Name:
Artemisia nova / Hesperostipa comata Shrubland
Reference:
Western Ecology Working Group of...
Description:
This association is found in the foothills, plateaus and mountains of Nevada, Idaho, and Utah. It also occurs in northwestern Colorado. Stands occur on flat mesatops, benches and plains or on steep pediment slopes, knolls and ridges, and elevations range from 1890 to 2530 m. Aspects are often southern. Substrates are typically shallow, stony soils often derived from calcareous parent materials such as limestone. Soil textures are variable and range from sandy, loamy, fine-textured or skeletal; argillic subsoil horizons are common. There is often an impenetrable subsurface layer from a duripan, caliche, or bedrock. Combined ground cover of bare ground, rock and gravel is often high (about 70% cover). Litter is concentrated under the shrub canopies. The vegetation is characterized by an open dwarf-shrub canopy (10-30% cover) that is dominated by Artemisia nova and a sparse herbaceous layer dominated by the perennial graminoid Hesperostipa comata with scattered forbs. Scattered Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus, Ericameria parryi, Grayia spinosa, Krascheninnikovia lanata, and Tetradymia canescens are common shrub associates that may be present in smaller amounts. Achnatherum hymenoides, Elymus elymoides, Koeleria macrantha, Pleuraphis jamesii, Poa fendleriana, or Poa secunda may be present in the herbaceous layer but have sparse cover. Forbs include species of Astragalus, Erigeron, Eriogonum, Packera, Phlox, and Penstemon. Introduced annual graminoids such as Bromus rubens and Bromus tectorum are common in disturbed stands.
Accession Code:
VB.CC.20328.ARTEMISIANOVAHE
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
0
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