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G337 Cornus spp. - Prunus virginiana / Pascopyrum smithii Great Plains Riparian Wet Meadow & Shrubland Group
Type Concept Sentence: This group consists of shrub- and herbaceous-dominated stands along perennial or intermittent rivers in the Great Plains; a wide variety of shrub and herbaceous species can be dominant.
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Dogwood species - Chokecherry / Western Wheatgrass Great Plains Riparian Wet Meadow & Shrubland Group
Colloquial Name: Great Plains Riparian Wet Meadow & Shrubland
Hierarchy Level: Group
Type Concept: This group consists of shrub- and herbaceous-dominated stands along perennial or intermittent rivers in the Great Plains. This riparian group can be found throughout most of the Great Plains from the U.S. border in central Montana and North Dakota to Oklahoma. Sites are found on raised islands and terraces above the main channel that experience periodic flooding. Shrubs or herbaceous plants can dominate. Common species include Cornus drummondii, Cornus sericea, Symphoricarpos occidentalis, Prunus virginiana, Pascopyrum smithii, Schizachyrium scoparium (in the west and south), and the exotics Poa pratensis and Melilotus spp. Scattered trees may be present, and examples of this group may occur on a floodplain interspersed with ~Great Plains Cottonwood - Green Ash Floodplain Forest Group (G147)$$.
Diagnostic Characteristics: Shrubby or herbaceous riparian areas found above active channels in the Great Plains. Often these occur on terraces or islands.
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: Diagnostics to differentiate this group (G337) and ~Rocky Mountain-Great Basin Lowland-Foothill Riparian Shrubland Group (G526)$$ along the junction of the Great Plains and Rocky Mountain foothills need to be better established. The current list of associations assigned to this group does not extend south of Nebraska (with one very minor exception). There should be riparian shrub and herb associations in the southern Great Plains.
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: This group is composed of both deciduous shrublands and herbaceous vegetation. Sites can be dominated by short, medium, or tall shrubs (up to approximately 2-3 m) or can lack significant shrub cover and be dominated by mid or tall grasses. Vegetation cover is usually moderate to high, though it can be less, particularly in the drier, western portion of the range of this group or on sites that have experienced recent severe flooding.
Floristics: Dominants in this physiognomically and geographically wide-ranging group can vary substantially. Typical shrub dominants include Cornus drummondii, Cornus sericea, Amorpha fruticosa, Symphoricarpos occidentalis, Prunus virginiana, Artemisia cana ssp. cana (in the northwest portion of the range), Artemisia tridentata (in the northwest portion of the range), and the exotic Elaeagnus angustifolia. Common herbaceous species are Andropogon gerardii, Sporobolus cryptandrus, Pascopyrum smithii, Spartina pectinata, Sporobolus heterolepis, Schizachyrium scoparium, Hesperostipa spartea, Solidago canadensis, and the exotics Melilotus spp., Poa pratensis, and Bromus tectorum (in the western portion of the range).
Dynamics: Flooding and other hydrologic events strongly affect this group. Examples are typically found near enough to streams to be flooded at some point in the growing season but far enough away from larger streams that the flooding is not of a long duration. Fire can spread into stands of this group from surrounding upland prairies, particularly in the central and eastern Great Plains where fire is more common.
Environmental Description: Examples of this group are found on alluvial soils on terraces, raised islands, and banks near streams and rivers. Sites are typically flooded in the spring or after heavy rains but flooding is not of long duration. Sites are generally lower than much of the surrounding landscape, and this combined with proximity to watercourses makes these sites relatively mesic.
Geographic Range: This group is found in much of the Great Plains from the U.S.-Canadian border region to Oklahoma.
Nations: CA,US
States/Provinces: AB, CO, KS, MB, MT, ND, NE, OK, SD, SK, WY
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.857066
Confidence Level: Moderate
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: No Data Available
- Faber-Langendoen, D., J. Drake, S. Gawler, M. Hall, C. Josse, G. Kittel, S. Menard, C. Nordman, M. Pyne, M. Reid, L. Sneddon, K. Schulz, J. Teague, M. Russo, K. Snow, and P. Comer, editors. 2010-2019a. Divisions, Macrogroups and Groups for the Revised U.S. National Vegetation Classification. NatureServe, Arlington, VA. plus appendices. [in preparation]