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A.1532 | EcoArt 2002
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Name: A.1532
Reference: EcoArt 2002
Description: This alliance has been described from the southern Colorado Plateau in northwestern New Mexico and adjacent Arizona. Climate is semi-arid. The elevation ranges from 1500-1860 m, but stands likely occur over a wider elevational and geographical range. Sites occur on a variety of landforms including mesas, plains, alluvial flats and fans, floodplains, and hillslopes. Soils are shallow, poorly developed and alkaline. Soil textures range from fine sandy loam to silty clay loam to clay. The ground surface has high cover of bare ground (to 90%) with little litter or rock cover. The vegetation is dominated by a sparse to moderately dense herbaceous layer of perennial grasses that is characterized by ~Pleuraphis jamesii (= Hilaria jamesii)$ with a open short-shrub canopy (10-25% cover). ~Pleuraphis jamesii$ typically grows as a bunchgrass, but under favorable conditions may produce a sod. It dominates the herbaceous layer growing in nearly pure stands or is codominated by ~Sporobolus airoides$ or ~Sporobolus cryptandrus$. Other common perennial grasses such as ~Achnatherum hymenoides (= Oryzopsis hymenoides), Elymus elymoides, Muhlenbergia torreyi, Schedonnardus paniculatus$, or ~Bouteloua gracilis$ may occur in small amounts (less than half the cover of ~Pleuraphis jamesii$). Forb cover is sparse and typically includes ~Sphaeralcea coccinea$ and ~Astragalus$ spp. The open short-shrub layer is often dominated by ~Atriplex obovata$ or ~Gutierrezia sarothrae$, but may include other shrubs and dwarf-shrubs such as ~Artemisia bigelovii, Atriplex canescens, Atriplex confertifolia, Ericameria nauseosa, Ephedra$ spp., ~Krascheninnikovia lanata, Opuntia$ spp., or ~Yucca$ spp., with less than 25% total cover. 
Accession Code: VB.CC.1292.A1532
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: PLEURAPHIS JAMESII SHRUB HERBACEOUS ALLIANCE
  Code: A.1532
  Common: James' Galleta Shrub Herbaceous Alliance
(convergence) and Synonyms:
(undetermined) Pleuraphis jamesii Shrub Herbaceous Alliance