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CEGL002251 Schizachyrium scoparium - Bouteloua curtipendula - Rudbeckia missouriensis - Mentzelia oligosperma Wooded Grassland
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Little Bluestem - Sideoats Grama - Missouri Orange Coneflower - Plains Mentzelia Wooded Grassland
Colloquial Name: Ozark Limestone Glade
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: This little bluestem limestone glade community is found in the Ozarks region of the south-central United States, primarily and characteristically on the Springfield Plateau of Arkansas and Missouri, and in adjacent Kansas. Stands occur on moderate to steep slopes of dissected hills, steep valley slopes above large rivers and streams. Aspect is typically southern and western. Soils are very rapidly drained (seasonally saturated in winter and spring) and shallow (0-40 cm). The parent material is limestone bedrock. The vegetation is dominated by medium-tall grasses and forbs, occasionally with stunted trees and shrubs. Stands are dominated by the grasses Schizachyrium scoparium and Bouteloua curtipendula. Typical forbs and ferns include Rudbeckia missouriensis, Draba reptans, Draba cuneifolia, Heliotropium tenellum, Isoetes butleri, Ophioglossum engelmannii, Psoralidium tenuiflorum, Sedum pulchellum, Glandularia canadensis, Agalinis aspera, Mentzelia oligosperma, Physalis pumila, Chamaesyce missurica, Astragalus distortus, Erysimum capitatum, Castilleja purpurea, Lesquerella filiformis (endemic to the Ozarks), Phemeranthus parviflorus, Thelesperma filifolium var. filifolium, Nothocalais cuspidata, and lichens Protoparmeliopsis muralis, Placidium lachneum, and Psora russellii.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: Comparison of this association with other limestone glades in the Southeast needs to be completed. One plot in the Buffalo National River (Arkansas) contains Quercus stellata, Quercus muehlenbergii, Cercis canadensis, Carya texana, Cotinus obovatus, Liatris squarrosa var. hirsuta, Dichanthelium linearifolium, Juniperus virginiana, Ulmus alata, Stenaria nigricans, Monarda bradburiana, Lithospermum canescens, Galium arkansanum, Celtis tenuifolia, Asclepias viridiflora, Mirabilis albida, Scutellaria parvula, Penstemon cobaea, and Limnodea arkansana.
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: The vegetation is dominated by medium-tall grasses and forbs, occasionally with stunted trees and shrubs. Stands are dominated by the grasses Schizachyrium scoparium and Bouteloua curtipendula. Typical forbs and ferns include Rudbeckia missouriensis (typically absent in Kansas stands), Draba reptans, Draba cuneifolia, Heliotropium tenellum, Isoetes butleri, Ophioglossum engelmannii, Psoralidium tenuiflorum (= Psoralea tenuiflora), Sedum pulchellum, Glandularia canadensis (= Verbena canadensis), Agalinis aspera (= Gerardia aspera), Mentzelia oligosperma, Physalis pumila, Chamaesyce missurica (= Euphorbia missurica), Astragalus distortus, Erysimum capitatum, Castilleja purpurea, Lesquerella filiformis (endemic to the Ozarks), Phemeranthus parviflorus (= Talinum parviflorum), Thelesperma filifolium var. filifolium (= Thelesperma trifidum), Nothocalais cuspidata (= Agoseris cuspidata), and lichens Protoparmeliopsis muralis (= Lecanora muralis), Placidium lachneum (= Dermatocarpon lachneum), and Psora russellii (Nelson 1985, Lauver et al. 1999). Other species (Nelson 2005) include, in deeper soil, Fimbristylis puberula, Carex meadii, Stenaria nigricans (= Hedyotis nigricans), Allium canadense (var. lavandulare), Silphium terebinthinaceum, Symphyotrichum sericeum (= Aster sericeus), and Delphinium carolinianum, and on shallow soils, Croton monanthogynus, Croton michauxii var. ellipticus (= Crotonopsis elliptica), Eleocharis compressa, Sporobolus vaginiflorus, Clinopodium arkansanum (= Calamintha arkansana), and Nostoc sp.
Dynamics: Dry summer conditions can lead to occasional fires. Seasonal winter and spring saturation can lead to frost heaving (Nelson 1985).
Environmental Description: Stands occur on moderate to steep slopes of dissected hills, steep valley slopes above large rivers and streams. Aspect is typically south and west. Soils are very rapidly drained (seasonally saturated in winter and spring) and shallow (0-40 cm). Texture may be clayey. The parent material is limestone bedrock (Burlington, Keokuk, Plattin-Kimmswick formations) interspersed with abundant rock fragments and often dissected by horizontal layers of exposed limestone bedrock (Nelson 1985). These strata may be of Ordovician, Mississippian, or Pennsylvanian age.
Geographic Range: This bluestem graminoid limestone glade community is found in the Ozarks of Missouri and southeastern Kansas in the United States.
Nations: US
States/Provinces: AR, KS, MO
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.689359
Confidence Level: Moderate
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.Nc Eastern North American Grassland & Shrubland Division | D024 | 2.B.2.Nc |
| Macrogroup | 2.B.2.Nc.3 Little Bluestem - Dropseed species Central Interior Calcareous Scrub & Grassland Macrogroup | M508 | 2.B.2.Nc.3 |
| Group | 2.B.2.Nc.3.b Little Bluestem - Sideoats Grama - Diamond-flowers Central Glade & Barrens Group | G179 | 2.B.2.Nc.3.b |
| Alliance | A1919 Eastern Red-cedar / Little Bluestem - Sideoats Grama Alkaline Bedrock Scrub Grassland Alliance | A1919 | 2.B.2.Nc.3.b |
| Association | CEGL002251 Little Bluestem - Sideoats Grama - Missouri Orange Coneflower - Plains Mentzelia Wooded Grassland | CEGL002251 | 2.B.2.Nc.3.b |
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: = Schizachyrium scoparium - Bouteloua curtipendula - Rudbeckia missouriensis - Mentzelia oligosperma Wooded Herbaceous Vegetation (Faber-Langendoen 2001)
= Limestone Glade (Nelson 1985)
< Xeric Limestone Prairie (Lawless et al. 2006)
= Limestone Glade (Nelson 1985)
< Xeric Limestone Prairie (Lawless et al. 2006)
- 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.).
- Hop, K., M. Pyne, T. Foti, S. Lubinski, R. White, and J. Dieck. 2012a. National Park Service vegetation inventory program: Buffalo National River, Arkansas. Natural Resource Report NPS/HTLN/NRR--2012/526. National Park Service, Fort Collins, CO. 340 pp.
- Lauver, C. L., K. Kindscher, D. Faber-Langendoen, and R. Schneider. 1999. A classification of the natural vegetation of Kansas. The Southwestern Naturalist 44:421-443.
- Lawless, P. J., J. M. Baskin, and C. C. Baskin. 2006. Xeric limestone prairies of eastern United States: Review and synthesis. The Botanical Review 72(3):235-272.
- Midwestern Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Minneapolis, MN.
- Nelson, P. 2010. The terrestrial natural communities of Missouri. Revised edition. Missouri Natural Areas Committee, Department of Natural Resources and the Department of Conservation, Jefferson City.
- Nelson, P. W. 1985. The terrestrial natural communities of Missouri. Missouri Natural Areas Committee, Jefferson City. 197 pp. Revised edition, 1987.