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CEGL001525 Artemisia pedatifida - Atriplex gardneri Shrubland
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Birdfoot Sagebrush - Gardner''s Saltbush Shrubland
Colloquial Name: No Data Available
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: This dwarf-shrub association is restricted to arid climatic regimes and poorly drained, fine-textured, alkaline substrates on alluvial fans and terraces, and less frequently on moderate slopes of outwash plains in the Big Horn Basin and Pryor mountains of Montana and in Wyoming. Elevation ranges from 1250-1525 m. Characteristic parent materials are somewhat saline, clay to silt-loam-textured alluvium that is derived from shales and claystone interbedded with lesser amounts of sandstone. This association typically has a moderately dense dwarf-shrub canopy (42% mean cover that is codominated by Artemisia pedatifida and Atriplex gardneri, sometimes with a sparse cover of Artemisia tridentata shrubs present. The herbaceous layer is relatively sparse (<25% cover) and is dominated by perennial graminoids with scattered forbs. Grasses with high consistency include Poa secunda, Pseudoroegneria spicata, and Pascopyrum smithii. Frequent forbs include Allium textile, Musineon divaricatum, Phlox hoodii, Platyschkuhria integrifolia, and occasionally denser cover of Vicia americana and the cactus Opuntia polyacantha. There are two other associations with similar dwarf-shrub canopies and habitats, but they have diagnostic graminoid layers of moderate cover of Pascopyrum smithii or Elymus elymoides.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: No Data Available
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: This association typically has a moderately dense dwarf-shrub canopy (42% mean cover that is codominated by Artemisia pedatifida and Atriplex gardneri, sometimes with a sparse cover of Artemisia tridentata shrubs present. The herbaceous layer is relatively sparse (<25% cover) and is dominated by perennial graminoids with scattered forbs. Grasses with high consistency include Poa secunda (= Poa juncifolia), Pseudoroegneria spicata, and Pascopyrum smithii. Frequent forbs include Allium textile, Musineon divaricatum, Phlox hoodii, Platyschkuhria integrifolia, and occasionally denser cover of Vicia americana and the cactus Opuntia polyacantha.
Dynamics: No Data Available
Environmental Description: This dwarf-shrub association is restricted to arid climatic regimes and poorly drained, fine-textured, alkaline substrates on alluvial fans and terraces, and less frequently on moderate slopes of outwash plains in the Big Horn Basin and Pryor mountains of Montana and in Wyoming. Elevation ranges from 1250-1525 m. Characteristic parent materials are somewhat saline, clay to silt-loam-textured alluvium that is derived from shales and claystone interbedded with lesser amounts of sandstone.
Geographic Range: This association is apparently coincident with the Bighorn Basin Section of the Intermountain Semi-Desert Province, restricted to arid climatic regimes, and salt-affected, fine-textured substrates. There are additional factors that control its distribution because these requirements alone do not differentiate a unique habitat, many communities occurring under such conditions.
Nations: US
States/Provinces: MT, WY
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.687131
Confidence Level: Low
Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: G3?
Greasons: No Data Available
| Type | Name | Database Code | Classification Code |
|---|---|---|---|
| Class | 3 Desert & Semi-Desert Class | C03 | 3 |
| Subclass | 3.B Cool Semi-Desert Scrub & Grassland Subclass | S11 | 3.B |
| Formation | 3.B.1 Cool Semi-Desert Scrub & Grassland Formation | F033 | 3.B.1 |
| Division | 3.B.1.Ne Western North American Cool Semi-Desert Scrub & Grassland Division | D040 | 3.B.1.Ne |
| Macrogroup | 3.B.1.Ne.5 Shadscale Saltbush - Fourwing Saltbush - Mat Saltbush Great Basin Scrub Macrogroup | M093 | 3.B.1.Ne.5 |
| Group | 3.B.1.Ne.5.a Mat Saltbush - Gardner''s Saltbush - Birdfoot Sagebrush Dwarf-Scrub Group | G301 | 3.B.1.Ne.5.a |
| Alliance | A1127 Birdfoot Sagebrush Low Scrub Alliance | A1127 | 3.B.1.Ne.5.a |
| Association | CEGL001525 Birdfoot Sagebrush - Gardner''s Saltbush Shrubland | CEGL001525 | 3.B.1.Ne.5.a |
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: = Artemisia pedatifida - Atriplex gardneri Sparse Dwarf-shrubland (Reid et al. 1994)
= Artemisia pedatifida - Atriplex nuttallii Community Type (DeVelice and Lesica 1993)
= Artemisia pedatifida - Atriplex nuttallii Community Type (Lesica and DeVelice 1992)
= Artemisia pedatifida - Atriplex nuttallii Community Type (DeVelice and Lesica 1993)
= Artemisia pedatifida - Atriplex nuttallii Community Type (Lesica and DeVelice 1992)
- 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.
- DeVelice, R. L., and P. Lesica. 1993. Plant community classification for vegetation on BLM lands, Pryor Mountains, Carbon County, Montana. Unpublished report by Montana Natural Heritage Program, Helena, MT. 78 pp.
- Lesica, P., and R. L. DeVelice. 1992. Plant communities of the Pryor Mountains. Preliminary report prepared by the Montana Natural Heritage Program, Helena, MT.
- MTNHP [Montana Natural Heritage Program]. 2002b. List of ecological communities for Montana. Montana Natural Heritage Program, Montana State Library, Helena, MT.
- Reid, M. S., L. S. Engelking, and P. S. Bourgeron. 1994. Rare plant communities of the conterminous United States, Western Region. Pages 305-620 in: D. H. Grossman, K. L. Goodin, and C. L. Reuss, editors. Rare plant communities of the conterminous United States, an initial survey. The Nature Conservancy, Arlington, VA.
- WNDD [Wyoming Natural Diversity Database]. No date. Unpublished data on file. Wyoming Natural Diversity Database, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY.
- Western Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Boulder, CO.