Login | Datasets | Logout
Jump to... Home PLOT search PLANT search COMMUNITY search Simple search Manage datasets Tutorial About FAQ ------- Site map VegBranch Data dictionary ERD

stdcommconcept2054520545

View Community Concepts - Detail

Purshia tridentata Shrubland Alliance | Western Ecology Working Group of...
click to update datacart
Name: Purshia tridentata Shrubland Alliance Reference: Western Ecology Working Group of... Description: This alliance occurs throughout the Intermountain West at elevations from 500-3000 m. These shrublands occur over a broad range of landforms and microhabitats including stabilized dunes in Idaho and steep exposed mountain slopes with southerly aspects on the eastern side of the Front Range. These sites are typically too xeric to support extensions of the surrounding coniferous forests. These soils are poorly developed and rocky, with loamy and sandy textures. Shrublands included in this alliance are characterized by a Purshia tridentata-dominated shrub canopy, often with Artemisia tridentata. Other important shrubs include Artemisia frigida, Ericameria nauseosa (= Chrysothamnus nauseosus), Prunus virginiana, Ribes cereum, and Arctostaphylos uva-ursi. Scattered trees may form an emergent layer where Purshia tridentata shrublands grade into adjacent woodlands or forests. Typical tree associates include Pinus ponderosa, Pinus washoensis, Pinus jeffreyi, Juniperus occidentalis, Juniperus osteosperma, Juniperus scopulorum, