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CEGL002208 Schizachyrium scoparium - Paspalum plicatulum - Sorghastrum nutans - Dichanthelium oligosanthes - Symphyotrichum pratense Alfisol Grassland
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Little Bluestem - Brownseed Crowngrass - Indiangrass - Heller''s Rosette Grass - Barrens Silky Aster Alfisol Grassland
Colloquial Name: Alfisol Coastal Prairie
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: This community occurs on Alfisols of the Lissie (Montgomery and Bentley) and Beaumont formations of the Upper and Lower Coastal Prairie and the Oakville Sandstone and Cook Mountain formations of the Fayette Prairie of southeastern Texas. The dominant and characteristic species include Schizachyrium scoparium var. scoparium, Paspalum plicatulum, Dichanthelium oligosanthes, Sorghastrum nutans, Aristida purpurascens, and Fimbristylis puberula.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: In the Fayette Prairie of Texas, this type occurs in a complex with ~Andropogon gerardii - Panicum virgatum - Schizachyrium scoparium - Schizachyrium tenerum - Helianthus mollis Grassland (CEGL007938)$$. In a sample of 13 upland coastal prairies, 9 on Vertisols and 4 on Alfisols, Diamond and Smeins (1984) did not recognize the prairie communities occurring on the two soil types as distinct. These communities are classified separately here because, even though these communities share many species including the dominant grasses Schizachyrium scoparium, Sorghastrum nutans, and Paspalum plicatulum, there are also species that appear to occur more frequently in one or the other type. For example, Paspalum setaceum, Symphyotrichum pratense, Coelorachis cylindrica, Mimosa microphylla, and Aristida purpurascens appear to occur more frequently on Alfisols, and Carex microdonta, Symphyotrichum ericoides, and Neptunia lutea appear to occur more frequently on Vertisols. In addition, landscape features associated with the different soil types, mima mounds on Alfisols and gilgai topography on Vertisols, support the separation of these types.
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: In addition to Schizachyrium scoparium var. scoparium, Paspalum plicatulum, Dichanthelium oligosanthes, Sorghastrum nutans, Aristida purpurascens, and Fimbristylis puberula, other characteristic species include Paspalum setaceum, Digitaria cognata, Coelorachis cylindrica, Andropogon gerardii, Symphyotrichum pratense (= Aster pratensis), Baptisia bracteata var. leucophaea (= Baptisia leucophaea), Baptisia sphaerocarpa, Mimosa microphylla (= Schrankia microphylla), Eryngium yuccifolium, Tridens strictus, Liatris pycnostachya, Sporobolus compositus (= Sporobolus asper), Liatris spp., Rhynchospora spp., Paspalum floridanum, Ambrosia psilostachya, and Tragia urticifolia. In some examples of this community, Gaura longiflora (= Gaura filiformis), Tephrosia onobrychoides, Lechea mucronata, Dalea multiflora, and Rudbeckia hirta are conspicuous on the mima mounds. Intermound areas are characterized by Rhynchospora caduca, Rhynchospora colorata, Andropogon glomeratus, Buchnera americana, Juncus marginatus, and Juncus brachycarpus, and in areas close to the Gulf, Spartina spartinae and Spartina patens are sometimes characteristic.
Dynamics: These grasslands are maintained by periodic fires and soil conditions generally inhospitable to the growth of trees and shrubs. In the absence of fire, this community is often invaded by Baccharis halimifolia and the woody exotics Triadica sebifera and Rosa bracteata. These species may also become predominant in prairies that are impacted by overgrazing, along with a host of increasers and exotic grasses such as Sporobolus indicus and Axonopus fissifolius.
Environmental Description: In general, Alfisols are characterized by coarser material in the upper soil layer and finer or clayey material in the subsoil layer often present in the form of argillic or kandic horizons. Alfisols are often characterized by the occurrence of low, circular mounds called mima or pimple mounds, which add local relief to an otherwise flat topography. On the Beaumont Formation of the Coastal Prairie, this community occurs on soils of the Edna and Aris soil series.
Geographic Range: This community occurs on Alfisols of the Beaumont and Lissie formations of the Coastal Prairie and the Fayette Prairie of southeastern Texas.
Nations: US
States/Provinces: TX
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.689931
Confidence Level: Moderate
Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: G1
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.Nb Central North American Grassland & Shrubland Division | D023 | 2.B.2.Nb |
| Macrogroup | 2.B.2.Nb.1 Big Bluestem - Indiangrass - Dense Blazingstar Tallgrass Prairie Macrogroup | M054 | 2.B.2.Nb.1 |
| Group | 2.B.2.Nb.1.a Little Bluestem - Prairie Bishop - Brownseed Crowngrass Tallgrass Prairie Group | G335 | 2.B.2.Nb.1.a |
| Alliance | A4059 Little Bluestem - Brownseed Crowngrass - Slender Little Bluestem Grassland Alliance | A4059 | 2.B.2.Nb.1.a |
| Association | CEGL002208 Little Bluestem - Brownseed Crowngrass - Indiangrass - Heller''s Rosette Grass - Barrens Silky Aster Alfisol Grassland | CEGL002208 | 2.B.2.Nb.1.a |
Concept Lineage: included
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: < Schizachyrium-Paspalum-Sorghastrum community type (Diamond and Smeins 1988)
< Schizachyrium-Paspalum-Sorghastrum community type (Diamond and Smeins 1985)
< Little bluestem-brownseed paspalum-Indiangrass type (Diamond and Smeins 1990)
< Lowland Community Type (Diamond and Smeins 1984)
< Schizachyrium-Paspalum-Sorghastrum community type (Diamond and Smeins 1985)
< Little bluestem-brownseed paspalum-Indiangrass type (Diamond and Smeins 1990)
< Lowland Community Type (Diamond and Smeins 1984)
- Diamond, D. D. 1993. Classification of the plant communities of Texas (series level). Unpublished document. Texas Natural Heritage Program, Austin. 25 pp.
- Diamond, D. D., and F. E. Smeins. 1984. Remnant grassland vegetation and ecological affinities of the Upper Coastal Prairie of Texas. The Southwestern Naturalist 29:321-334.
- Diamond, D. D., and F. E. Smeins. 1985. Composition, classification and species response patterns of remnant tallgrass prairies in Texas. The American Midland Naturalist 113:249-308.
- Diamond, D. D., and F. E. Smeins. 1988. Gradient analysis of remnant true and upper coastal prairie grasslands of North America. Canadian Journal of Botany 66:2152-2161.
- Diamond, D. D., and F. E. Smeins. 1990. The prairie--The native plant communities of the blackland prairie. Unpublished draft report. Texas Department of Parks and Wildlife, Austin, TX.
- NatureServe Ecology - Southeastern United States. No date. Unpublished data. NatureServe, Durham, NC.
- Southeastern Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Durham, NC.