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A2506 Aquilegia micrantha Hanging Garden Alliance
Type Concept Sentence: This alliance consists of forb-dominated, spring-fed wetlands dominated by a number of species such as Mimulus eastwoodiae, Asplenium adiantum-nigrum, and Aquilegia micrantha. These "hanging gardens" are unique herbaceous wetland communities associated with groundwater springs emerging from sandstone cliffs in the Colorado Plateau. These springs, if they persist over long periods of time, will gradually erode shallow caves into the cliff face that shelter a diverse herbaceous community. A number of disjunct, endemic and rare species are associated with these communities.
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Mancos Columbine Hanging Garden Alliance
Colloquial Name: Colorado Plateau Seep Hanging Garden
Hierarchy Level: Alliance
Type Concept: This alliance consists of forb-dominated, spring-fed wetlands dominated by a number of species such as Mimulus eastwoodiae, Asplenium adiantum-nigrum, and Aquilegia micrantha, which specialize in clinging to near-vertical rock surfaces at the crevice where groundwater emerges. Other species, such as Calamagrostis scopulorum, Cirsium calcareum, and Platanthera zothecina, are found mostly growing in the saturated sandy debris on the floor of the alcove and on the slope below. Hanging gardens are unique herbaceous wetland communities associated with groundwater springs emerging from sandstone cliffs in the Colorado Plateau. These springs, if they persist over long periods of time, will gradually erode shallow caves into the cliff face that shelter a diverse herbaceous community. Hanging gardens are distinct from riparian and slickrock pothole wetlands in that woody species are generally restricted to the margins of the community.
Diagnostic Characteristics: Wet alcove seeps dominated by several forbs and graminoid species such as Mimulus eastwoodiae, Asplenium adiantum-nigrum, and Aquilegia micrantha.
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: It has been suggested that "hanging garden" alliances be defined around significant regional differences based on both species composition and vegetation structure of five regionally-based groupings of gardens: (1) Zion Canyon and immediate surrounding area, (2) Grand Canyon, (3) central Colorado Plateau, (4) southeastern Utah and adjacent Colorado, and (5) Dinosaur National Monument-Green/Yampa rivers area. This still leaves much of the Navajo Nation and New Mexico portions which remain poorly documented. In addition, there is a 6th "relictual" garden/spring complex associated with Pleistocene relicts at moderately high elevations, usually characterized by stands of Pseudotsuga menziesii, and there are other garden/spring complexes with other graminoid and forbs in the Arid West, such as in Death Valley National Park, that need to be addressed. However, these data are not available to NatureServe editors at this time, and need to incorporated. In the meantime, the two current alliances (A2655 and A2605) are defined for now.
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: These herbaceous wetland communities are diverse and are rich in rare, endemic and disjunct species. The geographic affinities of major hanging garden species has been described by Welsh and Toft (1981) and Welsh (1989). Common species that are more regularly associated with montane and subalpine habitats include Adiantum pedatum, Aquilegia coerulea, Calamagrostis scopulorum, Carex aurea, Dodecatheon pulchellum, and Epipactis gigantea. Prairie species include Schizachyrium scoparium, Panicum virgatum, and Sorghastrum nutans. Rare and endemic plants found nearly exclusively in hanging gardens include Aquilegia micrantha, Asplenium adiantum-nigrum, Cirsium ownbeyi, Cirsium rydbergii, Erigeron kachinensis, Erigeron sionis, Mimulus eastwoodiae, Platanthera zothecina, Primula specuicola, and Zigadenus vaginatus. Ostrya knowltonii, Mimulus cardinalis, and Rubus neomexicanus have Mexican and southwestern U.S. affinities. The vegetation is generally organized in a tiered fashion, with some species clinging to the roof of the alcove, some to the dripline at the back of the alcove, and others rooting in the sandy detritus on the alcove floor. Woody species tend to cluster around the margins of the community, where soils are deeper, and may include Cercocarpus intricatus, Juniperus osteosperma, Ostrya knowltonii, Pinus edulis, Rhus trilobata, Rubus neomexicanus, Salix spp., and Toxicodendron rydbergii.
Dynamics: These communities are dependent on groundwater being available throughout the growing season. Alterations to the quantity, seasonality or chemistry of the groundwater will result in changes to the extent and composition of the gardens. For example, Jim Ferguson (pers. comm. 1997) reported that hanging gardens in Escalante Canyon in western Colorado shrank significantly in the early and middle 1990s, presumably as a result of drought conditions that prevailed in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
According to Welsh and Toft (1981), hanging gardens experience a physical development, from dripping cracks in a cliff face to shallow alcoves to deeper alcoves with a plunge pool and debris slope below, to collapsed alcoves that become seeping colluvial slopes. Other types of gardens recognized by Welsh and Toft include "window blind" gardens, where water simply runs down a cliff face and plants cling to the wet rock, and terrace type gardens, which develop in areas with bedded, rather than jointed, sandstones.
