Name:
Shepherdia argentea Temporarily Flooded Shrubland Alliance
Reference:
Western Ecology Working Group of...
Description:
This alliance, found in the northern Great Plains, is a shrubland found in dry landscapes. This alliance is found on stream terraces, rolling uplands, and badlands. It occurs where moisture is more plentiful than on the surrounding landscape, such as in swales, ravines, near streams, and on northwest- to east-facing slopes. This trend is more pronounced in Wyoming where this alliance is found only near streams and may be less pronounced in Saskatchewan and northern Montana. Soils are loamy sand, sandy loam, silty loam, or loam and are derived from glacial drift, siltstone, or sandstone. This alliance does not flood often, but some sites show evidence of a high water table. The alliance is dominated by a moderate to dense canopy of medium-tall shrubs. The most abundant of these, Shepherdia argentea, is typically 1.5-3 m tall. Other species commonly in the shrub layer are Juniperus horizontalis, Prunus virginiana, Ribes spp., Rhus aromatica, Rosa woodsii, and Symphoricarpos occidentalis. Herbaceous species are less important in this community. Grass species, such as Bromus inermis, Bromus tectorum, Calamagrostis montanensis, Leymus cinereus, Pascopyrum smithii, and Poa pratensis, and forbs, such as Achillea millefolium, Cirsium arvense, Galium boreale, Maianthemum stellatum, Parietaria pensylvanica, and Solidago spp., may have only half the coverage as the shrub layer. Stands of this alliance are usually small, occurring in a predominantly prairie landscape either as small thickets or narrow bands along streams.
Accession Code:
VB.CC.18517.SHEPHERDIAARGEN
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
0
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