Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Common Sotol / Curly-leaf Muhly Shrub Grassland

Colloquial Name: No Data Available

Hierarchy Level:  Association

Type Concept: On White Sands Missile Range, this is a major community of the San Andres Mountains, with the majority of known occurrences in the Rhodes Canyon area. This type generally occurs on moderately steep to very steep colluvial slopes at elevations from 1520 to 1770 m (5000-5800 feet). Substrates are generally limestone. Between the vegetation, ground surfaces are covered with rock and gravel with little exposed soil. Soils are shallow and well-drained, ranging in texture from silty clay loam to fine silty. This Chihuahuan Desert grassland is characterized by a grass layer dominated by Muhlenbergia setifolia, with Dasylirion wheeleri as a conspicuous and diagnostic shrub element. Shrub diversity is moderate (23 species) with Fouquieria splendens, Dalea formosa, Parthenium incanum, Opuntia phaeacantha, Gutierrezia sarothrae, and Viguiera stenoloba common associates. Bouteloua curtipendula and Eragrostis intermedia are typical associates and occasionally codominate. The forb layer is also moderately diverse (36 species). Artemisia ludoviciana, the most common associate, grows near or under shrub canopies. Conversely, Lesquerella purpurea, Polygala scoparioides, Astrolepis cochisensis, and Bahia absinthifolia are generally scattered and tend to grow in between the shrubs.

Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available

Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available

Classification Comments: Stands of the community are generally patchy. They are often bounded by rock outcrops of substantial size. Lower slopes generally give way to Chihuahuan Desert shrubland, such as ~Larrea tridentata / Bouteloua eriopoda Shrubland (CEGL001265)$$ or arroyo riparian PA (Muldavin et al. 2000b) or other desert grasslands, including ~Parthenium incanum / Bouteloua eriopoda Shrub Grassland (CEGL001734)$$ and Black Grama/Skeleton Goldeneye PA (Muldavin et al. 2000b). Areas upslope or on cooler aspects generally grade into Quercus turbinella or Cercocarpus montanus associations, or montane grassland (~Hesperostipa neomexicana - Bouteloua curtipendula Grassland (CEGL001709)$$ or ~Bouteloua eriopoda - Bouteloua hirsuta Grassland (CEGL001749)$$). This foothill grasslands carry fire well, often producing a fire hot enough to kill a substantial portion of the shrubs present. Fire may be partly responsible for the dominance of Muhlenbergia setifolia in these associations.

Similar NVC Types: No Data Available

note: No Data Available