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A.1489 | EcoArt 2002
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Name: A.1489
Reference: EcoArt 2002
Description: Vegetation within this alliance is located at the mesic fringe of the steppe habitats of the interior Pacific Northwest between 600 and 1800 m elevation. Throughout this range the climate is semi-arid, with 23-36 cm of precipitation annually, the maximum occurring in winter. The temperature regime is cool summer-continental, with a wide range in diurnal temperatures and night frosts through most of the year. Summer lightning storms and associated fires are common in the environments where this type occurs and are presumably important in structuring the vegetation. Generally, soils are medium-textured, with abundant coarse fragments, often derived from volcanic parent materials or aeolian deposits. Vegetation within this alliance is usually characterized by a sparse overstory of ~Juniperus occidentalis$. ~Cercocarpus ledifolius$, a tall shrub or small tree, may also be abundant. Other shrubs which commonly occur in these woodlands are ~Purshia tridentata, Ericameria nauseosa (= Chrysothamnus nauseosus), Prunus virginiana, Ribes cereum$, and ~Artemisia$ spp. There is a well-developed herbaceous layer of robust perennial bunch grasses dominated by ~Leymus cinereus$, usually well over 1 m in height. Contiguous vegetation is most commonly ~Pinus ponderosa$ forests, ~Juniperus occidentalis$ woodlands, or ~Artemisia$ steppe. 
Accession Code: VB.CC.1261.A1489
Plot-observations of this Community Concept: 0
      Party Perspective according to: NatureServe (organization)
Perspective from: 26-Nov-1997 to: 17-Mar-2005
     
  • status: accepted
  • Community's Parent: V.A.6.N.b
  • This Community's Level: Alliance
  • This Community's Children: [none]
Names:   Scientific: JUNIPERUS OCCIDENTALIS WOODED TALL HERBACEOUS ALLIANCE
  Code: A.1489
  Common: Western Juniper Wooded Tall Herbaceous Alliance
(convergence) and Synonyms:
(undetermined) Juniperus occidentalis Wooded Tall Herbaceous Alliance