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Schizachyrium scoparium - (Sporobolus cryptandrus) Herbaceous Alliance | Midwestern Ecology Working Group...
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Name: Schizachyrium scoparium - (Sporobolus cryptandrus) Herbaceous Alliance
Reference: Midwestern Ecology Working Group...
Description: This alliance, found primarily in the central midwestern United States and adjacent Canada, contains sand barrens and dry sand prairies. The vegetation is typically an open graminoid layer with a mixture of forbs and occasional prominence of lichens, blue-green algae and dwarf-shrubs. Typical grass dominants include Schizachyrium scoparium, Calamovilfa longifolia, Cyperus schweinitzii, Koeleria macrantha, and Sporobolus cryptandrus. In Minnesota and Wisconsin sand barrens, some of the more distinctive forbs include Artemisia frigida, Antennaria plantaginifolia, Penstemon grandiflorus, Lithospermum caroliniense, and Carex muehlenbergii. Hudsonia tomentosa may occur in restricted areas on active blowouts or slipfaces. This alliance is typically found on dry to dry-mesic sands on outwash plains, old dune blankets and alluvial deposits along rivers and streams. It may also result from abandonment of farming on sandy soils. The low nutrient levels, low levels of organic matter, and very low water-retaining capacity of the deep sands undoubtedly influence the species composition and structure of this alliance. 
Accession Code: VB.CC.19717.SCHIZACHYRIUMSC
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: Schizachyrium scoparium - (Sporobolus cryptandrus) Herbaceous Alliance
  Translated: Little Bluestem - (Sand Dropseed) Herbaceous Alliance
  UID: HIGHER_CLASS_UNIT.2.126111 NatureServe ExplorerNatureServe Explorer logo
  Code: A.1224