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A3164 Larrea tridentata Chihuahuan Desert Scrub Alliance

Type Concept Sentence: This extensive desert scrub alliance occurs in the broad desert basins and plains extending up onto dissected gravelly alluvial fans and piedmonts (bajadas), and foothills in the Chihuahuan Desert (below the chaparral zone). The vegetation has a moderate to sparse shrub layer (<10% cover on extremely xeric sites) dominated or codominated by Larrea tridentata, often covering entire landscapes in near monotypic stands. Stands can also be codominated by other desert scrub. If present, Prosopis glandulosa does not dominate the shrub layer, but may codominate in a mixed stand with Larrea tridentata. Grasses are common but generally have lower cover than shrubs. Substrates are typically coarse-textured loams on gravelly plains and slopes.

Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Creosotebush Chihuahuan Desert Scrub Alliance

Colloquial Name: Chihuahuan Desert Creosotebush Scrub

Hierarchy Level:  Alliance

Type Concept: This alliance is the extensive desert scrub that occurs in the broad desert basins and plains extending up onto dissected gravelly alluvial fans and piedmonts (bajadas), and foothills in the Chihuahuan Desert (below the chaparral zone). The vegetation is dominated by xeromorphic deciduous and microphyllous evergreen shrubs up to 2 m tall, forming a moderate to sparse shrub layer (<10% cover on extremely xeric sites) dominated by Larrea tridentata, often covering entire landscapes in near monotypic stands. Stands can also be codominated by other desert scrub species such as Agave lechuguilla, Aloysia wrightii, Atriplex canescens, Dasylirion leiophyllum, Ephedra aspera, Flourensia cernua, Fouquieria splendens, Hechtia texensis, Jatropha dioica var. graminea, Lycium berlandieri, Menodora scabra, Mimosa aculeaticarpa var. biuncifera, Opuntia engelmannii, Parthenium incanum, Prosopis glandulosa, Tiquilia canescens, Tiquilia greggii, and Yucca spp. If present, Prosopis glandulosa does not dominate the shrub layer, but may codominate in mixed stands with Larrea tridentata. Grasses are common but generally have lower cover than shrubs. Common species may include Bouteloua eriopoda, Bouteloua gracilis, Bouteloua ramosa, Dasyochloa pulchella, Muhlenbergia porteri, Pleuraphis mutica, and Scleropogon brevifolius. Some shrublands have a sparse understory, sometimes with a pebbly desert pavement on the soil surface. Climate is arid to semi-arid with hot summers. Freezing temperatures may occur during the winter. Mean annual precipitation is approximately 28 cm. Precipitation can vary greatly from year to year with drought not uncommon. Annual precipitation has bimodal distribution with about a third of the annual precipitation occurring in late winter and two-thirds in July through October. The summer rain often occurs as high-intensity convective storms. The most arid season is late spring and early summer. Substrates are typically coarse-textured loams on gravelly plains and slopes. Soils are alluvial, typically non-saline, and frequently calcareous, sometimes with a petrocalic layer and are often derived from limestone and sandstone, or to a lesser degree, igneous rocks. Stands can extend upslope onto colluvial slopes with cobbly skeletal soils. Over the last century it has recently expanded into former desert grasslands in the northern portion of its range.

Diagnostic Characteristics: This alliance occurs in upland landforms such as alluvial fans and piedmonts and foothills in the Chihuahuan Desert. The vegetation is characterized by dominance or codominance of Larrea tridentata. Diagnostic species may include Agave lechuguilla, Dasylirion leiophyllum, Flourensia cernua, Hechtia texensis, Jatropha dioica var. graminea, Lycium berlandieri, Opuntia engelmannii, Parthenium incanum, Tiquilia canescens, Tiquilia greggii, and Bouteloua ramosa that are characteristic of Chihuahuan Desert.

Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available

Classification Comments: Some stands in this alliance have a very open shrub canopy and are borderline sparse vegetation (<10% total vegetation cover).

The widespread desert shrub Larrea tridentata has three chromosomally distinct ecotypes that roughly correspond to three different desert regions. The Chihuahuan ecotype is a monoploid (n=13) and is typically shorter, with sparser foliage and straighter stems than the other types. The Sonoran and Mojavean ecotypes are diploid (n=26) and triploid (n=39), respectively. Both are bushier than the Chihuahuan ecotype, but the Mojavean ecotype is typically shorter with denser foliage (Yang 1970, as cited by Brown 1982a).

Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: Vegetation included in this alliance has a sparse to moderately dense layer of microphyllous and broad-leaved evergreen shrubs less than 2 m tall. If present, understory vegetation may include a sparse to moderately dense cover of dwarf-shrubs, cacti, rosette succulents, annual and perennial forbs and grasses.

Floristics: This alliance is the extensive desert scrub that occurs in the broad desert basins and plains extending up onto dissected gravelly alluvial fans and piedmonts (bajadas), and foothills in the Chihuahuan Desert (below the chaparral zone). The vegetation is dominated by xeromorphic deciduous and microphyllous evergreen shrubs up to 2 m tall, forming a moderate to sparse shrub layer (<10% cover on extremely xeric sites) dominated by Larrea tridentata, often covering entire landscapes in near monotypic stands. Stands can also be codominated by other desert scrub species such as Acacia constricta, Acacia neovernicosa, Agave lechuguilla, Aloysia wrightii, Atriplex canescens, Dasylirion leiophyllum, Ephedra aspera, Flourensia cernua, Fouquieria splendens, Hechtia texensis, Jatropha dioica var. graminea, Lycium berlandieri, Menodora scabra, Mimosa aculeaticarpa var. biuncifera, Opuntia engelmannii, Parthenium incanum, Prosopis glandulosa, Tiquilia canescens, Tiquilia greggii, and Yucca spp. If present, Prosopis glandulosa does not dominate the shrub layer, but may codominate in a mixed stand with Larrea tridentata. Grasses are common but generally have lower cover than shrubs. Common species may include Bouteloua eriopoda, Bouteloua gracilis, Bouteloua ramosa, Dasyochloa pulchella, Muhlenbergia porteri, Pleuraphis mutica, and Scleropogon brevifolius.

