Login | Datasets | Logout
Jump to... Home PLOT search PLANT search COMMUNITY search Simple search Manage datasets Tutorial About FAQ ------- Site map VegBranch Data dictionary ERD

stdcommconcept1850518505

View Community Concepts - Detail

Festuca viridula Herbaceous Alliance | Western Ecology Working Group of...
click to update datacart
Name: Festuca viridula Herbaceous Alliance Reference: Western Ecology Working Group of... Description: These are high-altitude grasslands that occur in cold, dry sites throughout the Pacific Northwest. Elevations range from 1400 m in the Olympic Mountains to over 2400 m in the mountains of northeastern Oregon. They are typically associated with south-facing or exposed slopes where snow cover is blown or melted off relatively early. West of the Cascades they are typically associated with rainshadow areas of the higher mountains. Summer lightning is common, and lightning fires may also serve to prevent tree or shrub encroachment. Soils are usually well-drained and vary in texture from coarse colluvium on steep slopes to fine-textured loams in low-gradient subalpine meadows. Parent materials are usually weathered volcanic extrusives or loess deposits. These communities are dominated by Festuca viridula, which may form dense, continuous stands in pristine situations. Most stands, however, are mixed with several other graminoid or forb species. Typical grasses and grass-like species include Carex hoodii, Carex geyeri, Carex spectabilis, Festuca idahoensis, Achnatherum occidentale (= Stipa occidentalis), Achnatherum lettermanii (= Stipa lettermanii), Elymus elymoides (= Sitanion hystrix), and Phleum alpinum. Common forb associates include Lupinus argenteus ssp. argenteus, Polygonum bistortoides, Polygonum phytolaccifolium, Eucephalus ledophyllus (= Aster ledophyllus), Lupinus arcticus, Potentilla flabellifolia, and Polemonium pulcherrimum. Adjacent vegetation is often subalpine forests of Tsuga mertensiana or Abies lasiocarpa, and at wetter sites, Carex spp. meadows or Phyllodoce - Cassiope shrublands are typical.  Accession Code: VB.CC.18505.FESTUCAVIRIDULA Plot-observations of this Community Concept: 0
	Party Perspective according to: NatureServe (organization) Perspective from: 26-Nov-1997 to: 01-May-2019
	status: accepted This Community's Level: Alliance This Community's Children: [none]		Names:   Scientific: Festuca viridula Herbaceous Alliance   Translated: Greenleaf Fescue Herbaceous Alliance   UID: HIGHER_CLASS_UNIT.2.125863 NatureServe Explorer   Code: A.1257