Print Report
CEGL003499 Dasiphora fruticosa Subalpine Wet Shrubland
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Shrubby-cinquefoil Subalpine Wet Shrubland
Colloquial Name: No Data Available
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: This alpine-subalpine dwarf-shrubland is described from the southern Rocky Mountains from New Mexico to northern Colorado, occurring in the high subalpine between 3460 and 3540 m (11,350-11,600 feet) elevation. Stands are found on moderate to steep (26-100%), rocky, sometime talus slopes near treeline. Soils are typically shallow and rocky. Exposed bedrock and large and small rock cover a significant amount of the ground surface. The vegetation is characterized by a moderately dense (30-60% cover) dwarf-shrub layer dominated by Dasiphora fruticosa ssp. floribunda, sometime with Ribes montigenum present. The stands may be located next to clusters of krummholz Picea engelmannii and Abies lasiocarpa var. lasiocarpa. Beneath the shrub layer is a diverse array of alpine forbs and graminoids that characterize this association, generally up to 30 different herbaceous species in each stand cumulatively covering 20-50%. The most abundant herbaceous species include Carex rupestris var. drummondiana, Carex elynoides, Calamagrostis purpurascens, Elymus scribneri, Festuca brachyphylla, Geum rossii var. turbinatum, Poa reflexa, Trifolium dasyphyllum, and Trisetum spicatum. The widespread species Deschampsia cespitosa is not a characteristic species in this association but may codominate some stands. The following additional species are characteristic with low coverage of <5%: Achillea millefolium var. occidentalis, Antennaria spp., Aquilegia coerulea, Arenaria fendleri var. fendleri, Artemisia arctica ssp. arctica, Campanula rotundifolia, Castilleja spp., Cirsium scopulorum, Heuchera parvifolia, Minuartia obtusiloba, Oreoxis alpina, Phlox spp., Poa alpina, Polygonum viviparum, Ranunculus spp., Rhodiola rhodantha, Saxifraga bronchialis, Silene acaulis var. subacaulescens, Solidago simplex var. nana, Tetraneuris acaulis, Tetraneuris grandiflora, and Tonestus pygmaeus.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: This upper treeline association may be similar to higher elevation stands of ~Dasiphora fruticosa / Deschampsia cespitosa Wet Shrubland (CEGL001107)$$, except this association is characterized by codominance of diagnostic alpine herbaceous species such as Carex rupestris var. drummondiana, Carex elynoides, Calamagrostis purpurascens, Festuca brachyphylla ssp. coloradensis, Geum rossii var. turbinatum, Poa reflexa, Trifolium dasyphyllum, and Trisetum spicatum. They are also associated with mesic/wet areas near snowbeds rather than riparian areas.
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: This plant association is dominated by a moderately dense dwarf-shrub layer of Dasiphora fruticosa ssp. floribunda that covers 30-60%, sometime with Ribes montigenum present. The stands may be located next to clusters of krummholz Picea engelmannii and Abies lasiocarpa var. lasiocarpa. Beneath the shrub layer is a diverse array of alpine forbs and graminoids that characterize this association, generally up to 30 different herbaceous species in each stand cumulatively covering 20-50%. The most abundant herbaceous species include Carex rupestris var. drummondiana, Carex elynoides, Calamagrostis purpurascens, Elymus scribneri, Festuca brachyphylla, Geum rossii var. turbinatum, Poa reflexa, Trifolium dasyphyllum, and Trisetum spicatum. The widespread species Deschampsia cespitosa is not a characteristic species in this association but may codominate some stands. The following additional species are characteristic with low coverage of <5%: Achillea millefolium var. occidentalis, Antennaria spp., Aquilegia coerulea, Arenaria fendleri var. fendleri, Artemisia arctica ssp. arctica, Campanula rotundifolia, Castilleja spp., Cirsium scopulorum, Heuchera parvifolia, Minuartia obtusiloba, Oreoxis alpina, Phlox spp., Poa alpina, Polygonum viviparum, Ranunculus spp., Rhodiola rhodantha, Saxifraga bronchialis, Silene acaulis var. subacaulescens, Solidago simplex var. nana, Tetraneuris acaulis, Tetraneuris grandiflora, and Tonestus pygmaeus.
Dynamics: No Data Available
Environmental Description: This alpine-subalpine dwarf-shrubland is described from the southern Rocky Mountains from New Mexico to northern Colorado, occurring in the high subalpine between 3460 and 3540 m (11,350-11,600 feet) elevation. Stands are found on moderate to steep (26-100%), rocky, sometime talus slopes near treeline. Soils are typically shallow and rocky. Exposed bedrock and large and small rock cover a significant amount of the ground surface.
Geographic Range: No Data Available
Nations: US
States/Provinces: CO, NM
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.734442
Confidence Level: Low
Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: GNR
Greasons: No Data Available
| Type | Name | Database Code | Classification Code |
|---|---|---|---|
| Class | 2 Shrub & Herb Vegetation Class | C02 | 2 |
| Subclass | 2.C Shrub & Herb Wetland Subclass | S44 | 2.C |
| Formation | 2.C.4 Temperate to Polar Freshwater Marsh, Wet Meadow & Shrubland Formation | F013 | 2.C.4 |
| Division | 2.C.4.Nb Western North American Temperate Freshwater Marsh, Wet Meadow & Shrubland Division | D031 | 2.C.4.Nb |
| Macrogroup | 2.C.4.Nb.5 Sitka Alder - Booth''s Willow / Northwest Territory Sedge Montane Marsh, Wet Meadow & Shrubland Macrogroup | M893 | 2.C.4.Nb.5 |
| Group | 2.C.4.Nb.5.c White Marsh-marigold - Black Alpine Sedge - Alpine Laurel Subalpine-Alpine Snowbed, Wet Meadow & Dwarf-shrubland Group | G520 | 2.C.4.Nb.5.c |
| Alliance | A0958 Shrubby-cinquefoil Wet Shrubland Alliance | A0958 | 2.C.4.Nb.5.c |
| Association | CEGL003499 Shrubby-cinquefoil Subalpine Wet Shrubland | CEGL003499 | 2.C.4.Nb.5.c |
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: = Dasiphora fruticosa ssp. floribunda Subalpine Shrubland (Salas et al. 2005)
= Potentilla fruticosa Community (Baker 1983a)
= Potentilla fruticosa Community (Baker 1983a)
- Baker, W. L. 1980a. Alpine vegetation of the Sangre De Cristo Mountains, New Mexico: Gradient analysis and classification. Unpublished thesis, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. 55 pp.
- Baker, W. L. 1983a. Alpine vegetation of Wheeler Peak, New Mexico, USA: Gradient analysis, classification, and biogeography. Arctic and Alpine Research 15(2):223-240.
- Salas, D. E., J. Stevens, K. Schulz, M. Artmann, B. Friesen, S. Blauer, E. W. Schweiger, and A. Valdez. 2010b. Vegetation classification and mapping project report: Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve. Natural Resource Report NPS/ROMN/NRR--2010/179. National Park Service, Fort Collins, CO.
- Salas, D., J. Stevens, and K. Schulz. 2005. USGS-NPS Vegetation Mapping Program: Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado. Technical Memorandum No. 8260-05-02. USDI Bureau of Reclamation, Denver, CO. 161 pp. plus Appendices A-L (733 pp.).
- Western Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Boulder, CO.