Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Threetip Sagebrush / Thurber''s Needlegrass Shrubland

Colloquial Name: No Data Available

Hierarchy Level:  Association

Type Concept: Shrubs are usually dominant in this vegetation type, but herbaceous species cover is often substantial. Artemisia tripartita ssp. tripartita typically forms a canopy ranging from open to nearly touching crowns. Artemisia tridentata ssp. wyomingensis, Purshia tridentata, and Tetradymia canescens occur occasionally but with only a fraction of the cover of Artemisia tripartita ssp. tripartita. Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus is present with high constancy and variable cover. The herbaceous stratum is dominated by graminoids with moderate cover. Achnatherum thurberianum is usually the most abundant graminoid, but Elymus elymoides, Pascopyrum smithii, Poa secunda, and Pseudoroegneria spicata occur with some regularity and often with moderate cover. The introduced annual grass Bromus tectorum occurs at low to moderate cover in the herbaceous stratum. Forbs form an important and highly variable component of this vegetation type. The most constant forb species include Lomatium spp. and Phlox longifolia. This association occurs on flat to steeply sloping upland sites. Sites with little slope tend to have deeper soils while those with steeper slopes have shallow to moderately deep soils. Soil texture is loam, sandy loam, or clay loam, but is highly variable.

Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available

Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available

Classification Comments: This plant community description is based on data from Craters of the Moon (Bell et al. 2009) and on related plant communities that have been previously described. The description provided herein may vary slightly from similar plant communities found elsewhere due to the local scale at which data were collected. Additional global information will be added as it becomes available.

Similar NVC Types: No Data Available

note: No Data Available