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G675 North American Warm Semi-Desert Dune & Sand Flats Group
Type Concept Sentence: This group occurs on dunes and sandsheets in the Mojave, Colorado, Sonoran and Chihuahuan deserts of southwestern North America and consists of sparse to low cover of vegetation (<15% total cover) and includes woody vegetation, perennial grasses and/or psammophitic herbs.
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: North American Warm Semi-Desert Dune & Sand Flats Group
Colloquial Name: North American Warm Semi-Desert Dune & Sand Flats
Hierarchy Level: Group
Type Concept: This vegetated group occurs on dunes and sandsheets across the warm deserts of North America. Stands typically have low total vegetation cover (<15%) that is often patchy or scattered and is composed of a variety of plant species across the group''s range. Stands include woody vegetation, perennial grasses and/or psammophitic herbs. In the Chihuahuan Desert dunes along the Rio Grande in Trans-Pecos Texas, characteristic species include Chamaesyce carunculata, Helianthus neglectus, Helianthus petiolaris, Heliotropium convolvulaceum, Heliotropium racemosum, Mentzelia sp., Panicum havardii, Polanisia jamesii, and Psoralidium lanceolatum. This vegetation composition varies a great deal from year to year, depending on moisture. In the Mojave, Colorado, and Sonoran deserts, stands may be characterized by stoloniferous grasses and/or psammophitic herbs such as Abronia villosa, Achnatherum hymenoides, Cleome sparsifolia, Croton californicus, Dicoria canescens, Geraea canescens, Oenothera deltoides, Panicum urvilleanum, Pleuraphis rigida, Rumex hymenosepalus, and Swallenia alexandrae. Individual emergent desert shrubs such as Ambrosia dumosa, Atriplex canescens, Eriogonum deserticola, and Larrea tridentata may be present. Other stands are dominated by the semi-woody perennial grass Pleuraphis rigida, sometimes with up to 35% total cover. Other associates in the herbaceous layer include Achnatherum hymenoides, Bouteloua eriopoda, Dalea mollissima, Gutierrezia sarothrae, Panicum urvilleanum, and Sphaeralcea ambigua. Scattered shrubs such as Larrea tridentata, Yucca brevifolia, or other desert shrubs may be present with low cover. Stands occur on flat ridges, lower slopes, and partially stabilized sand dunes. Elevations range from 10-1400 m. The group occurs in warm, semi-arid to arid climate. Annual precipitation totals are between 0 and 250 mm. There is much year-to-year variation in precipitation. The summers are extremely hot. Winter temperatures, particularly at higher elevations and latitudes, can get quite cold; however, stands in southern latitudes never freeze. Stands occur on sandy substrates found on flat ridges, lower slopes, stabilized sand dunes and sandsheets, and sandy plains.
Diagnostic Characteristics: This vegetated group occurs on dunes and sandsheets and may be composed of a variety of plant species across the group''s range. Stands include woody vegetation, perennial grasses and/or psammophitic herbs. In the Chihuahuan Desert, characteristic species include Chamaesyce carunculata, Helianthus neglectus, Helianthus petiolaris, Heliotropium convolvulaceum, Heliotropium racemosum, Mentzelia sp., Panicum havardii, Polanisia jamesii, and Psoralidium lanceolatum. In the Mojave, Colorado, and Sonoran deserts, stands may be characterized by stoloniferous grasses and/or psammophitic herbs such as Abronia villosa, Achnatherum hymenoides, Cleome sparsifolia, Croton californicus, Dicoria canescens, Geraea canescens, Oenothera deltoides, Panicum urvilleanum, Pleuraphis rigida, Rumex hymenosepalus, and Swallenia alexandrae. Individual emergent desert shrubs such as Ambrosia dumosa, Atriplex canescens, Eriogonum deserticola, and Larrea tridentata may be present. Other stands are dominated by the semi-woody perennial grass Pleuraphis rigida, sometimes with up to 35% total cover.
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: Vegetation has a sparse cover of xeromorphic shrubs and dwarf-shrubs less than 2 m tall and/or a short herbaceous layer is typically sparse and is dominated by perennial graminoids, with ephemeral forbs and grasses present seasonally.
Floristics: This vegetated group typically has low total vegetation cover (<15%) that is often patchy or scattered and is composed of a variety of plant species across the group''s range. Stands include woody vegetation, perennial grasses and/or psammophitic herbs. In the Chihuahuan desert dunes along the Rio Grande in Trans-Pecos Texas, characteristic species include Chamaesyce carunculata (= Euphorbia carunculata), Helianthus neglectus, Helianthus petiolaris, Heliotropium convolvulaceum, Heliotropium racemosum, Mentzelia sp., Panicum havardii, Polanisia jamesii, and Psoralidium lanceolatum. This vegetation composition varies a great deal from year to year, depending on moisture. In the Mojave, Colorado, and Sonoran deserts, stands may be characterized by stoloniferous grasses and/or psammophitic herbs such as Abronia villosa, Achnatherum hymenoides (= Oryzopsis hymenoides), Cleome sparsifolia, Croton californicus, Dicoria canescens, Geraea canescens, Oenothera deltoides, Panicum urvilleanum, Palafoxia arida, Pleuraphis rigida (= Hilaria rigida), Rumex hymenosepalus, and Swallenia alexandrae. Individual emergent desert shrubs such as Ambrosia dumosa, Atriplex canescens, Croton wigginsii, Ephedra trifurca, Eriogonum deserticola, and Larrea tridentata may be present. Other stands are dominated by the semi-woody perennial grass Pleuraphis rigida, sometimes with up to 35% total cover. Other associates in the herbaceous layer include Achnatherum hymenoides, Bouteloua eriopoda, Dalea mollissima, Gutierrezia sarothrae, Panicum urvilleanum, and Sphaeralcea ambigua. Scattered shrubs such as Larrea tridentata, Yucca brevifolia, or other desert shrubs may be present with low cover.
