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CEGL005831 Arctostaphylos uva-ursi / Pseudoroegneria spicata Dwarf-shrubland
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Kinnikinnick / Bluebunch Wheatgrass Dwarf-shrubland
Colloquial Name: No Data Available
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: This is a minor, small-patch to linear type described from the east slope of the Rocky Mountain Front and is also found on very similar environments throughout the montane zone of southern Alberta. It is characteristic of relatively thin-soiled, well- to rapidly drained and exposed sites that are inferred to be moderately to highly wind-impacted (downslope Chinook winds). Sites are predominantly convex ridgelines with gentle to steep southerly exposures. The inventoried elevation range is from 1342 to 1875 m (4400-6150 feet), though based on reconnaissance information, it is known to span an even broader range. Arctostaphylos uva-ursi, with widely variable cover (10% to 75%), is dominant or codominant in the dwarf-shrub layer (height <50 cm); other consistently present shrubs of this layer are Juniperus horizontalis, Juniperus communis, Dasiphora fruticosa ssp. floribunda, and Rosa spp. Extremely browsed specimens of Amelanchier alnifolia are always present. Pseudoroegneria spicata dominates the herb layer, though its cover is also highly variable (averages about 30%). The only other graminoids having a presence in half the stands are Festuca campestris and Festuca idahoensis; their cover generally does not exceed 5%. The forbs with highest constancy include Galium boreale, Achillea millefolium, Hedysarum sulphurescens, Campanula rotundifolia, and Anemone multifida; only rarely do any of the forbs attain as much as 5% cover, and the lifeform itself comprises less than 15% cover.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: This type has been defined based on a review of the field data of Achuff et al. (2002a) and Willoughby et al. (2001) (somewhat less than 40% of the 26 stands that defined his Pseudoroegneria - Carex obtusata community) and reallocating certain plots to this type and data collected in the course of inventorying Glacier-Waterton International Peace Park for a joint mapping project. The grasslands data accumulated by Jennifer Asebrook and fellow researchers also have plot information that substantiates this type.
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: Arctostaphylos uva-ursi, with widely variable cover (10 to 75%), is dominant or codominant in the dwarf-shrub layer (height <50 cm); other consistently present constituents of this layer are Juniperus horizontalis, Juniperus communis, Dasiphora fruticosa ssp. floribunda, and Rosa spp. Extremely browsed specimens of Amelanchier alnifolia are always present. Pseudoroegneria spicata dominates the herb layer, though its cover is also highly variable (averages about 30%). The only other graminoids having a presence in half the stands are Festuca campestris and Festuca idahoensis; their cover generally does not exceed 5%. The forbs with highest constancy include Galium boreale, Achillea millefolium, Hedysarum sulphurescens, Campanula rotundifolia, and Anemone multifida; only rarely do any of the forbs attain as much as 5% cover, and the lifeform itself comprises less than 15% cover.
Dynamics: Increased grazing pressure leads to a decline in Pseudoroegneria and associated Festuca spp. and allows low-growing forbs and Carex spp. to increase.
Environmental Description: This is a minor, small-patch to linear type described from the east slope of the Rocky Mountain Front. It is characteristic of relatively thin-soiled, well- to rapidly drained and exposed sites that are inferred to be moderately to highly wind-impacted (downslope Chinook winds). Sites are predominantly convex ridgelines with gentle to steep southerly exposures; it is also found on very similar environments throughout the montane zone of southern Alberta. The inventoried elevation range is from 1342 to 1875 m (4400-6150 feet) in Glacier National Park and quite similar in greater southwestern Alberta (1395-1848 m), though based on reconnaissance information, it is known to span an even broader range.
Geographic Range: This is a minor, small-patch to linear type described from the east slope of the Rocky Mountain Front of Montana and is also found on very similar environments throughout the montane zone of southern Alberta.
Nations: CA,US
States/Provinces: AB, MT
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.728767
Confidence Level: Low
Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: G2G3
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.c Rough Fescue - Idaho Fescue - Bluebunch Wheatgrass Central Rocky Mountain Foothill Grassland Group | G273 | 2.B.2.Nf.2.c |
| Alliance | A4095 Kinnikinnick / Fescue species - Bluebunch Wheatgrass Steppe Alliance | A4095 | 2.B.2.Nf.2.c |
| Association | CEGL005831 Kinnikinnick / Bluebunch Wheatgrass Dwarf-shrubland | CEGL005831 | 2.B.2.Nf.2.c |
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: >< Agropyron spicatum - Carex obtusata Community Type (Willoughby et al. 2001)
= Arctostaphylos uva-ursi / Pseudoroegneria spicata Dwarf-shrubland (Hop et al. 2007)
? Solidagini multiradiatae - Arctostaphyletum uva-ursi plant association (Damm 2001)
>< H27: Agropyron spicatum - Festuca scabrella Vegetation Type (Achuff et al. 2002)
>< H28: Festuca scabrella - Arctostaphylos uva-ursi Vegetation Type (Achuff et al. 2002)
= Arctostaphylos uva-ursi / Pseudoroegneria spicata Dwarf-shrubland (Hop et al. 2007)
? Solidagini multiradiatae - Arctostaphyletum uva-ursi plant association (Damm 2001)
>< H27: Agropyron spicatum - Festuca scabrella Vegetation Type (Achuff et al. 2002)
>< H28: Festuca scabrella - Arctostaphylos uva-ursi Vegetation Type (Achuff et al. 2002)
- Achuff, P. L., R. L. McNeil, M. L. Coleman, C. Wallis and C. Wershler. 2002. Ecological land classification of Waterton Lakes National Park, Alberta. Volume I: Integrated resource description. Parks Canada, Waterton Lakes National Park, Alberta. 226 pp.
- Allen, L. 2012-2013. Alberta Conservation Information Management System Ecological Community Tracking List. Alberta Tourism, Parks and Recreation, Edmonton, AB. [http://tpr.alberta.ca/parks/heritageinfocentre/default.aspx]
- Damm, C. 2001. A phytosociological study of Glacier National Park, Montana, U. S. A., with notes on the syntaxonomy of alpine vegetation in western North America. Dissertation from Georg - August University, Germany. 297 pp. plus appendices.
- 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.
- 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.
- Willoughby, M. G., M. J. Alexander, and K. M. Sundquist. 2001. Range plant community types and carrying capacity for the Montane Subregion of Alberta (fourth approximation). Alberta Environmental Protection, Edmonton. 194 pp.