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CEGL001898 Festuca idahoensis - Carex filifolia Grassland
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Idaho Fescue - Threadleaf Sedge Grassland
Colloquial Name: No Data Available
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: This montane grassland association occurs in the mountains of western Montana and north-central Wyoming. Stands are found infrequently on gentle terrain (5-20% slope) in or near mountain saddles or on alluvial fans. Elevation ranges from 1280-2800 m (4200-9200 feet). Soils are rapidly drained and have coarse textures. The vegetation has a dense and diverse herbaceous layer codominated by medium-tall perennial graminoids and perennial forbs. The dominant species are Festuca idahoensis, Carex filifolia, Danthonia intermedia, Geum triflorum, Gentiana affinis, Antennaria rosea, and Achillea millefolium. The lack of Pseudoroegneria spicata, Pascopyrum smithii, or Elymus caninus as a codominant species makes this association distinct.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: This association should be compared to and possibly merged with ~Festuca idahoensis - Carex inops ssp. heliophila Grassland (CEGL001610)$$.
Somewhat similar communities of Festuca idahoensis / Lupinus sericeus (Hurd 1961) and Festuca idahoensis community (Despain 1973a) both have significant Carex obtusata but no mention of Carex filifolia.
Somewhat similar communities of Festuca idahoensis / Lupinus sericeus (Hurd 1961) and Festuca idahoensis community (Despain 1973a) both have significant Carex obtusata but no mention of Carex filifolia.
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: This herbaceous, montane, subxeric association is moderately high in species diversity and dominated by several grasses and forbs. The absence of a dominant Elymus or Pseudoroegneria (= Agropyron) species and the constant presence and high abundance of Carex filifolia, Danthonia intermedia, Lupinus sericeus, Geum triflorum, and Gentiana affinis with Festuca idahoensis delineate this type. Other common forbs include Selaginella densa, Antennaria parvifolia, Cerastium arvense, Erigeron caespitosus, Achillea millefolium, Artemisia frigida, Campanula rotundifolia, Heterotheca villosa, Musineon divaricatum, and Oxytropis sericea. Shrubs are typically absent, but Dasiphora fruticosa ssp. floribunda was observed in one stand.
Dynamics: Heavy grazing will reduce the abundance and vigor of the dominant graminoid species and cause less-palatable species to increase. Heavily grazed stands are the most difficult to correctly identify to which grassland association they belong(ed).
Environmental Description: This association occur on rolling gentle topography (5-20% slopes) in or near mountain saddles or fluvial fans from 1280-2800 m (4200-9200 feet) elevation. Soils are rapidly drained with coarse textures. Stands tend to have a high litter content. No environmental description is available from the Wyoming stands.
Geographic Range: These montane grasslands have been found in Waterton Lakes National Park, Alberta, in the Bull Mountains, Pioneer Mountains and Gravelly Range in southwestern Montana, and in the Bighorn Mountains in north-central Wyoming.
Nations: CA,US
States/Provinces: AB, MT, WY
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.690085
Confidence Level: Low
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.Nf Western North American Grassland & Shrubland Division | D022 | 2.B.2.Nf |
| Macrogroup | 2.B.2.Nf.2 Saskatoon Serviceberry / Idaho Fescue - Bluebunch Wheatgrass Grassland & Shrubland Macrogroup | M048 | 2.B.2.Nf.2 |
| Group | 2.B.2.Nf.2.a Downy Ryegrass - Idaho Fescue - Spike Fescue Grassland Group | G267 | 2.B.2.Nf.2.a |
| Alliance | A3966 Idaho Fescue - Pinegrass - Columbia Needlegrass Central Rocky Mountain Montane Mesic Grassland Alliance | A3966 | 2.B.2.Nf.2.a |
| Association | CEGL001898 Idaho Fescue - Threadleaf Sedge Grassland | CEGL001898 | 2.B.2.Nf.2.a |
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: = Festuca idahoensis/Carex filifolia Habitat Type (Mueggler and Stewart 1980)
- ANHIC [Alberta Natural Heritage Information Centre]. 2018. Community database files. Alberta Natural Heritage Information Centre, Parks and Protected Areas Division, Alberta Community Development, Edmonton.
- 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.
- Despain, D. G. 1973a. Vegetation of the Big Horn Mountains, Wyoming, in relation to substrate and climate. Ecological Monographs 43(3):329-354.
- Hansen, P. L., S. W. Chadde, and R. D. Pfister. 1988b. Riparian dominance types of Montana. University of Montana Miscellaneous Publication 49. Montana Forest and Conservation Experiment Station, Missoula. 411 pp.
- Hop, K., M. Reid, J. Dieck, S. Lubinski, and S. Cooper. 2007. U.S. Geological Survey-National Park Service Vegetation Mapping Program: Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park. U.S. Geological Survey, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center, La Crosse, WI. 131 pp. plus Appendices A-L.
- Hurd, R. M. 1961. Grassland vegetation in the Big Horn Mountains, Wyoming. Ecology 42(3):459-467.
- MTNHP [Montana Natural Heritage Program]. 2002b. List of ecological communities for Montana. Montana Natural Heritage Program, Montana State Library, Helena, MT.
- Mueggler, W. F., and W. L. Stewart. 1980. Grassland and shrubland habitat types of western Montana. General Technical Report INT-66. USDA Forest Service, Intermountain Forest and Range Experiment Station, Ogden, UT. 154 pp.
- Reid, M. S., S. V. Cooper, and G. Kittel. 2004. Vegetation classification of Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park. Final report for USGS-NPS Vegetation Mapping Program, International Peace Park Mapping Project. NatureServe, Arlington VA.
- Western Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Boulder, CO.