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CEGL005607 Pseudoroegneria spicata - Melica bulbosa Grassland
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Bluebunch Wheatgrass - Oniongrass Grassland
Colloquial Name: No Data Available
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: Stands of this association have a sparse to dense cover of graminoids (<1 m tall) and is dominated or codominated by the cool-season, perennial bunchgrass Pseudoroegneria spicata. Melica bulbosa is also characteristic of this grassland and cover may range from sparse to codominant. There is typically sparse to moderate cover of perennial forbs and widely scattered shrubs and dwarf-shrubs. Annual grasses and forbs may be seasonally present. Litter, moss and lichen are important ground cover in some stands. Stands may be found on valley bottoms, stream terraces, rolling uplands, canyon benches and slopes, hills, ridges, plateaus and buttes, and foothills. Sites may be xeric or mesic, on nearly level to steep slopes. It may occur on all aspects, but often on the drier southern and western slopes. Substrates are also variable and range from shallow and lithic soils with a rocky surface of gravel, cobbles or scoria, to moderately deep soils with little rock. Soils are moderately to well-drained, sometimes calcareous, with pH of 6.8-7.7. Soil texture ranges from gravelly, sandy loams to clay.
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.
This association is uncommon at Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve. Due to the limited spatial extent of occurrence and associated low sample size, the classification of this plant community is considered provisional. Only one plot was sampled at Craters of the Moon; therefore a thorough characteristic species list could not be compiled.
This association is uncommon at Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve. Due to the limited spatial extent of occurrence and associated low sample size, the classification of this plant community is considered provisional. Only one plot was sampled at Craters of the Moon; therefore a thorough characteristic species list could not be compiled.
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: No Data Available
Dynamics: No Data Available
Environmental Description: No Data Available
Geographic Range: Grasslands included in ~Festuca idahoensis - Pseudoroegneria spicata - Poa secunda Dry Grassland Alliance (A3987)$$ are most characteristic of the Columbia Basin of eastern Washington and eastern Oregon and Idaho, but also extend east into the Rocky Mountains and northwestern Great Plains of Montana and Wyoming, and south into the Colorado Rocky Mountains and Colorado Plateau. The alliance likely occurs on the Modoc Plateau of California and may also extend into the Canadian provinces of British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan. This association occurs in scattered stands throughout the range of the alliance.
Nations: US
States/Provinces: ID
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.948014
Confidence Level: Low - Poorly Documented
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.B Temperate & Boreal Grassland & Shrubland Subclass | S18 | 2.B |
| Formation | 2.B.2 Temperate Grassland & Shrubland Formation | F012 | 2.B.2 |
| Division | 2.B.2.Nf Western North American Grassland & Shrubland Division | D022 | 2.B.2.Nf |
| Macrogroup | 2.B.2.Nf.2 Saskatoon Serviceberry / Idaho Fescue - Bluebunch Wheatgrass Grassland & Shrubland Macrogroup | M048 | 2.B.2.Nf.2 |
| Group | 2.B.2.Nf.2.c Rough Fescue - Idaho Fescue - Bluebunch Wheatgrass Central Rocky Mountain Foothill Grassland Group | G273 | 2.B.2.Nf.2.c |
| Alliance | A3987 Idaho Fescue - Bluebunch Wheatgrass - Sandberg Bluegrass Dry Grassland Alliance | A3987 | 2.B.2.Nf.2.c |
| Association | CEGL005607 Bluebunch Wheatgrass - Oniongrass Grassland | CEGL005607 | 2.B.2.Nf.2.c |
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: = Bluebunch Wheatgrass - Oniongrass Herbaceous Vegetation (Pseudoroegneria spicata - Melica bulbosa Herbaceous Vegetation) (Bell et al. 2009)
- Bell, J., D. Cogan, J. Erixson, and J. Von Loh. 2009. Vegetation inventory project report, Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve. Natural Resource Technical Report NPS/UCBN/NRTR-2009/277. National Park Service, Fort Collins, CO. 358 pp.
- Western Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Boulder, CO.