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CEGL003495 Ericameria nauseosa / Bouteloua gracilis Shrub Grassland
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Rubber Rabbitbrush / Blue Grama Shrub Grassland
Colloquial Name: No Data Available
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: This shrub herbaceous association occurs on valley floors, swales and alluvial flats in the southern and central part of the Colorado Plateau, southern Rocky Mountains and western New Mexico mountains. Its presence generally indicates disturbance from grazing and/or recent flooding, and it may represent degraded forms of other grassland, shrubland or woodland communities. Stands occupy gentle to moderate slopes (2-13%) between 1635 and 2400 m (5360-7870 feet) elevation. Aspect does not affect the distribution of this association. Litter and bare soil cover most of the unvegetated surface. Parent materials are variable and include sandstones and shale that have eroded and been re-deposited as alluvium or windblown sediments (loess). Soils are well-drained and fine-sandy or silty in texture. Occasionally Juniperus monosperma or Pinus edulis seedlings, saplings, or mature individuals may be found in these grasslands, but shrubs are the most common woody vegetation. Total vegetation cover ranges from 10 to 65%, roughly equally divided between the shrub and herbaceous layers. The vegetation is characterized by an open short-shrub canopy of Ericameria nauseosa that ranges in cover from 5 to 25% and an understory dominated by Bouteloua gracilis that ranges in cover from 5 to 35%. Other shrubs may be present with very low cover, including Tetradymia canescens, Atriplex spp., Gutierrezia sarothrae, and Opuntia polyacantha. Associated graminoids present include the bunchgrasses Achnatherum hymenoides, Aristida purpurea, Pascopyrum smithii, Pleuraphis jamesii, Sporobolus airoides, Sporobolus cryptandrus, and Muhlenbergia pungens. Only scattered forbs are present but diversity can be high.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: Former CEGL001738 and CEGL001739 were lumped into this new association; separation of these two types by ssp. of Ericameria nauseosa was not supported by the data in Francis (1986).
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: Occasionally Juniperus monosperma or Pinus edulis seedlings, saplings, or mature individuals may be found in these grasslands, but shrubs are the most common woody vegetation. The total vegetation cover ranges from 10 to 65%, roughly equally divided between the shrub and herbaceous layers. The vegetation is characterized by a short-shrub canopy of Ericameria nauseosa that ranges in cover from 5 to 25% and an understory dominated by Bouteloua gracilis that ranges in cover from 5 to 35%. Other shrubs may be present with very low cover, including Tetradymia canescens, Atriplex canescens, Atriplex confertifolia, Gutierrezia sarothrae, and Opuntia polyacantha. Associated graminoids present include the bunchgrasses Achnatherum hymenoides, Aristida purpurea, Pascopyrum smithii, Sporobolus airoides, Sporobolus cryptandrus, and Muhlenbergia pungens. Only scattered forbs are present, such as Chaetopappa ericoides, Ipomopsis longiflora, and Senecio spartioides. Diversity can be high; 17 graminoids and 60 forbs were identified from this association at El Malpais National Monument in western New Mexico.
Dynamics: The presence of Ericameria nauseosa with significant cover indicates a grassland that has experienced long-term chronic disturbance such as grazing by domestic livestock. Stands at Walnut Canyon National Monument and Capitol Reef National Park are grazed, and some of the Walnut Canyon stands were chained to remove pinyon and juniper. Francis (1986) describes this association as seral to an Artemisia tridentata shrubland.
Environmental Description: This shrub herbaceous association occurs on valley floors, swales and alluvial flats in the central part of the Colorado Plateau, southern Rocky Mountains and western New Mexico mountains. Stands occupy gentle to moderate slopes (2-13%) between 1635 and 2400 m (5360-7870 feet) elevation. Aspect does not control the distribution of this association. Litter and bare soil cover most of the unvegetated surface. Parent materials are variable and include sandstones and shale that have eroded and been re-deposited as alluvium or windblown sediments. Soils are well-drained and fine-sandy or silty in texture.
Geographic Range: This association has been documented from widely scattered sites in southern Utah, northern Arizona, from the upper Rio Puerco watershed in northern New Mexico (Francis 1986), El Malpais National Monument in western New Mexico, Petrified Forest National Park in northeastern Arizona, in Utah, and is likely to occur across the central part of the Colorado Plateau.
Nations: US
States/Provinces: AZ, CO, NM, UT
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.689069
Confidence Level: High
Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: GNR
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.1 Yellow Rabbitbrush - Blackbrush / Indian Ricegrass Dry Shrubland & Grassland Macrogroup | M171 | 3.B.1.Ne.1 |
| Group | 3.B.1.Ne.1.d Yellow Rabbitbrush - Rubber Rabbitbrush - Winterfat Steppe & Shrubland Group | G310 | 3.B.1.Ne.1.d |
| Alliance | A3196 Rubber Rabbitbrush Steppe & Shrubland Alliance | A3196 | 3.B.1.Ne.1.d |
| Association | CEGL003495 Rubber Rabbitbrush / Blue Grama Shrub Grassland | CEGL003495 | 3.B.1.Ne.1.d |
Concept Lineage: combined into one new association; Separation of these two types by ssp. of Ericameria nauseosa was not supported by the data in Francis 1986.
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: > Chrysothamnus nauseosus ssp. bigelovii / Bouteloua gracilis - Agropyron smithii Phyto-edaphic Community (Francis 1986)
> Chrysothamnus nauseosus ssp. graveolens / Bouteloua gracilis - Agropyron smithii Phyto-edaphic Community (Francis 1986)
? Ericameria nauseosa / Bouteloua gracilis Shrub Herbaceous Vegetation (Muldavin 1987)
> Chrysothamnus nauseosus ssp. graveolens / Bouteloua gracilis - Agropyron smithii Phyto-edaphic Community (Francis 1986)
? Ericameria nauseosa / Bouteloua gracilis Shrub Herbaceous Vegetation (Muldavin 1987)
- Clark, D., M. Dela Cruz, T. Clark, J. Coles, S. Topp, A. Evenden, A. Wight, G. Wakefield, and J. Von Loh. 2009. Vegetation classification and mapping project report, Capitol Reef National Park. Natural Resource Report NPS/NCPN/NRTR--2009/187. National Park Service, Fort Collins, CO. 882 pp.
- Francis, R. E. 1986. Phyto-edaphic communities of the Upper Rio Puerco Watershed, New Mexico. Research Paper RM-272. USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station, Fort Collins, CO. 73 pp.
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- Muldavin, E. 1987. Gila Riparian Preserve Design. Unpublished report prepared for The Nature Conservancy, New Mexico Field Office by New Mexico Natural Heritage Program, Albuquerque.
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- Romme, W. H., K. D. Heil, J. M. Porter, and R. Fleming. 1993. Plant communities of Capitol Reef National Park, Utah. USDI National Park Service, Technical Report NPS/NAUCARE/NRTER-93/02. Cooperative Park Studies Unit, Northern Arizona University. 37 pp.
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- Western Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Boulder, CO.