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CEGL002042 Distichlis spicata - (Hordeum jubatum, Poa arida, Sporobolus airoides) Wet Meadow

Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available

Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Saltgrass - (Foxtail Barley, Plains Bluegrass, Alkali Sacaton) Wet Meadow

Colloquial Name: Southern Great Plains Saline Meadow

Hierarchy Level:  Association

Type Concept: This saline wetland community is found in the central and southern Great Plains of the United States, on level to gently sloping stream terraces, foot slopes, and shallow depressions that are flooded for a few weeks in the spring. Soils are fine sand to clay, well to moderately poorly drained, and usually deep. The soils are moderately to strongly saline and tend to have alkaline pH. Dominant vegetation is halophytic short and mid grasses, which are moderately dense and tall on less saline sites and moderately sparse and shorter on more saline sites. Species diversity also increases on less saline sites. Distichlis spicata is typically one of the most abundant species. Iva annua, Hordeum jubatum, Poa arida, and Sporobolus airoides can be present to codominant. Other common species include Leptochloa fusca ssp. fascicularis, Pascopyrum smithii (especially on less saline sites), Suaeda calceoliformis, and Salicornia rubra. Low shrubs, notably Atriplex patula and Sarcobatus vermiculatus, may be scattered across this community.

Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available

Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available

Classification Comments: The Oklahoma association placed in synonymy here is common in central and western Oklahoma. Further details about this type are available in Steinauer and Rolfsmeier (2003). The type needs to be compared to ~Sporobolus airoides Southern Plains Wet Meadow (CEGL001685)$$, which occurs in the southwestern Plains, and to ~Sporobolus airoides Northern Plains Marsh (CEGL002274)$$, which occurs in the northwestern Great Plains.

Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available

Floristics: This community is dominated by halophytic short and mid grasses. The predominant vegetation is moderately dense and taller on less saline sites and moderately sparse and shorter on more saline sites. Species diversity also increases on less saline sites. Distichlis spicata is typically one of the most abundant species. Iva annua, Hordeum jubatum, Poa arida, and Sporobolus airoides can be present to codominant. Other common species include Leptochloa fusca ssp. fascicularis (= Leptochloa fascicularis), Pascopyrum smithii (especially on less saline sites), Suaeda calceoliformis, and Salicornia rubra. Low shrubs, notably Atriplex patula and Sarcobatus vermiculatus, may be scattered across this community. In Nebraska, stands are dominated by Distichlis spicata and Sporobolus airoides, with Carex praegracilis, Hordeum jubatum, and Poa arida frequent in more mesic areas. Forbs are scattered and include Atriplex subspicata, Symphyotrichum ciliatum (= Brachyactis ciliata), Rayjacksonia annua (= Machaeranthera annua), and Thelypodium integrifolium. Eurasian halophytes, such as Atriplex micrantha (= Atriplex heterosperma), Atriplex prostrata, Lepidium perfoliatum, and Puccinellia distans, may invade these sites, but they appear to pose little threat to the native species ("alkali graminoid zone" in Steinauer and Rolfsmeier 2000).

Dynamics:  No Data Available
Environmental Description:  This community is found on level to gently sloping stream terraces, foot slopes, and shallow depressions that are flooded for a few weeks in the spring (Steinauer 1989). Soils are fine sand to clay, well- to moderately poorly drained, and usually deep (Ungar 1967, Steinauer 1989). The soils are moderately to strongly saline and tend to have alkaline pH, in some cases as high as 9.5 (Johnston 1987, Steinauer and Rolfsmeier 2003).
Geographic Range: This saline wetland community is found in the central and southern Great Plains of the United States, ranging from western Nebraska to possibly Texas.

Nations: US

States/Provinces:  KS, NE, NM, OK, TX, WY


Confidence Level: Low - Poorly Documented

Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: G3

Greasons: No Data Available
Type Name Database Code Classification Code
Class 2 Shrub & Herb Vegetation Class C02 2
Subclass 2.C Shrub & Herb Wetland Subclass S44 2.C
Formation 2.C.5 Salt Marsh Formation F035 2.C.5
Division 2.C.5.Na North American Great Plains Saline Marsh Division D033 2.C.5.Na
Macrogroup 2.C.5.Na.1 Great Plains Saline Wet Meadow & Marsh Macrogroup M077 2.C.5.Na.1
Group 2.C.5.Na.1.a Saltgrass - Foxtail Barley - Western Wheatgrass Great Plains Saline Wet Meadow & Marsh Group G324 2.C.5.Na.1.a
Alliance A1341 Saltgrass - Foxtail Barley Wet Meadow Alliance A1341 2.C.5.Na.1.a
Association CEGL002042 Saltgrass - (Foxtail Barley, Plains Bluegrass, Alkali Sacaton) Wet Meadow CEGL002042 2.C.5.Na.1.a
Concept Lineage: No Data Available

Predecessors: No Data Available

Obsolete Names: No Data Available

Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: = Distichlis spicata - (Hordeum jubatum, Poa arida, Sporobolus airoides) Herbaceous Vegetation (Faber-Langendoen 2001)
>< Distichlis spicata / Elytrigia smithii - Sporobolus airoides Plant Association (Johnston 1987)
= Distichlis-Hordeum-Iva Community (Ungar 1967)
>< Alkali Sacaton Prairie (Küchler 1974) [Küchler''s type is restricted to southwestern Kansas and appears to include less saline communities than ~Distichlis spicata - (Hordeum jubatum, Poa arida, Sporobolus airoides) Wet Meadow (CEGL002042)$$.]
> Alkaline stream bottom (Rolfsmeier 1996)
> Ephemeral saline wetland (Rolfsmeier 1993b)
> Lowland saline prairie (Rolfsmeier 1993b)
> Upland saline prairie (Rolfsmeier 1993b)
Concept Author(s): D. Faber-Langendoen (2001)

Author of Description: J. Drake

Acknowledgements: No Data Available

Version Date: 05-20-96
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  • Rolfsmeier, S. B. 1993b. Analyses of the natural vegetation at Kiowa Basin, Scotts Bluff County, Nebraska. Report to the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, Lincoln. 12 pp. plus map.
  • Rolfsmeier, S. B. 1996. A survey of the vegetation of clay pans and associated communities on the Oglala National Grasslands, Nebraska. Report to the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. 21 pp.
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  • Steinauer, G. 1989. Characterization of the natural communities of Nebraska. Appendix D, pages 103-114 in: M. Clausen, M. Fritz, and G. Steinauer. The Nebraska Natural Heritage Program, two year progress report. Unpublished document. Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, Natural Heritage Program, Lincoln, NE.
  • 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.
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  • Ungar, I. A. 1968. Species-soil relationships on the Great Salt Plains of northern Oklahoma. The American Midland Naturalist 80(2):392-407.
  • WNDD [Wyoming Natural Diversity Database]. No date. Unpublished data on file. Wyoming Natural Diversity Database, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY.