Print Report
C02 Mesomorphic Shrub & Herb Vegetation Class
Type Concept Sentence: Grasslands, shrublands, open tree savannas, marshes, bogs and fens dominated by broadly mesomorphic (including scleromorphic) shrub and herb growth forms (including broad-leaved, needle-leaved, and sclerophyllous shrubs, and forb and graminoid herbs) with an irregular horizontal canopy structure, mesomorphic trees typically <10% cover (but tropical tree savannas typically <40%), tropical to boreal and subalpine climates, and wet to dry substrate conditions.
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Mesomorphic Shrub & Herb Vegetation Class
Colloquial Name: Shrub & Herb Vegetation
Hierarchy Level: Class
Type Concept: Shrubs and herbs with broadly mesomorphic (including scleromorphic) growth forms (including broad-leaved, needle-leaved, and sclerophyllous shrubs, some types of rosette shrubs, and forb and graminoid herbs) dominate this type. Vegetation structure is typically moderately open to closed canopy, with irregular horizontal canopy spacing and variable height, but typically <5 m, and where mesomorphic trees have <10% cover and mesomorphic shrub and herb growth forms have the majority of cover compared to xeromorphic or cryomorphic growth forms. But in tropical upland savanna regions, trees may have up to 40% cover, are <8 m tall, and the vegetation has a substantial graminoid layer. Climates range from tropical humid to (seasonal) dry to boreal and subalpine, with fairly moderate moisture and temperature conditions. Substrate moisture conditions vary from dry to wet. Vegetation includes upland grasslands, shrublands, open tree savannas, wetland emergent marshes, bogs and fens.
Diagnostic Characteristics: Shrubs and herbs in non-tropical savanna regions are at least 10% cover, mesomorphic trees <10% cover, and the majority of cover is composed of mesomorphic shrub (broad-leaved, needle-leaved, sclerophyllous, and rosette shrubs) and herb (forbs and graminoids) growth forms compared to xeromorphic or cryomorphic shrub and herb growth forms. The vegetation structure has irregular horizontal canopy spacing. In tropical upland savanna regions, trees typically have up to 40% cover, are <8 m tall, and the vegetation has a substantial graminoid layer.
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: This class includes both non-treed grasslands and shrublands, and open tree savannas, where tree canopy cover is typically <10%. Non-tropical tree savannas, defined by a strong graminoid layer (>50% in UNESCO 1973) and some level of open tree cover (10-25% cover in UNESCO (1973), 10-30% cover in Nelson (2005), 10-50% cover in Curtis (1959)), often closely resemble open upland grasslands and shrublands, especially in grassland regions. Thus, in this particular realm of vegetation, the open tree canopy, in combination with the ground layer, helps define savanna vegetation, distinct from forests or woodlands (e.g., Nelson 2005). But in many other regions and vegetation types (e.g., forested swamps and bogs, longleaf pine woodlands (Peet 2006), California oak woodlands (Barbour et al. 2007), subarctic woodlands), the role of canopy closure varies. Thus, in non-tropical regions, we generally place tree savannas, where trees >5 m have >10% cover, with woodland and forest. However, as Dixon et al. (2014) and others suggest, there may be good ecological reasons to treat upland tropical tree savannas, with up to 40% tree cover, trees <8 m tall, and a substantial graminoid layer, as part of 2. ~Shrub & Herb Vegetation Class (C02)$$, and we allow for that option here.
Croplands with a spontaneous ground layer of "weeds," where the annual rotation of crops prevents a persistent ground layer of herbs, are treated in 7. ~Agricultural & Developed Vegetation Cultural Class (CCL01)$$. If agricultural practices are abandoned, these sites may succeed to more persistent "ruderal" grasslands and shrublands (and forests) and would be placed in this class.
Where grasses and shrubs overtop low trees ("brush prairie"), the stands are placed here in Shrub & Herb Vegetation. These situations may often occur in grassland or cool semi-desert regions (e.g., North American Great Plains or Great Basin). Also challenging are some scrub trees, such as juniper (Juniperus spp.) or mesquite (Prosopis spp.), which can form shrub-like stands, and are typically <5 m tall at maturity in parts of their range. Where forms are not easily defined, woody plants equal to or >5 m at maturity are considered trees (FGDC 2008). In the United States, there are shrubby junipers (Juniperus communis, Juniperus pinchotii) that should be treated as shrubs. But pygmy conifers can potentially make 5 m and are treated as trees (Pinus edulis, Juniperus scopulorum, Juniperus monosperma, Juniperus occidentalis, Juniperus osteosperma).
There is a group of ephemerals that are generally mesomorphic, which can, under optimal rainfall conditions, grow on sand, including desert sands and pavement. They are adapted to deserts through their seed characteristics. Typically they do not occupy extensive deep shifting sands, only margins of sandsheets and more stable sands. They rely on seedbanks that may persist for decades in the sand and germinate under optimal winter or summer episodes of heavy rains. These are treated here as part of the mesomorphic shrub and herb class. Examples of psammophytic species include some sand verbenas (Abronia spp.) and several Asteraceae (e.g., Dicoria canescens, Palafoxia spp., etc.).
Croplands with a spontaneous ground layer of "weeds," where the annual rotation of crops prevents a persistent ground layer of herbs, are treated in 7. ~Agricultural & Developed Vegetation Cultural Class (CCL01)$$. If agricultural practices are abandoned, these sites may succeed to more persistent "ruderal" grasslands and shrublands (and forests) and would be placed in this class.
