Print Report
CEGL003826 Artemisia tridentata ssp. tridentata / Sporobolus cryptandrus Shrubland
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Basin Big Sagebrush / Sand Dropseed Shrubland
Colloquial Name: No Data Available
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: This shrubland association was sampled once in Canyonlands National Park in eastern Utah and occurs in an intermittent wash on a stream terrace at 1680 m elevation. The site is flat and has high cover of litter and moderate exposure of bare soil. Biological soil crusts have up to 25% cover, although they are usually not highly developed, and soils are rapidly drained silt loams derived from alluvium. Total vegetation cover sampled was 56%. Vegetation is characterized by an open shrub layer (<25% cover) of Artemisia tridentata ssp. tridentata with scattered Atriplex canescens and Ephedra viridis. The succulent Opuntia polyacantha var. erinacea contributes more than a third of the total cover. Herbaceous species have up to 15% cover; the most conspicuous species is Sporobolus cryptandrus (10% cover). Other herbaceous species include plants typical of sandy, somewhat alkaline areas: Achnatherum hymenoides, Hesperostipa comata, Abronia fragrans, Oenothera pallida, and Sphaeralcea parvifolia.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: No Data Available
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: Total vegetation cover sampled was 56%. Vegetation is characterized by an open shrub layer (<25% cover) of Artemisia tridentata ssp. tridentata with scattered Atriplex canescens and Ephedra viridis. The succulent Opuntia polyacantha var. erinacea (= Opuntia erinacea) contributes more than a third of the total cover. Herbaceous species have up to 15% cover; the most conspicuous species is Sporobolus cryptandrus (10% cover). Other herbaceous species include plants typical of sandy, somewhat alkaline areas: Achnatherum hymenoides, Hesperostipa comata, Abronia fragrans, Oenothera pallida, and Sphaeralcea parvifolia.
Dynamics: No Data Available
Environmental Description: This shrubland association was sampled once in Canyonlands National Park in eastern Utah and occurs in an intermittent wash on a stream terrace at 1680 m elevation. The site is flat and has high cover of litter and moderate exposure of bare soil. Biological soil crusts have up to 25% cover, although they are usually not highly developed, and soils are rapidly drained silt loams derived from alluvium.
Geographic Range: This basin big sagebrush shrubland is only know from one plot in Canyonlands National Park in eastern Utah. It is likely more widespread in eastern Utah on undisturbed stream terraces.
Nations: US
States/Provinces: UT
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.793474
Confidence Level: Low - Poorly Documented
Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: GNR
Greasons: No Data Available
| Type | Name | Database Code | Classification Code |
|---|---|---|---|
| Class | 3 Desert & Semi-Desert Class | C03 | 3 |
| Subclass | 3.B Cool Semi-Desert Scrub & Grassland Subclass | S11 | 3.B |
| Formation | 3.B.1 Cool Semi-Desert Scrub & Grassland Formation | F033 | 3.B.1 |
| Division | 3.B.1.Ne Western North American Cool Semi-Desert Scrub & Grassland Division | D040 | 3.B.1.Ne |
| Macrogroup | 3.B.1.Ne.3 Big Sagebrush - Threetip Sagebrush - Antelope Bitterbrush Steppe & Shrubland Macrogroup | M169 | 3.B.1.Ne.3 |
| Group | 3.B.1.Ne.3.a Wyoming Big Sagebrush - Basin Big Sagebrush Steppe & Shrubland Group | G303 | 3.B.1.Ne.3.a |
| Alliance | A3194 Basin Big Sagebrush - Foothill Big Sagebrush Dry Steppe & Shrubland Alliance | A3194 | 3.B.1.Ne.3.a |
| Association | CEGL003826 Basin Big Sagebrush / Sand Dropseed Shrubland | CEGL003826 | 3.B.1.Ne.3.a |
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: ? Artemisia tridentata / Sporobolus cryptandrus - Oryzopsis hymenoides Plant Community (Francis 1986) [Subspecies of sagebrush is not specified, but site is alluvial flat and could be Artemisia tridentata ssp. tridentata. Sporobolus cryptandrus dominates the herbaceous cover.]
= Artemisia tridentata ssp. tridentata / Sporobolus cryptandrus Shrubland (Tendick et al. 2012)
= Artemisia tridentata ssp. tridentata / Sporobolus cryptandrus Shrubland (Tendick et al. 2012)
- Francis, R. E. 1986. Phyto-edaphic communities of the Upper Rio Puerco Watershed, New Mexico. Research Paper RM-272. USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station, Fort Collins, CO. 73 pp.
- Tendick, A., J. Coles, K. Decker, M. Hall, J. Von Loh, T. Belote, A. Wight, G. Wakefield, and A. Evenden. 2012. Vegetation classification and mapping project report, Canyonlands National Park. Natural Resource Technical Report NPS/NCPN/NRTR--2012/577. National Park Service, Fort Collins, CO.
- Western Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Boulder, CO.