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CEGL001749 Bouteloua eriopoda - Bouteloua hirsuta Grassland
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Black Grama - Hairy Grama Grassland
Colloquial Name: Black Grama - Hairy Grama Shortgrass Prairie
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: This association occurs on steep to moderate foothill and mountain slopes, and on gentle alluvial fan piedmonts (bajadas). Elevations range from 1400 to 1930 m (4580-6330 feet). Aspects are predominantly northerly with increasing southern aspect with increasing elevation. Substrates are variable and include rhyolite, granite or quartz monzonite, and limestones (less often sandstones). Soils are generally shallow and well-drained, with surface textures ranging from sandy loams to silty loams. This grassland is dominated by Bouteloua hirsuta with Bouteloua eriopoda as a codominant or subdominant associate. Shrubs are common but scattered and include Chihuahuan Desert species such as Yucca baccata, Yucca elata, and Dasylirion wheeleri.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: This association appears to be transitional between desert and plains grasslands. Further inventory work and data collection will clarify this. Stands in Oklahoma need to be compared to the stands from southern New Mexico. Similar associations include Bouteloua hirsuta / Dasylirion wheeleri, Bouteloua eriopoda - Bouteloua hirsuta / Yucca baccata, Bouteloua eriopoda - Bouteloua hirsuta / Yucca elata, and Bouteloua eriopoda - Bouteloua gracilis.
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: This is a diverse Chihuahuan Desert grassland dominated by the perennial bunchgrasses Bouteloua eriopoda and Bouteloua hirsuta. Total grass cover ranges from 10-70%. Among the 28 additional grasses recorded for the type, Bouteloua curtipendula, Bouteloua gracilis, and Bothriochloa barbinodis are the most abundant. Shrubs are a diverse and conspicuous element of these grasslands. Typically, they are represented by scattered rosetophyllous species such as Yucca elata, Yucca baccata, and Dasylirion wheeleri. Other important shrubs are Ephedra trifurca, Parthenium incanum and Fallugia paradoxa. On occasion, Prosopis glandulosa is an abundant invader along with the dwarf-shrub Gutierrezia sarothrae, and the succulent Cylindropuntia imbricata (= Opuntia imbricata) and Opuntia phaeacantha cacti. Forbs are diverse but variable. Among the 58 species recorded for the type Eriogonum wrightii, Zinnia grandiflora, and Artemisia ludoviciana are the most common. The perennial grass Eragrostis intermedia has invaded and dominates at least one stand of this association following grazing.
Dynamics: When this type is heavily invaded by desert shrubs, it may represent a desertified plains grassland.
Environmental Description: This association is found at elevations from 1395 to 1930 m (4580-6330 feet) and extends from upper bajada alluvial fan piedmonts to foothill and lower montane colluvial slopes. Soils are derived from rhyolite, granite, or limestone (less commonly sandstone) and have sandy to silty loam surface textures with significant gravel, cobble or rock in the profiles. Precipitation occurs predominantly during summer months (70%) and mostly as "monsoon" thunderstorms. Late spring and early summer are typically very dry as is late fall. Overall, summers are hot, and winters can have periods of cold weather with occasional snows.
Geographic Range: This association is found in southern and eastern New Mexico. It could potentially be found in western Texas and Oklahoma and northern Mexico.
Nations: MX?,US
States/Provinces: NM, OK?, TX?