According to Welsh and Toft (1981), hanging gardens experience a physical development, from dripping cracks in a cliff face to shallow alcoves to deeper alcoves with a plunge pool and debris slope below, to collapsed alcoves that become seeping colluvial slopes. Other types of gardens recognized by Welsh and Toft include "window blind" gardens, where water simply runs down a cliff face and plants cling to the wet rock, and terrace type gardens, which develop in areas with bedded, rather than jointed, sandstones.
Environmental Description: This alliance is apparently restricted to sandstone canyons of the Colorado River and its tributaries within the Colorado Plateau. Examples occur on cliffs and in crevices and alcoves in areas with massive sandstones, and on ledges in areas with bedded sandstones. Groundwater emerging from joints, cracks and bedding planes in the rock supports a diverse array of forb and graminoid species, many of which are unique to these communities. The habitat consists of the seep itself, as well as the saturated sandy soils and colluvial detritus on the ledges and slope below.
Geographic Range: This alliance is currently known from the Colorado Plateau of Arizona, western Colorado and eastern and southern Utah. It is apparently restricted to sandstone canyons in the Colorado River drainage system.
Nations: US
States/Provinces: AZ, CO, UT
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.899193
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.C Shrub & Herb Wetland Subclass | S44 | 2.C |
| Formation | 2.C.4 Temperate to Polar Freshwater Marsh, Wet Meadow & Shrubland Formation | F013 | 2.C.4 |
| Division | 2.C.4.Nc Southwestern North American Warm Desert Freshwater Marsh & Bosque Division | D032 | 2.C.4.Nc |
| Macrogroup | 2.C.4.Nc.1 Warm Desert Lowland Freshwater Marsh, Wet Meadow & Shrubland Macrogroup | M076 | 2.C.4.Nc.1 |
| Group | 2.C.4.Nc.1.a Maidenhair Fern species - Monkeyflower species - Columbine species Colorado Plateau Seep Group | G545 | 2.C.4.Nc.1.a |
| Alliance | A2506 Mancos Columbine Hanging Garden Alliance | A2506 | 2.C.4.Nc.1.a |
| Association | CEGL002592 Mancos Columbine - Ditch Reedgrass Hanging Garden | CEGL002592 | 2.C.4.Nc.1.a |
| Association | CEGL002729 Mancos Columbine - Eastwood''s Monkeyflower Hanging Garden | CEGL002729 | 2.C.4.Nc.1.a |
| Association | CEGL002762 Mancos Columbine Hanging Garden | CEGL002762 | 2.C.4.Nc.1.a |
Concept Lineage: equivalent to A.2506
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: No Data Available
- Carsey, K., D. Cooper, K. Decker, D. Culver, and G. Kittel. 2003b. Statewide wetlands classification and characterization: Wetland plant associations of Colorado. Prepared for Colorado Department of Natural Resources, Denver, by Colorado Natural Heritage Program, College of Natural Resources, Colorado State University, Fort Collins. 79 pp. [http://www.cnhp.colostate.edu/documents/2003/wetland_classification_final_report_2003.pdf]
- Carsey, K., G. Kittel, K. Decker, D. J. Cooper, and D. Culver. 2003a. Field guide to the wetland and riparian plant associations of Colorado. Colorado Natural Heritage Program, Fort Collins, CO.
- Faber-Langendoen, D., J. Drake, M. Hall, G. Kittel, S. Menard, C. Nordman, M. Pyne, M. Reid, M. Russo, K. Schulz, L. Sneddon, K. Snow, and J. Teague. 2013-2019b. Screening alliances for induction into the U.S. National Vegetation Classification: Part 1 - Alliance concept review. NatureServe, Arlington, VA.
- Ferguson, Jim. 1997. Personal communication. Biologist, Bureau of Land Management, Montrose, CO.
- Spence, J. Personal communication. Botanist, National Park Service, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Glen Canyon, UT.
- Welsh, S. L. 1989. On the distribution of Utah''s hanging gardens. Great Basin Naturalist 49(1):1-30.
- Welsh, S. L., and C. A. Toft. 1981. Biotic communities of hanging gardens in southeastern Utah. National Geographic Society Research Reports 13:663-681.