Print Report
CEGL001655 Poa cusickii Moist Meadow
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Cusick''s Bluegrass Moist Meadow
Colloquial Name: No Data Available
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: This association has only been described from the southern edge of the East Cascades ecoregion in south-central Oregon. It tends to occur on relatively flat terrain characterized as inactive floodplains, terraces, and dry basins at moderate elevations of 1280 to 1830 m (4200-6000 feet). Soils are pumice alluvium with surface textures a silty loam to coarse sandy loam grading into gravelly pumice in the C horizon at 102-178 cm (40-70 inches) below the soil surface. This association contains a mixture of grasses with Poa cusickii usually dominating with cover from 27-45%. Codominants may include Elymus caninus, Koeleria macrantha, Muhlenbergia richardsonis, and Carex praegracilis. Common forbs include Achillea millefolium and Symphyotrichum campestre var. bloomeri.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: There was confusion over classification of the dominant and diagnostic Poa taxa in this association. Poa cusickii was reported as Poa fendleriana ssp. fendleriana, which does not occur in Oregon or Washington (Kartesz 1999). This association was renamed to match a then-current name of the diagnostic grass, Poa cusickii. Kovalchik (1987) refers to this association as Poa cusickii. The species occurs as a meadow type, described here, and as an understory associate in moist meadows growing with Artemisia cana. The sagebrush community is found farther south and east and appears to be more common.
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: This association contains a mixture of grasses with Poa cusickii usually dominating with cover from 27-45%. Codominants may include Elymus caninus (<15%), Koeleria macrantha (<15%), Muhlenbergia richardsonis (<15%), and Carex praegracilis (<15%). Common forbs include Achillea millefolium (<4%) and Symphyotrichum campestre var. bloomeri (= Aster campestris var. bloomeri) (<7%).
Dynamics: No Data Available
Environmental Description: It tends to occur on relatively flat terrain characterized as inactive floodplains, terraces, and dry basins at moderate elevations of 1280 to 1830 m (4200-6000 feet). Soils are pumice alluvium with surface textures a silty loam to coarse sandy loam grading into gravelly pumice in the C horizon at 102-178 cm (40-70 inches) below the soil surface.
Geographic Range: This community has only been described from the southern edge of the Eastern Cascades ecoregion in south-central Oregon. It occurs on the Chiloquin and Chemult districts of Winema National Forest and extends eastward to the western fringe of the Fremont National Forest. It is likely present in northwestern California in the Warner Mountains of Modoc National Forest.
Nations: US
States/Provinces: CA?, NV, OR, WA?
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.687369
Confidence Level: Low
Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: G2
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.3 Tufted Hairgrass - Licorice-root species - Mountain Muhly Subalpine-High Montane Mesic Meadow Macrogroup | M168 | 2.B.2.Nf.3 |
| Group | 2.B.2.Nf.3.b Greenleaf Fescue - Tufted Hairgrass - Licorice-root species Rocky Mountain-Vancouverian Grassland & Meadow Group | G271 | 2.B.2.Nf.3.b |
| Alliance | A4165 Sandberg Bluegrass - Mat Muhly - Douglas'' Sedge Moist Meadow Alliance | A4165 | 2.B.2.Nf.3.b |
| Association | CEGL001655 Cusick''s Bluegrass Moist Meadow | CEGL001655 | 2.B.2.Nf.3.b |
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: = Poa cusickii (Kovalchik 1987) [(p.90)]
= Poa cusickii Association (Crowe et al. 2004)
= Poa cusickii Association (Crowe et al. 2004)
- 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.
- Crowe, E. A., B. L. Kovalchik, and M. J. Kerr. 2004. Riparian and wetland vegetation of central and eastern Oregon. Oregon Natural Heritage Information Center, Institute for Natural Resources, Oregon State University, Portland. 473 pp. [http://oregonstate.edu/ornhic/ publications.html]
- Kagan, J. S., J. A. Christy, M. P. Murray, and J. A. Titus. 2004. Classification of native vegetation of Oregon. January 2004. Oregon Natural Heritage Information Center, Portland. 52 pp.
- Kartesz, J. T. 1999. A synonymized checklist and atlas with biological attributes for the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. First edition. In: J. T. Kartesz and C. A. Meacham. Synthesis of the North American Flora, Version 1.0. North Carolina Botanical Garden, Chapel Hill, NC.
- Kovalchik, B. L. 1987. Riparian zone associations - Deschutes, Ochoco, Fremont, and Winema national forests. Technical Paper 279-87. USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Region, Portland, OR. 171 pp.
- Western Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Boulder, CO.