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Artemisia tridentata - Atriplex confertifolia Shrubland | Western Ecology Working Group of...
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Name: Artemisia tridentata - Atriplex confertifolia Shrubland
Reference: Western Ecology Working Group of...
Description: This sagebrush shrubland occurs in the northwestern Great Plains and adjacent basins and mountains of the western United States, especially in badlands regions. Stands occur on shallow to deep soils with a comparably wide range of textures. Soils are derived from sandstone and shale sedimentary formations, including those with a calcareous composition, and they tend to have both high pH (7.6-8.4) and conductivity. This type is apparently not restricted by slope or aspect, occurring on both alluvial fans/terraces and highly eroded badlands with steep slopes (>80%). The known elevational range is from approximately 900-1500 m (3000-4700 feet). The visual aspect of this association, especially where it occurs on badlands and eroded surfaces, is often that of a depauperate shrubland, often with less than 25% cover. Artemisia tridentata ssp. wyomingensis and Atriplex confertifolia constitute from 5-25% combined cover, with Artemisia tridentata strongly dominant. In the Bighorn Basin and Bighorn Sedimentary Mountains Sections of Montana, other shrubs with greater than 50% constancy (but <5% canopy cover) include Atriplex nuttallii, Sarcobatus vermiculatus, Krascheninnikovia lanata, and Ericameria nauseosa (= Chrysothamnus nauseosus). Subshrubs Eriogonum brevicaule and Eriogonum pauciflorum are relatively constant on a regional basis. There is little consistency to the composition of the herbaceous layer, which varies from site to site across the region. The graminoids constitute the next most abundant component, but their combined cover usually does not exceed 5%; those grasses with the highest constancy are Achnatherum hymenoides (= Oryzopsis hymenoides), Hesperostipa comata (= Stipa comata), and Aristida purpurea. Phlox hoodii, Sphaeralcea coccinea and Opuntia polyacantha appear to have the highest constancy values, but seldom exceed 1% cover. 
Accession Code: VB.CC.19976.ARTEMISIATRIDEN
Plot-observations of this Community Concept: 0
      Party Perspective according to: NatureServe (organization)
Perspective from: 26-Nov-1997 to: 17-Nov-2014
      Names:   Translated: Basin Big Sagebrush - Shadscale Shrubland
  Code: CEGL000993
  Scientific: Artemisia tridentata - Atriplex confertifolia Shrubland
  UID: ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.684500 NatureServe ExplorerNatureServe Explorer logo
  Common: Big Sagebrush - Shadscale Shrubland
(convergence) and Synonyms:
(undetermined) Artemisia tridentata - Atriplex confertifolia Shrubland