Print Report

CEGL001754 Bouteloua gracilis - Bouteloua curtipendula Grassland

Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available


Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Blue Grama - Sideoats Grama Grassland

Colloquial Name: Blue Grama - Sideoats Grama Shortgrass Prairie

Hierarchy Level:  Association

Type Concept: This grassland association is currently described from Washita Battlefield National Historic Site in Oklahoma. It is also reported from Colorado and New Mexico and possibly Texas. More survey and classification work are needed to fully characterize this type. This community occurs on convex upland ridge crests in sandy loam soils derived from sandy shale bedrock, as well as on shale outcrop mounds. These habitats are better drained then sandy loam on sideslopes, and retain moisture better than the loamy sands in adjacent areas. The shale mounds host the most diverse representations of this vegetation because, unlike the rounded ridgetops, these mounds were not used agriculturally. Restoration management has included prescribed burning. This vegetation is generally below a meter tall and cover varies from about 60% on the rounded ridges to only 30% on the shale mounds. Bouteloua gracilis dominates in both areas. Bouteloua curtipendula is a codominant to subdominant on the lower-diversity rounded crests, but it becomes sparse upward on the drier, exposed shale mounds. On the rounded crests, the remaining associates are mixed prairie species, such as Aristida purpurea, Schizachyrium scoparium, and Sporobolus spp. On the shale mounds the associates are more typical of rocky prairies, such as Mimosa borealis, Yucca glauca, Paronychia jamesii, and Scutellaria resinosa.

Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available

Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available

Classification Comments: This association needs to be compared with ~Bouteloua curtipendula - Bouteloua (eriopoda, gracilis) Grassland (CEGL002250)$$.

Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available

Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available

Floristics: No Data Available

Dynamics:  No Data Available

Environmental Description:  No Data Available

Geographic Range: This grassland association is currently described from Washita Battlefield National Historic Site in Oklahoma. It is also reported from Colorado and New Mexico and possibly Texas. More survey work is needed to fully document its global range.

Nations: MX?,US

States/Provinces:  CO, NM, OK, TX?




Confidence Level: Low - Poorly Documented

Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available

Grank: G5

Greasons: No Data Available


Concept Lineage: No Data Available

Predecessors: No Data Available

Obsolete Names: No Data Available

Obsolete Parents: No Data Available

Synonomy: No Data Available

Concept Author(s): Great Plains Program

Author of Description: R. Sanders

Acknowledgements: No Data Available

Version Date: 07-30-10

  • 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., 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.
  • Bruner, W. E. 1931. The vegetation of Oklahoma. Ecological Monographs 1:99-188.
  • CNHP [Colorado Natural Heritage Program]. 2006-2017. Tracked natural plant communities. Colorado Natural Heritage Program, Colorado State University, Fort Collins. [https://cnhp.colostate.edu/ourdata/trackinglist/plant_communities/]
  • Carpenter, R. J. 1935. Plant distribution on a central Oklahoma prairie. Proceedings of the Oklahoma Academy of Science 15:32.
  • Cogan, D. 2007a. Vegetation classification and mapping project report, Washita Battlefield National Historic Site. Natural Resource Technical Report NPS/SOPN/NRTR-2007/075. National Park Service, Southern Plains Inventory and Monitoring Network, Johnson City, TX. 128 pp.
  • Gardner, R. G. 1958. A vegetational analysis of the Phillips Agricultural Demonstration Project Ranch, Foraker, Oklahoma. Unpublished M.S. thesis. Texas A&M College, College Station.
  • Hoagland, B. 2000. The vegetation of Oklahoma: A classification for landscape mapping and conservation planning. The Southwestern Naturalist 45(4):385-420.
  • Hoisington, P. B. 1937. Aspection in a central Oklahoma tension zone area. Unpublished M.S. thesis, University of Oklahoma, Norman.
  • Muldavin, E., Y. Chauvin, P. Neville, T. Neville, L. Arnold, P. Arbetan, and A. Fettes. 2012b. A vegetation classification and map: Pecos National Historical Park. Natural Resource Technical Report NPS/SOPN/NRTR--2012/601. National Park Service, Fort Collins, CO.
  • Muldavin, E., Y. Chauvin, T. Neville, P. Arbetan, A. Fettes, A. Kennedy, and L. Arnold. 2011d. A vegetation classification and map: Capulin Volcano National Monument. Natural Resource Technical Report NPS/SOPN/NRTR--2011/461. National Park Service, Fort Collins, CO. 158 pp.
  • 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.
  • Pieper, R. D., J. R. Montoya, and V. L. Groce. 1971. Site characteristics on pinyon-juniper and blue grama ranges in south-central New Mexico. New Mexico State University Agricultural Experiment Station. Bulletin 573. Las Cruces, NM. 21 pp.
  • Rogers, C. M. 1953. The vegetation of the Mesa de Maya region of Colorado, New Mexico, and Oklahoma. Lloydia 16(4):257-290.
  • Sims, P. L., and D. D. Dwyer. 1965. Pattern of retrogression of native vegetation in north central Oklahoma. Journal of Range Management 18:20-25.
  • Smith, A. L. 1998a. Environmental and management effects on plant species composition within ecological sites of the Black Kettle National Grassland in western Oklahoma. Unpublished M.S. thesis, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater.
  • Western Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Boulder, CO.