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Artemisia rigida Shrub Herbaceous Alliance | Western Ecology Working Group of...
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Name: Artemisia rigida Shrub Herbaceous Alliance
Reference: Western Ecology Working Group of...
Description: This alliance occurs in scablands east of the Cascade Mountains in the Columbia Basin steppe and on the Snake River Plateau of Oregon, Washington and Idaho. Elevations range from 190-1830 m. Stands are found on flat to undulating to rolling plateaus, plains, ridgetops and brows. The key environmental indicator is the fact that soils are shallow with a high percentage of rock fragments (10-70%) (lithic). Parent material is restricted to colluvium and residuum derived from basalt and acid lava. The soil surface is mostly rock, erosion pavement (pebble surface), bare ground, and moss. Stands have a sparse to moderately dense herbaceous layer (<0.5 m tall) that is dominated by either of the cool-season, perennial bunch grasses Poa secunda or Pseudoroegneria spicata. A sparse (10-25% cover) woody layer of scattered Artemisia rigida is diagnostic of these stands. Occasionally this dwarf-shrub layer exceeds 25% cover and may include woody buckwheat shrubs (Eriogonum spp.). Moss and lichen cover in undisturbed stands is often high and ranges from 1-60% cover. 
Accession Code: VB.CC.19367.ARTEMISIARIGIDA
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: Artemisia rigida Shrub Herbaceous Alliance
  Translated: Scabland Sagebrush Shrub Herbaceous Alliance
  UID: HIGHER_CLASS_UNIT.2.125659 NatureServe ExplorerNatureServe Explorer logo
  Code: A.1574