G. 1990. Natural history of the Black Hills and Badlands. The Center for Western Studies, Augustana College, Sioux Falls, SD. 224 pp.
- Frolik, A. L., and F. D. Keim. 1933. Native vegetation in the prairie hay district of north central Nebraska. Ecology 14:298-305.
- Judd, B. I. 1939. Plant succession on scoria buttes of North Dakota. Ecology 20(2):335-336.
- 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.
- Rolfsmeier, S. B., and G. Steinauer. 2010. Terrestrial ecological systems and natural communities of Nebraska (Version IV - March 9, 2010). Nebraska Natural Heritage Program, Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. Lincoln, NE. 228 pp.
- SDNHP [South Dakota Natural Heritage Program]. 2018. Unpublished data. South Dakota Natural Heritage Program, Pierre, SD.
- Steinauer, G., and S. Rolfsmeier. 2003. Terrestrial natural communities of Nebraska. (Version III - June 30, 2003). Nebraska Natural Heritage Program, Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, Lincoln. 163 pp.
- TNC [The Nature Conservancy]. No date (b). NPS/BRD Vegetation Mapping Program: Classification of the vegetation of Scotts Bluff National Monument. The Nature Conservancy, Midwest Regional Office, Minneapolis, MN, and International Headquarters, Arlington, VA. 65 pp.
- 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.
- Von Loh, J., D. Cogan, D. J. Butler, D. Faber-Langendoen, D. Crawford, and M. J. Pucherelli. 2000. USGS-NPS Vegetation Mapping Program, Theodore Roosevelt National Park, North Dakota. USDI Bureau of Reclamation, Denver, CO. 252 pp.