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Hesperostipa comata - Bouteloua gracilis - Carex filifolia Herbaceous Vegetation | Midwestern Ecology Working Group...
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Name: Hesperostipa comata - Bouteloua gracilis - Carex filifolia Herbaceous Vegetation Reference: Midwestern Ecology Working Group... Description: This needlegrass - grama grass prairie community is common in the northern and central Great Plains of the United States. Stands occur on flat to rolling topography with deep (40-100 cm), sandy loam to loam, coarser-textured soils. They are typically associated with uplands, though they may also occur lower in the landscape, such as coulee and draw bottoms, if soils are sufficiently coarse (usually sandstone-derived). The type is found at elevations ranging from 600-1700 m (2000-5500 feet); average annual precipitation associated with these elevation param ranges from slightly less than 25 cm to over 50 cm (10-20 inches). The vegetation is dominated by moderate to moderately dense medium-tall grasses. Hesperostipa comata (= Stipa comata) is the tallest of the dominant species, sending seed heads to a maximum height of approximately 1 m. The rhizomatous graminoids Bouteloua gracilis and Carex filifolia, the other two dominant/codominant species, do not usually exceed 0.5 m. Calamovilfa longifolia is often found with high cover values on sandier soils, and Koeleria macrantha cover increases on degraded sites. There are regionalized expressions of variability with Carex inops ssp. heliophila surpassing Carex filifolia in Colorado and Calamagrostis montanensis being at least as important as the diagnostic species in north-central Montana. Pascopyrum smithii is consistently present. For woody species, subshrub forms (Artemisia frigida, Gutierrezia sarothrae, Rosa arkansana) have the highest cover and constancy, but their total cover does not sum to more than 5%, except on overgrazed sites. Cover values for forbs are low (the exception being Selaginella densa). Geographic setting influences forb composition to some degree, with Sphaeralcea coccinea, Phlox hoodii, Heterotheca villosa, Gaura coccinea, and Liatris punctata common in the northern areas, and Lygodesmia juncea, Opuntia polyacantha, Artemisia dracunculus, and Ratibida columnifera seeming to increase to the eastern and southern areas.  Accession Code: VB.CC.20096.HESPEROSTIPACOM Plot-observations of this Community Concept: 0
	Party Perspective according to: NatureServe (organization) Perspective from: 26-Nov-1997 to: 17-Nov-2014
	status: accepted Community's Parent: Hesperostipa comata - Bouteloua gracilis Herbaceous Alliance This Community's Level: Association This Community's Children: [none]		Names:   Translated: Needle-and-Thread - Blue Grama - Threadleaf Sedge Herbaceous Vegetation   UID: ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.684520 NatureServe Explorer   Code: CEGL002037   Scientific: Hesperostipa comata - Bouteloua gracilis - Carex filifolia Herbaceous Vegetation   Common: Needle-and-Thread - Blue Grama Mixedgrass Prairie (convergence) and Synonyms: (undetermined) Hesperostipa comata - Bouteloua gracilis - Carex filifolia Herbaceous Vegetation