Where grasses and shrubs overtop low trees ("brush prairie"), the stands are placed here in Shrub & Herb Vegetation. These situations may often occur in grassland or cool semi-desert regions (e.g., North American Great Plains or Great Basin). Also challenging are some scrub trees, such as juniper (Juniperus spp.) or mesquite (Prosopis spp.), which can form shrub-like stands, and are typically <5 m tall at maturity in parts of their range. Where forms are not easily defined, woody plants equal to or >5 m at maturity are considered trees (FGDC 2008). In the United States, there are shrubby junipers (Juniperus communis, Juniperus pinchotii) that should be treated as shrubs. But pygmy conifers can potentially make 5 m and are treated as trees (Pinus edulis, Juniperus scopulorum, Juniperus monosperma, Juniperus occidentalis, Juniperus osteosperma).
There is a group of ephemerals that are generally mesomorphic, which can, under optimal rainfall conditions, grow on sand, including desert sands and pavement. They are adapted to deserts through their seed characteristics. Typically they do not occupy extensive deep shifting sands, only margins of sandsheets and more stable sands. They rely on seedbanks that may persist for decades in the sand and germinate under optimal winter or summer episodes of heavy rains. These are treated here as part of the mesomorphic shrub and herb class. Examples of psammophytic species include some sand verbenas (Abronia spp.) and several Asteraceae (e.g., Dicoria canescens, Palafoxia spp., etc.).
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: Growth Forms: Stands are dominated by any broadly mesomorphic (including scleromorphic) herb or shrub growth form, with or without a layer of nonvascular growth form (i.e., lichen, moss). Mesomorphic shrubs include broad-leaved, needle-leaved, sclerophyllous, and palm shrubs. Semi-shrubs are typically absent. Mesomorphic herbs include forbs (including flowering forbs, ferns, and succulent forbs) and graminoids. These herbaceous growth forms are not exclusive to the mesomorphic class, and more work is needed to assess whether additional herbaceous growth form types should be recognized that may be distinctive for this class.
Structure: Stands have irregular shrub or herb horizontal stem spacing, typically with a moderately open to closed shrub or herb layer. There is <10% mesomorphic tree cover (<40% in tropical tree savannas), and the majority of shrub and/or herb growth forms are mesomorphic, typically exceeding 10% cover (but may be as low as 1-10% cover). Nonvascular and dwarf-shrub growth forms may vary from 0 to 100%, and tree seedlings or saplings may be present at any level of cover if they are below the predominant heights of the shrubs and herbs. At maturity, dominant shrubs and herbs are typically >0.3 m (sometimes over 5-10 m).
Structure: Stands have irregular shrub or herb horizontal stem spacing, typically with a moderately open to closed shrub or herb layer. There is <10% mesomorphic tree cover (<40% in tropical tree savannas), and the majority of shrub and/or herb growth forms are mesomorphic, typically exceeding 10% cover (but may be as low as 1-10% cover). Nonvascular and dwarf-shrub growth forms may vary from 0 to 100%, and tree seedlings or saplings may be present at any level of cover if they are below the predominant heights of the shrubs and herbs. At maturity, dominant shrubs and herbs are typically >0.3 m (sometimes over 5-10 m).
Floristics: No Data Available
Dynamics: No Data Available
Environmental Description: Climate: Shrublands and grasslands occur in the following Trewartha Climatic zones: Aw = Tropical wet-dry; Am = Tropical wet-dry ("monsoon"); BS = Semiarid [BSh, hot semiarid]; BW = Arid Specifically BWh (hot Subtropical High desert); BWn (or Bn)) Climates (cool coastal deserts) "n" for nebel = fog; Cs = Subtropical dry summer "Mediterranean"; Do = Oceanic "Marine West Coast"; BS = Semiarid (BSk, cool semiarid); Dc = Continental.
Soil/substrate/hydrology: Dry to wet soils. Sand dune, including psammophytic, vegetation is placed here in mesomorphic shrub and herb vegetation. Kudryashov (2010) describes the characteristics of "psammophyte" (i.e., plants that thrive in shifting sands, primarily in deserts, and that have a number of adaptations that enable them to exist on wind-blown sands).
Soil/substrate/hydrology: Dry to wet soils. Sand dune, including psammophytic, vegetation is placed here in mesomorphic shrub and herb vegetation. Kudryashov (2010) describes the characteristics of "psammophyte" (i.e., plants that thrive in shifting sands, primarily in deserts, and that have a number of adaptations that enable them to exist on wind-blown sands).
Geographic Range: In non-tropical regions, this type is most common in the Bailey (1989) steppe divisions of the Dry Domain, the subarctic divisions of the Polar Domain, and is less common in other divisions of Polar or Dry domains. In the tropics, this type is uncommon in Humid Tropical and Humid Temperate domains, but common in Semi-humid Tropical domains (savannas).
Nations: No Data Available
States/Provinces: No Data Available
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.860211
Confidence Level: Moderate
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.A Tropical Grassland, Savanna & Shrubland Subclass | S01 | 2.A |
| Subclass | 2.B Temperate & Boreal Grassland & Shrubland Subclass | S18 | 2.B |
| Subclass | 2.C Shrub & Herb Wetland Subclass | S44 | 2.C |
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: = Grassland Biomes (Woodward 2008) [Approximately equivalent. Although only grasslands are mentioned in the name, shrublands are considered as part of the concept.]
> Range Land (Anderson et al. 1976) [The authors exclude wet grasslands and shrublands, treating them as part of their "Wetlands" category.]
> Range Land (Anderson et al. 1976) [The authors exclude wet grasslands and shrublands, treating them as part of their "Wetlands" category.]
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