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G567 Rhus trilobata / Bouteloua gracilis - Opuntia spp. Great Plains Cliff, Scree & Rock Vegetation Group
Type Concept Sentence: This group is composed of cliffs, bluffs, and rock outcrops in the Great Plains from the U.S.-Canadian border area south to Texas where vascular vegetation cover is sparse or nonexistent.
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Skunkbush Sumac / Blue Grama - Prickly-pear species Cliff, Scree & Rock Vegetation Group
Colloquial Name: Great Plains Cliff, Scree & Rock Vegetation
Hierarchy Level: Group
Type Concept: This group is composed of cliffs, bluffs, and rock outcrops in the Great Plains from the U.S.-Canadian border area south to Texas. It is defined by having sparse vegetation and the abundance of exposed bedrock. The bedrock exposure can be vertical, sloping, or horizontal along rivers, at the tops of buttes, in dry canyons, or, rarely, large, low bedrock outcrops. The bedrock is usually sedimentary (sandstone, limestone, shale, gypsum, siltstone), but an area of quartzite outcrops in southwestern Minnesota is included in this group. Vegetation is generally sparse except where soil accumulates in pockets or ledges. Dominant species vary greatly depending on geology of the bedrock, climate, aspect, slope, and slope position. Common species are able to tolerate the dry to xeric conditions and poor soil development found in this group. These include Bouteloua eriopoda (in the southwest), Bouteloua gracilis, Cercocarpus montanus, Juniperus spp., Opuntia spp., and Rhus trilobata.
Diagnostic Characteristics: This group is characterized by sparse vegetation (generally less than 10% cover) on rock outcrops in the Great Plains.
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: The concept of this group is fairly distinct within the Great Plains though individual sites may have enough vegetation to be confused with dry prairie or dry woodland groups. At the edges of the distribution of this group, there could be confusion with the sparse vegetation bedrock groups in the East, i.e., ~Laurentian-Acadian-Great Lakes Cliff & Rock Vegetation Group (G839)$$, ~Appalachian Cliff & Rock Vegetation Group (G840)$$, ~Central Midwest-Interior Cliff & Rock Vegetation Group (G841)$$, and ~Southeast Coastal Plain Cliff & Rock Vegetation Group (G842)$$, and the West, i.e., ~Rocky Mountain Cliff, Scree & Rock Vegetation Group (G565)$$. Characteristics of this group may overlap with that of ~Comanchian Barrens & Glade Group (G598)$$, and review is needed to clarify the limits of the two concepts.
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: Examples of this group have sparse vegetation. The most abundant species at a site tend to be small trees, shrubs, or grasses but can be forbs in a few cases. Trees and shrubs are typically short, and mixedgrass species dominate the herbaceous stratum.
Floristics: This group has scattered vascular species found in cracks, depressions, or ledges in the bedrock where some soil can accumulate. Dominant species vary greatly depending on geology of the bedrock, climate, aspect, slope, and slope position. Common trees and shrubs are Juniperus monosperma (in the southwest), Juniperus scopulorum (in the west), Juniperus virginiana (in the east and north), Artemisia longifolia, Cercocarpus montanus, and Rhus trilobata. Common grasses include Bouteloua eriopoda (in the southwest), Bouteloua gracilis, Calamovilfa longifolia, and Schizachyrium scoparium. Forbs tend not to be as abundant as woody vegetation and grasses but are scattered. Eriogonum spp., Gutierrezia sarothrae, and Opuntia spp. are typical. Nonvascular species, especially lichens, can be very common on exposed rock.
Dynamics: Drought and erosion, both from wind and water, are important in maintaining sites in this group.
Environmental Description: Sites in this group have significant exposure of bedrock. The bedrock can be vertical, sloping, or horizontal along rivers, at the tops of buttes, in dry canyons, or, rarely, large, low bedrock outcrops. The bedrock is usually sedimentary (sandstone, limestone, shale, gypsum, siltstone), but an area of quartzite outcrops in southwestern Minnesota is included in this group. Soil development is usually limited to cracks, ledges, or depressions in the bedrock.
Geographic Range: This group is found in the Great Plains from near the U.S.-Canadian border south to northern Texas and from the Rocky Mountain foothills to southwestern Minnesota, eastern Kansas and possibly northwestern Iowa and Missouri. The granitic, igneous, and metamorphic formations in the Black Hills and nearby are not included in this group.
Nations: CA,US
States/Provinces: CO, IA?, KS, MB, MN, MO?, MT, ND, NE, NM, OK, SD, TX, WY
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.857191
Confidence Level: Moderate
Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: GNR
Greasons: No Data Available
| Type | Name | Database Code | Classification Code |
|---|---|---|---|
| Class | 6 Open Rock Vegetation Class | C06 | 6 |
| Subclass | 6.B Temperate & Boreal Open Rock Vegetation Subclass | S04 | 6.B |
| Formation | 6.B.1 Temperate & Boreal Cliff, Scree & Other Rock Vegetation Formation | F034 | 6.B.1 |
| Division | 6.B.1.Na Eastern North American Temperate Cliff, Scree & Rock Vegetation Division | D051 | 6.B.1.Na |
| Macrogroup | 6.B.1.Na.2 Great Plains Cliff, Scree & Rock Vegetation Macrogroup | M116 | 6.B.1.Na.2 |
| Group | 6.B.1.Na.2.b Skunkbush Sumac / Blue Grama - Prickly-pear species Cliff, Scree & Rock Vegetation Group | G567 | 6.B.1.Na.2.b |
| Alliance | A3980 Great Plains Alkaline Cliff Alliance | A3980 | 6.B.1.Na.2.b |
| Alliance | A3981 Great Plains Acidic Cliff Alliance | A3981 | 6.B.1.Na.2.b |
| Alliance | A3982 Great Plains Acidic Rock Outcrop Alliance | A3982 | 6.B.1.Na.2.b |
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: No Data Available
- Comer, P., D. Faber-Langendoen, R. Evans, S. Gawler, C. Josse, G. Kittel, S. Menard, C. Nordman, M. Pyne, M. Reid, M. Russo, K. Schulz, K. Snow, J. Teague, and R. White. 2003-present. Ecological systems of the United States: A working classification of U.S. terrestrial systems. NatureServe, Arlington, VA.
- 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]
- MNNHP [Minnesota Natural Heritage Program]. 1993. Minnesota''s native vegetation: A key to natural communities. Version 1.5. Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Natural Heritage Program, St. Paul, MN. 110 pp.