Print Report
G281 Quercus turbinella - Ceanothus greggii - Arctostaphylos pungens Chaparral Group
Type Concept Sentence: This interior chaparral group is found across the southwestern U.S. from central New Mexico and southern Utah west to California and is characterized by a moderate to dense evergreen shrub layer dominated by sclerophyllous shrubs, especially Adenostoma sparsifolium, Arctostaphylos pungens, Ceanothus greggii, Cercocarpus montanus, Garrya wrightii, Mortonia utahensis, Quercus cornelius-mulleri, Quercus john-tuckeri, and Quercus turbinella, that occurs in foothills, xeric mountain slopes and canyons.
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Sonoran Scrub Oak - Desert Ceanothus - Mexican Manzanita Chaparral Group
Colloquial Name: Western Madrean Chaparral
Hierarchy Level: Group
Type Concept: This interior chaparral group is found across the southwestern U.S. from central New Mexico and southern Utah west to California. The moderate to dense evergreen shrub layer is dominated by sclerophyllous shrubs, especially Ceanothus greggii and Quercus turbinella. Other common shrubs from the eastern portion of its range (Arizona and New Mexico) include Arctostaphylos pringlei (higher elevations), Arctostaphylos pungens, Cercocarpus montanus, Garrya wrightii, Purshia stansburiana, Quercus toumeyi, and Rhus trilobata. In desert chaparral stands in the western extent Arctostaphylos patula (not dominant), Arctostaphylos glauca, Cercocarpus montanus var. glaber, Garrya flavescens, Juniperus californica, Nolina parryi, Quercus john-tuckeri, Quercus cornelius-mulleri, Quercus berberidifolia, and Rhus ovata characterize this shrubland. Scattered remnant pinyon and juniper trees may be present; however, in the western Mojave, Juniperus californica sometimes forms an open, shrubby tree layer with the evergreen oaks and other shrubs. Stands occur prominently across central Arizona (Mogollon Rim) and western New Mexico, south into mountains in the northwestern Chihuahuan region and Madrean Occidentale in northern Mexico, and north into extreme southwestern Utah and southern Nevada. It also occurs in mountains in the Sonora and western Mojave deserts, and extends from northeast Kern County, California, and south into Baja Norte, Mexico. Stands are found on foothills, xeric mountain slopes and canyons in hotter and drier habitats and often dominate along the mid-elevation transition zone between desert scrub and montane woodlands (1000-2200 m). Sites are often steep and rocky. Parent materials are varied and include basalt, diabases, gneiss, schist, shales, slates, sandstones and, more commonly, limestone and coarse-textured granitic substrates. Occasional desert scrub species may be present in drier, rockier, more open transition sites. Most chaparral species are fire-adapted, sprouting vigorously after burning or producing abundant fire-resistant seeds. Stands occurring within montane woodlands are seral and a result of recent fires.
The similar ~Eastern Madrean Chaparral Group (G280)$$ has floristics mostly derived from the Sierra Madre Oriental, whereas floristics of this group are derived from the Sierra Madre Occidentale. However, this group is not mattoral (thornscrub) as it is typically dominated by shrubby evergreen oaks and chaparral species, not thornscrub species. More survey is needed to determine if Quercus turbinella, common in this group, also codominates in ~Eastern Madrean Chaparral Group (G280)$$.
The similar ~Eastern Madrean Chaparral Group (G280)$$ has floristics mostly derived from the Sierra Madre Oriental, whereas floristics of this group are derived from the Sierra Madre Occidentale. However, this group is not mattoral (thornscrub) as it is typically dominated by shrubby evergreen oaks and chaparral species, not thornscrub species. More survey is needed to determine if Quercus turbinella, common in this group, also codominates in ~Eastern Madrean Chaparral Group (G280)$$.
Diagnostic Characteristics: This upland shrubland is characterized by Sierra Madre Occidentale evergreen sclerophyllous indicator species that may be present to dominant. These diagnostic species include evergreen shrubby oaks such as Quercus turbinella, Quercus toumeyi and, in western Mojave stands, Quercus cornelius-mulleri and Quercus john-tuckeri, as well as many other diagnostic species, including Arctostaphylos glauca, Arctostaphylos pringlei, Cercocarpus montanus var. glaber, Cercocarpus montanus var. paucidentatus, Ceanothus greggii, Garrya flavescens, Garrya wrightii, and Rhus ovata. Additional characteristic species include Arctostaphylos patula, Juniperus californica, Nolina parryi, and Rhus trilobata.