Dynamics: Active dune communities have a high number of endemic plants (Thorne 1982, Bowers 1984). These species'' adaptations to moving sand have resulted in the endemism (Bowers 1982). The active dune endemic Eriogonum deserticola avoids burial by drifting sand by rapid growth of shoots. Pleuraphis rigida is a common grass on sandy plains and dunes. Unlike most grasses, it has a woody structure and elevated renewal buds (Brown 1982b). Several years of above-average annual precipitation can increase the cover of Pleuraphis rigida and other grasses to where they resemble a desert grassland (Thorne 1982). These dune systems are shaped by abiotic factors and move too rapidly to be stabilized by plants establishing on them. Plant cover is therefore very sparse. Subsurface water is held for long periods of time so shrubs that can survive long enough to get rooted can persist through long droughts.
Environmental Description: This vegetated group occurs on dunes and sandsheets across the warm deserts of North America. Stands occur on flat ridges, lower slopes, and partially stabilized sand dunes. Elevations range from 10-1400 m. Stands are often found on sand ramps, dune aprons, stabilized dunes near playas, or wide washes adjacent to desert scrub.
Climate: The group occurs in warm, semi-arid to arid climate. The summers are extremely hot. Winter temperatures, particularly at higher elevations and latitudes, can get quite cold, but southern latitude stands never freeze. Annual precipitation totals are between 0 and 250 mm. Precipitation has a bimodal distribution in the eastern extent with almost half occurring from July to September and the rest occurring during the winter months. Further west precipitation occurs almost entirely in the winter. Average annual precipitation at nearby Yuma, Arizona, is 70 mm. Annual precipitation varies greatly year to year.
Soil/substrate/hydrology: Stands occur on sandy substrates ranging from deep sands of partially stabilized sand dunes and sandsheets, and shallower sandy plains.
Climate: The group occurs in warm, semi-arid to arid climate. The summers are extremely hot. Winter temperatures, particularly at higher elevations and latitudes, can get quite cold, but southern latitude stands never freeze. Annual precipitation totals are between 0 and 250 mm. Precipitation has a bimodal distribution in the eastern extent with almost half occurring from July to September and the rest occurring during the winter months. Further west precipitation occurs almost entirely in the winter. Average annual precipitation at nearby Yuma, Arizona, is 70 mm. Annual precipitation varies greatly year to year.
Soil/substrate/hydrology: Stands occur on sandy substrates ranging from deep sands of partially stabilized sand dunes and sandsheets, and shallower sandy plains.
Geographic Range: This vegetated group occurs on dunes and sandsheets in the Mojave, Colorado, Sonoran and Chihuahuan deserts of southwestern North America and northern Mexico.
Nations: MX,US
States/Provinces: AZ, CA, MXBCN, MXCHH?, MXCOA, MXSON, NM, NV, TX
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.879239
Confidence Level: Moderate
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.A Warm Desert & Semi-Desert Woodland, Scrub & Grassland Subclass | S06 | 3.A |
| Formation | 3.A.2 Warm Desert & Semi-Desert Scrub & Grassland Formation | F015 | 3.A.2 |
| Division | 3.A.2.Na North American Warm Desert Scrub & Grassland Division | D039 | 3.A.2.Na |
| Macrogroup | 3.A.2.Na.4 Saguaro - Organ Pipe Cactus - Burrobush Mojave-Sonoran Semi-Desert Scrub Macrogroup | M088 | 3.A.2.Na.4 |
| Group | 3.A.2.Na.4.e North American Warm Semi-Desert Dune & Sand Flats Group | G675 | 3.A.2.Na.4.e |
| Alliance | A3170 Big Galleta Desert Grassland Alliance | A3170 | 3.A.2.Na.4.e |
| Alliance | A4026 Desert Twinbugs - Desert Sand-verbena - Desert Panicgrass Dune Alliance | A4026 | 3.A.2.Na.4.e |
| Alliance | A4027 Phlox Heliotrope - Coastal Plain Heliotrope Chihuahuan Dune Alliance | A4027 | 3.A.2.Na.4.e |
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: No Data Available
- Bowers, J. E. 1984. Plant geography of southwestern sand dunes. Desert Plants 6(1):31-42, 51-54.
- Brown, D. E. 1982b. Chihuahuan desertscrub. Desert Plants 4(1-4):169-179.
- 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]
- Peinado, M., F. Alcaraz, J. L. Aguirre, and J. Delgadillo. 1995c. Major plant communities of warm North American deserts. Journal of Vegetation Science 6:79-94.
- Peinado, M., F. M. Ocaña-Peinado, J. L. Aguirre, J. Delgadillo, M. Á. Macías, and G. Díaz-Santiago. 2011a. A phytosociological and phytogeographical survey of the coastal vegetation of western North America: Beach and dune vegetation from Baja California to Alaska. Applied Vegetation Science 14:464-484.
- Peinado, M., J. Delgadillo, and J. L. Aguirre. 2005. Plant associations of the El Vizcaíno Biosphere Reserve (Baja California, Mexico). The Southwestern Naturalist 50(2):129-149.
- Peinado, M., J. L. Aguirre, J. Delgadillo, and M. Á. Macías. 2008. A phytosociological survey of the coastal vegetation of western North America. Part I: Plant communities of Baja California, Mexico. Plant Ecology 196:27-60.
- Thorne, R. F. 1982. The desert and other transmontane plant communities of southern California. Aliso 10(2):219-257.