Dynamics:  In the U.S., much of this scrubland is thought to be a result of recent expansion of Larrea tridentata into former desert grasslands and steppe in the last 150 years as a result of drought, overgrazing by livestock, and/or decreases in fire over the last 70-250 years (Buffington and Herbel 1965, Ahlstrand 1979, Donart 1984, Dick-Peddie 1993, Gibbens et al. 2005). This group includes vast areas of loamy plains that have been converted from Pleuraphis mutica and Bouteloua eriopoda desert grasslands to Larrea tridentata scrub.
Environmental Description:  Shrublands included in this widespread southwestern desert alliance cover vast areas of from west Texas to southeastern California. Elevations range from 1600 m to below sea level. Climate is semi-arid to arid with hot summers. Potential for freezing winter temperatures depends on latitude and elevation. Desert precipitation varies greatly from year-to-year. At the Jornada Experimental Range in southwestern New Mexico, annual precipitation ranged from 7-45 cm with a mean of 23 cm (Herbel et al. 1972). Amount and season of annual precipitation also varies with geography. Mean annual precipitation ranges from 23 cm distributed bimodally with half occurring during the late summer monsoons and half in the winter in southwestern New Mexico, to 15 cm or less of mostly winter precipitation in southeastern California. The proportion of summer precipitation decreases from the eastern to the western deserts (Barbour and Major 1977). Sites include lower bajadas, intermountain basins. Sites are generally flat or on gentle to moderate slopes of lower bajadas and intermountain basins. Substrate is usually sandy or gravelly alluvium, or eolian sand derived from limestone and metamorphic rocks. Soils are typically shallow, well-drained, and have low salinity. Soil texture is generally coarse, but may include gravelly clay loams.
Geographic Range: This desert scrub alliance forms the matrix vegetation in the Chihuahuan Desert and ranges from western Texas, across southern New Mexico and southeastern Arizona, south into adjacent states of Coahuila and Chihuahua, as well as in Durango, Nuevo León, San Luis Potosi, and Sonora, Mexico.

Nations: MX,US

States/Provinces:  AZ, MXCHH, MXCOA, MXDUR, MXNLE, MXSLP, MXSON, NM, TX


Confidence Level: Low

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.2 Creosotebush - American Tarwort - Mesquite species Chihuahuan Desert Scrub Macrogroup M086 3.A.2.Na.2
Group 3.A.2.Na.2.a Creosotebush - American Tarwort - Viscid Acacia Chihuahuan Mixed Desert Scrub Group G288 3.A.2.Na.2.a
Alliance A3164 Creosotebush Chihuahuan Desert Scrub Alliance A3164 3.A.2.Na.2.a
Association CEGL001265 Creosotebush / Black Grama Shrubland CEGL001265 3.A.2.Na.2.a
Association CEGL001266 Creosotebush / Blue Grama Shrubland CEGL001266 3.A.2.Na.2.a
Association CEGL001269 Creosotebush / Low Woolly Grass Shrubland CEGL001269 3.A.2.Na.2.a
Association CEGL001270 Creosotebush - American Tarwort Shrubland CEGL001270 3.A.2.Na.2.a
Association CEGL001272 Creosotebush / Bush Muhly Shrubland CEGL001272 3.A.2.Na.2.a
Association CEGL001274 Creosotebush - Mariola Shrubland CEGL001274 3.A.2.Na.2.a
Association CEGL001275 Creosotebush - Honey Mesquite Shrubland CEGL001275 3.A.2.Na.2.a
Association CEGL001276 Creosotebush / Sparse Understory Shrubland CEGL001276 3.A.2.Na.2.a
Association CEGL001380 Berlandier''s Wolfberry - Creosotebush Shrubland CEGL001380 3.A.2.Na.2.a
Association CEGL004562 Creosotebush - Lechuguilla Shrubland CEGL004562 3.A.2.Na.2.a
Association CEGL004563 Creosotebush / Chino Grama Shrubland CEGL004563 3.A.2.Na.2.a
Association CEGL004565 Creosotebush - Texas False Agave Shrubland CEGL004565 3.A.2.Na.2.a
Association CEGL004566 Creosotebush - Leatherstem Shrubland CEGL004566 3.A.2.Na.2.a
Association CEGL004568 Creosotebush / Burrograss Shrubland CEGL004568 3.A.2.Na.2.a
Association CEGL004569 Creosotebush / Woody Crinklemat Shrubland CEGL004569 3.A.2.Na.2.a
Association CEGL004570 Creosotebush - Plumed Crinklemat Shrubland CEGL004570 3.A.2.Na.2.a
Concept Lineage: A.851, in part. Includes 15 associations. Old Alliance III.A.5.N.a. Larrea tridentata Shrubland Alliance (A.851), in part. Includes 15 associations that represent the upland Chihuahuan Desert portion of this old alliance that lack a strong (herbaceous layer - grassland with scattered shrubs). Old Alliance III.C.3.N.b. Lycium berlandieri - Larrea tridentata Shrubland Alliance (A.1058), in part. 1 associations codominated by Larrea tridentata.

Predecessors: No Data Available

Obsolete Names: No Data Available

Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: No Data Available
Concept Author(s): K.A. Schulz, in Faber-Langendoen et al. (2013)

Author of Description: K.A. Schulz

Acknowledgements: No Data Available

Version Date: 01-08-14
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