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: The similar ~Eastern Madrean Chaparral Group (G280)$$ has floristics mostly derived from the Sierra Madre Oriental, whereas floristics of this group are derived from the Sierra Madre Occidentale. For now, this group includes warm-desert interior chaparrals found in the western Mojave and western Sonoran regions of southern California, but review may suggest splitting it into two groups. Relatively little is known of the "Mogollon Rim" or "Arizona" chaparral types (Carmichael et al. 1978, Brown 1982), so that it''s hard to ascertain the floristic patterns adequately. While the main oaks are different in California, the important associated species are more widely distributed, from California east into New Mexico.
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: This upland shrubland is typically dominated by a moderate to dense evergreen sclerophyllous shrub canopy usually less than 3 m tall. Herbaceous layers may be present and are typically dominated by perennial graminoids.
Floristics: The vegetation is characterized by a moderate to dense evergreen shrub layer dominated by sclerophyllous shrubs such as Quercus turbinella and Ceanothus greggii. Other common shrubs from the eastern portion of its range (Arizona and New Mexico) include Cercocarpus montanus var. paucidentatus, Garrya wrightii, Purshia stansburiana, Quercus toumeyi, Rhus trilobata with Arctostaphylos pringlei and Arctostaphylos pungens at higher elevations. In desert chaparral stands in the western extent, Adenostoma sparsifolium, Arctostaphylos glauca, Cercocarpus montanus var. glaber (= Cercocarpus betuloides), Fremontodendron californicum, Garrya flavescens, Juniperus californica, Quercus berberidifolia, Quercus cornelius-mulleri, Quercus john-tuckeri, Rhus virens var. choriophylla, and Rhus ovata characterize this shrubland. Scattered remnant pinyon and juniper trees may be present; however, in the western Mojave, Juniperus californica sometimes forms an open, shrubby tree layer over the evergreen oaks and other shrubs. Occasional desert scrub species may be present in drier, rockier, more open transition sites. The herbaceous layer is generally composed of grasses, such as Bouteloua curtipendula, Bouteloua hirsuta, Bothriochloa barbinodis, Eragrostis intermedia, Lycurus phleoides, Muhlenbergia emersleyi, Muhlenbergia pauciflora, and several species of Aristida, which are largely restricted to rocky, protected areas because of past heavy livestock grazing (Brown 1982a).
Dynamics: Many of the communities in this group are dominated by fire-adapted shrubs. Quercus cornelius-mulleri sprouts vigorously from root crowns after fire. Since Quercus cornelius-mulleri chaparral occurs in areas of lower rainfall and sparser vegetation cover, it typically has less frequent fire and slower recovery rates than typical cismontane chaparral types elsewhere in California. Quercus turbinella in Arizona and New Mexico is a fire-type; it sprouts vigorously from the root crown and rhizomes. Typical fire intervals in Arizona exceed 74 years (Reid et al. 1999, Tirmenstein 1999d). Plants in the New York Mountains of California are treelike, suggesting that fires have been absent for perhaps greater than 100 years. Instead, flooding has initiated stem breakage and sprouting of some canyon bottom stands.
Environmental Description: Stands are found on foothills, xeric mountain slopes and canyons in hotter and drier habitats and often dominate along the mid-elevation (1000-2200 m) transition zone between desert scrub and montane woodlands (encinal, pine-oak, and ponderosa pine). Sites are variable but often steep and rocky. Sometimes this group occurs in thickets along upper canyon watercourses and northerly upland slopes within the pinyon-juniper woodland zone. Climate: This is a group of warm semi-desert regions in the southwestern U.S. The climate is hot and may have a somewhat bi-modal precipitation regime with spring rains and warm-season monsoonal rains as well. Frosts occur in winter, and even sometime snows, which will melt rapidly. Soil/substrate/hydrology: Parent materials are varied and include basalt, diabases, gneiss, schist, shales, slates, sandstones and, more commonly, limestone and coarse-textured granitic substrates.
Geographic Range: This group occurs prominently across central Arizona (Mogollon Rim) and western New Mexico, south into mountains in the northwestern Chihuahuan region and Madrean Occidentale in northern Mexico. It also occurs in mountains in the Sonora and western Mojave deserts, extends from northeast Kern County, California, into Baja Norte, Mexico, and often dominates along the mid-elevation (1000-2200 m) transition zone between desert scrub and montane woodlands.
Nations: MX,US
States/Provinces: AZ, CA, MXBCN, MXCHH?, MXSON, NM, NV, TX, UT
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.833223
Confidence Level: Low
Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: GNR
Greasons: No Data Available
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: = "Arizona" Chaparral (Brown 1982a)
= Arizona Chaparral (503) (Shiflet 1994)
= Arizona Chaparral (503) (Shiflet 1994)
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