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CEGL001663 Pseudoroegneria spicata - Bouteloua curtipendula Grassland
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Bluebunch Wheatgrass - Sideoats Grama Grassland
Colloquial Name: Bluebunch Wheatgrass - Sideoats Grama Mixedgrass Prairie
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: This mixedgrass association ranges in size from small to large patches which are located on foothills and sideslopes along major drainages between the Tongue and Powder rivers of southeastern Montana. This type is considered a topo-edaphic climax because it occurs on moderate to steep (>45%) slopes the surfaces of which are strewn with large amounts of irregularly shaped, iron oxide porcelanite shale (scoria). The surface resulted from fires in contiguous coal beds (but the soils are conventional loams). The harsh sites of this type result in a unique depauperate community with the lowest total cover and graminoid cover of any southeastern Montana type inventoried by Hansen and Hoffman (1988). However, it still has greater cover and is more productive than those communities associated with bentonite deposits and acidic shales. Pseudoroegneria spicata is strongly dominant (canopy cover ranging from 40-60%) with Bouteloua curtipendula exhibiting less than one-fourth this value. Pascopyrum smithii and Schizachyrium scoparium are consistently present with cover less than 10%. Forbs are a minor component with Lygodesmia juncea, Echinacea angustifolia and Pediomelum argophyllum having the highest fidelity to the type.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: Pseudoroegneria spicata - Bouteloua curtipendula appears to be endemic to southeastern Montana, occurring between the Tongue and Powder rivers. Other portions of southeastern Montana and adjacent Wyoming would appear to have appropriate habitat (soils derived from scoria clinker) but lack populations of Bouteloua curtipendula or Pseudoroegneria spicata because they are at the extreme western and eastern extensions of their respective ranges and consequently sporadically distributed. There would seem to be some sites intermediate between ~Rhus trilobata / Pseudoroegneria spicata Shrub Grassland (CEGL001120)$$ and this type and for which it would be helpful to have an arbitrary cover cutoff value for Rhus trilobata for assigning stands to types. In the Rapid Ecological Assessment of the Northern Great Plains this type was recorded but once (Martin et al. 1998).
~Rhus trilobata / Pseudoroegneria spicata Shrub Grassland (CEGL001120)$$ differs from this community by having Rhus trilobata dominant or at least well represented. ~Pseudoroegneria spicata - Carex filifolia Grassland (CEGL001665)$$ differs from this association by lacking Bouteloua curtipendula and having Carex filifolia with at least 5% cover, though it may not be the dominant graminoid. ~Pseudoroegneria spicata - Bouteloua gracilis Grassland (CEGL001664)$$ of western Montana occurs for the most part west of the distribution of Bouteloua curtipendula and where Bouteloua gracilis is the undergrowth dominant.
~Rhus trilobata / Pseudoroegneria spicata Shrub Grassland (CEGL001120)$$ differs from this community by having Rhus trilobata dominant or at least well represented. ~Pseudoroegneria spicata - Carex filifolia Grassland (CEGL001665)$$ differs from this association by lacking Bouteloua curtipendula and having Carex filifolia with at least 5% cover, though it may not be the dominant graminoid. ~Pseudoroegneria spicata - Bouteloua gracilis Grassland (CEGL001664)$$ of western Montana occurs for the most part west of the distribution of Bouteloua curtipendula and where Bouteloua gracilis is the undergrowth dominant.
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: Pseudoroegneria spicata is strongly dominant (canopy cover ranging from 40-60%) with Bouteloua curtipendula exhibiting less than one-fourth this cover value. Pascopyrum smithii (= Agropyron smithii) and Schizachyrium scoparium are consistently present with cover less than 10%. Forbs are a minor component with Lygodesmia juncea, Echinacea angustifolia and Pediomelum argophyllum (= Psoralea argophylla) having the highest fidelity to the type. The shrubs (subshrubs) Rhus trilobata, Gutierrezia sarothrae and Artemisia frigida are consistently present with low coverage values (less than 5%).
Dynamics: Given the low cover and patchiness of this type, fires probably burned in a mosaic fashion with reduced intensity. Pronghorn antelope use these sites for grazing and predator detection.
Environmental Description: This type occurs as small to large patches located on foothills and sideslopes along major drainages between the Tongue and Powder rivers of southeastern Montana; known elevations range between 945 and 1160 m (3100-3800 feet). This type is considered a topoedaphic climax by Hansen and Hoffman (1988) because it occurs on moderate to steep (>45%) slopes, the surfaces of which are strewn with large amounts of irregularly shaped, iron oxide porcelanite shale (scoria) that has resulted from ancient fires in contiguous coal beds. The soils are conventional loams but shallow and excessively drained.
Geographic Range: This association has been recorded for only southeastern Montana, though appropriate habitat ostensibly occurs in northeastern Wyoming and westernmost North Dakota.
Nations: US
States/Provinces: MT, ND, WY?
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.689936
Confidence Level: Moderate
Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: G3
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.2 Needle-and-Thread - Western Wheatgrass - Plains Rough Fescue Grassland Macrogroup | M051 | 2.B.2.Nb.2 |
| Group | 2.B.2.Nb.2.b Needle-and-Thread - Blue Grama Dry Mixedgrass Prairie Group | G331 | 2.B.2.Nb.2.b |
| Alliance | A4032 Bluebunch Wheatgrass - Western Wheatgrass - Needle-and-Thread Grassland Alliance | A4032 | 2.B.2.Nb.2.b |
| Association | CEGL001663 Bluebunch Wheatgrass - Sideoats Grama Grassland | CEGL001663 | 2.B.2.Nb.2.b |
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: = Agropyron spicatum - Bouteloua curtipendula Habitat Type (Hansen and Hoffman 1988)
= Pseudoroegneria spicata - Bouteloua curtipendula Herbaceous Vegetation (Faber-Langendoen 2001)
= Pseudoroegneria spicata - Bouteloua curtipendula Herbaceous Vegetation (Faber-Langendoen 2001)
- 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.
- 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.).
- Hansen, P. L. 1985. An ecological study of the vegetation of the Grand River/Cedar River, Sioux, and Ashland districts of the Custer National Forest. Unpublished dissertation, South Dakota State University. 257 pp.
- Hansen, P. L., and G. R. Hoffman. 1988. The vegetation of the Grand River/Cedar River, Sioux, and Ashland districts of the Custer National Forest: A habitat type classification. General Technical Report RM-157. USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station, Fort Collins, CO. 68 pp.
- MTNHP [Montana Natural Heritage Program]. 2002b. List of ecological communities for Montana. Montana Natural Heritage Program, Montana State Library, Helena, MT.
- Martin, B., S. Cooper, B. Heidel, T. Hildebrand, G. Jones, D. Lenz, and P. Lesica. 1998. Natural community inventory within landscapes in the Northern Great Plains Steppe Ecoregion of the United States. A report to the Natural Resource Conservation Service, Northern Plains Regional Office. The Nature Conservancy, Helena, MT. 211 pp.
- Western Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Boulder, CO.