Print Report
CEGL002047 Siltstone - Sandstone Rock Outcrop Sparse Vegetation
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Siltstone - Sandstone Rock Outcrop Sparse Vegetation
Colloquial Name: Siltstone - Sandstone Rock Outcrop
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: This siltstone - sandstone rock outcrop sparsely vegetated community is found in the central Great Plains. Stands occur on nearly level to moderately steep slopes on irregularly eroded sandstone and siltstone escarpments, ravines, and ridgecrests. Soils are poorly developed to absent, and consist of very shallow sandy loams or silty loams. Vegetation is sparse, with a mixture of short shrubs (<1 m tall) and mid and short grasses and forbs. In Nebraska, the short shrubs include widely scattered individuals of Rhus trilobata, though Ericameria parryi var. howardii or Cercocarpus montanus are common in some stands. Forbs are usually more abundant than grasses in sites where soil development is minimal. Eriogonum pauciflorum and Phlox hoodii are among the more abundant. Where a shallow layer of soil has developed, grasses include Bouteloua gracilis and Elymus lanceolatus.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: Concept of the type is taken from the Nebraska state classification - Rock Outcrop (Steinauer and Rolfsmeier 2000). It applies to outcroppings in the Cross Timbers-Chautauqua Hills area of southeast Kansas, and to those in extreme northwest Kansas adjacent to Colorado (and probably then to scattered occurrences elsewhere).
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: The vegetation is sparse, with a mixture of short shrubs (<1 m tall) and mid and short grasses and forbs. In Nebraska, the short shrubs include widely scattered individuals of Rhus trilobata, though Ericameria parryi var. howardii (= Chrysothamnus parryi ssp. howardii) or Cercocarpus montanus are common in some stands. Forbs are usually more abundant than grasses in sites where soil development is minimal. Eriogonum pauciflorum and Phlox hoodii are among the more abundant. Where a shallow layer of soil has developed, grasses include Bouteloua gracilis and Elymus lanceolatus. Other species present can include Arenaria hookeri, Astragalus laxmannii var. robustior, Astragalus spatulatus, Bouteloua curtipendula, Cryptantha cana, Gutierrezia sarothrae, Mentzelia decapetala, Muhlenbergia cuspidata, Muhlenbergia pungens, Paronychia depressa, Psoralidium lanceolatum, and Tetraneuris acaulis (Steinauer and Rolfsmeier 2000).
Dynamics: No Data Available
Environmental Description: Stands occur on nearly level to moderately steep slopes (less than 60% grade) on irregularly eroded sandstone and siltstone escarpments, ravines, and ridgecrests. Soils are poorly developed to absent, and consist of very shallow sandy loams or silty loams (Steinauer and Rolfsmeier 2000).
Geographic Range: This siltstone-clay rock outcrop sparsely vegetated community is found in the central Great Plains, particularly Nebraska.
Nations: US
States/Provinces: KS, NE, SD
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.689120
Confidence Level: Low
Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: G4?
Greasons: No Data Available
| Type | Name | Database Code | Classification Code |
|---|---|---|---|
| Class | 6 Open Rock Vegetation Class | C06 | 6 |
| Subclass | 6.B Temperate & Boreal Open Rock Vegetation Subclass | S04 | 6.B |
| Formation | 6.B.1 Temperate & Boreal Cliff, Scree & Other Rock Vegetation Formation | F034 | 6.B.1 |
| Division | 6.B.1.Na Eastern North American Temperate Cliff, Scree & Rock Vegetation Division | D051 | 6.B.1.Na |
| Macrogroup | 6.B.1.Na.2 Great Plains Cliff, Scree & Rock Vegetation Macrogroup | M116 | 6.B.1.Na.2 |
| Group | 6.B.1.Na.2.b Skunkbush Sumac / Blue Grama - Prickly-pear species Cliff, Scree & Rock Vegetation Group | G567 | 6.B.1.Na.2.b |
| Alliance | A3982 Great Plains Acidic Rock Outcrop Alliance | A3982 | 6.B.1.Na.2.b |
| Association | CEGL002047 Siltstone - Sandstone Rock Outcrop Sparse Vegetation | CEGL002047 | 6.B.1.Na.2.b |
Concept Lineage: This type was only tentatively defined for the Black Hills, but overlaps sufficiently with CEGL002047 to be treated as the same type
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: = Rock Outcrop (Steinauer and Rolfsmeier 2000)
= Siltstone - Sandstone Rock Outcrop Sparse Vegetation (Faber-Langendoen 2001)
= Siltstone - Sandstone Rock Outcrop Sparse Vegetation (Faber-Langendoen 2001)
- Faber-Langendoen, D., editor. 2001. Plant communities of the Midwest: Classification in an ecological context. Association for Biodiversity Information, Arlington, VA. 61 pp. plus appendix (705 pp.).
- Midwestern Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Minneapolis, MN.
- Rolfsmeier, S. B., and G. Steinauer. 2010. Terrestrial ecological systems and natural communities of Nebraska (Version IV - March 9, 2010). Nebraska Natural Heritage Program, Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. Lincoln, NE. 228 pp.
- Steinauer, G., and S. Rolfsmeier. 2000. Terrestrial natural communities of Nebraska. Unpublished report of the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. Lincoln, NE. 143 pp.
- TNC [The Nature Conservancy]. No date (b). NPS/BRD Vegetation Mapping Program: Classification of the vegetation of Scotts Bluff National Monument. The Nature Conservancy, Midwest Regional Office, Minneapolis, MN, and International Headquarters, Arlington, VA. 65 pp.