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A.1523 | EcoArt 2002
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Name: A.1523
Reference: EcoArt 2002
Description: This shrub steppe alliance occurs throughout the Intermountain West and forms a landscape matrix which occurs over a broad range of landforms and microhabitats. Stands are often found on the margins of ~Pinus ponderosa$ woodlands or forests, forming the transition into sagebrush vegetation. They also occur on flats to moderate slopes in foothills, on slopes of lakebeds with ash or pumice soils, stabilized dunes and on dry sites within lower forest zones as shrub-steppe inclusions in forest. Soils are generally well-drained, coarse-textured without high salinity or pH. Vegetation included in this alliance is characterized by a sparse shrub canopy of ~Purshia tridentata$, often with ~Artemisia tridentata ssp. vaseyana$ or ~Artemisia tridentata ssp. wyomingensis$ as codominants. Other important or occasional shrubs include ~Ericameria nauseosa)(= Chrysothamnus nauseosus), Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus, Ribes cereum$, and ~Ceanothus velutinus$. Scattered trees may form an emergent layer of individual trees; species include ~Pinus ponderosa, Juniperus occidentalis, Juniperus osteosperma, Juniperus scopulorum$, or ~Cercocarpus ledifolius$. The herbaceous layer is usually strongly dominated by perennial bunch grasses, including ~Pseudoroegneria spicata, Festuca idahoensis, Festuca campestris, Carex pensylvanica$, and ~Carex geyeri, Achnatherum hymenoides (= Oryzopsis hymenoides), Hesperostipa comata (= Stipa comata)$, and ~Achnatherum occidentale (= Stipa occidentalis)$. ~Balsamorhiza sagittata$ is an important forb associate. Other forbs include several species of ~Penstemon, Erigeron, Eriogonum, Castilleja, Astragalus$, and ~Lupinus$. Diagnostic of this shrub steppe alliance is a typically sparse shrub layer (10-25% cover) dominated by ~Purshia tridentata$ over an herbaceous layer that is typically dominated by perennial bunch grasses. 
Accession Code: VB.CC.1282.A1523
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.7.N.e
  • This Community's Level: Alliance
  • This Community's Children: [none]
Names:   Scientific: PURSHIA TRIDENTATA SHRUB HERBACEOUS ALLIANCE
  Code: A.1523
  Common: Bitterbrush Shrub Herbaceous Alliance
(convergence) and Synonyms:
(undetermined) Purshia tridentata Shrub Herbaceous Alliance