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.687604
Confidence Level: Moderate
Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: G2
Greasons: No Data Available
| Type | Name | Database Code | Classification Code |
|---|---|---|---|
| Class | 3 Desert & Semi-Desert Class | C03 | 3 |
| Subclass | 3.A Warm Desert & Semi-Desert Woodland, Scrub & Grassland Subclass | S06 | 3.A |
| Formation | 3.A.2 Warm Desert & Semi-Desert Scrub & Grassland Formation | F015 | 3.A.2 |
| Division | 3.A.2.Na North American Warm Desert Scrub & Grassland Division | D039 | 3.A.2.Na |
| Macrogroup | 3.A.2.Na.3 Black Grama - Bullgrass - Tobosa Grass Chihuahuan Semi-Desert Grassland Macrogroup | M087 | 3.A.2.Na.3 |
| Group | 3.A.2.Na.3.a Black Grama - Chino Grama - Bush Muhly Semi-Desert Grassland Group | G490 | 3.A.2.Na.3.a |
| Alliance | A3205 Sotol species / Sideoats Grama - Curly-leaf Muhly Foothill Desert Grassland Alliance | A3205 | 3.A.2.Na.3.a |
| Association | CEGL001749 Black Grama - Hairy Grama Grassland | CEGL001749 | 3.A.2.Na.3.a |
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: = Bouteloua eriopoda - Bouteloua hirsuta PA (Muldavin et al. 1998a)
= Bouteloua eriopoda - Bouteloua hirsuta PA (Bourgeron et al. 1995a)
= Bouteloua eriopoda - Bouteloua hirsuta PA (Bourgeron et al. 1993b)
= Bouteloua eriopoda - Bouteloua hirsuta Plant Community (Shaw et al. 1989)
= Bouteloua hirsuta - Bouteloua eriopoda PA (Muldavin et al. 1994a)
= Bouteloua hirsuta - Bouteloua eriopoda PA (Muldavin and Mehlhop 1992)
= Hairy Grama-Black Grama PA (Muldavin et al. 2000b) [(Bouteloua hirsuta-Bouteloua eriopoda: BOUHIR-BOUERI)]
= Bouteloua eriopoda - Bouteloua hirsuta PA (Bourgeron et al. 1995a)
= Bouteloua eriopoda - Bouteloua hirsuta PA (Bourgeron et al. 1993b)
= Bouteloua eriopoda - Bouteloua hirsuta Plant Community (Shaw et al. 1989)
= Bouteloua hirsuta - Bouteloua eriopoda PA (Muldavin et al. 1994a)
= Bouteloua hirsuta - Bouteloua eriopoda PA (Muldavin and Mehlhop 1992)
= Hairy Grama-Black Grama PA (Muldavin et al. 2000b) [(Bouteloua hirsuta-Bouteloua eriopoda: BOUHIR-BOUERI)]
- Bourgeron, P. S., L. D. Engelking, H. C. Humphries, E. Muldavin, and W. H. Moir. 1993b. Assessing the conservation value of the Gray Ranch: Rarity, diversity and representativeness. Unpublished report prepared for The Nature Conservancy by the Western Heritage Task Force, Boulder, CO. (Volume I and II).
- Bourgeron, P. S., L. D. Engelking, H. C. Humphries, E. Muldavin, and W. H. Moir. 1995a. Assessing the conservation value of the Gray Ranch: Rarity, diversity and representativeness. Desert Plants 11(2-3):3-68.
- 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.
- Muldavin, E. 2001. Vegetation classification of New Mexico. New Mexico Natural Heritage Program, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque.
- Muldavin, E., P. Mehlhop, and E. DeBruin. 1994a. A survey of sensitive species and vegetation communities in the Organ Mountains of Fort Bliss. Volume III: Vegetation communities. Report prepared for Fort Bliss, Texas, by New Mexico Natural Heritage Program, Albuquerque.
- Muldavin, E., V. Archer, and P. Neville. 1998a. A vegetation map of the Borderlands Ecosystem Management Area. Final report submitted to USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Experiment Station, Flagstaff, AZ, by the New Mexico Natural Heritage Program, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM. 58 pp.
- Muldavin, E., Y. Chauvin, and G. Harper. 2000b. The vegetation of White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico: Volume I. Handbook of vegetation communities. Final report to Environmental Directorate, White Sands Missile Range. New Mexico Natural Heritage Program, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque. 195 pp. plus appendices
- Muldavin, E., and P. Mehlhop. 1992. A preliminary classification and test vegetation map for White Sands Missile Range and San Andreas National Wildlife Refuge, New Mexico. University of New Mexico, New Mexico Natural Heritage Program.
- NHNM [Natural Heritage New Mexico]. No date. Unpublished data on file. Natural Heritage New Mexico, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque.
- Shaw, R. B., S. L. Anderson, K. A. Schultz, and V. E. Diersing. 1989. Plant communities, ecological checklist, and species list for the U.S. Army Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site, Colorado. Colorado State University, Department of Range Science, Science Series No. 37, Fort Collins. 71 pp.
- Western Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Boulder, CO.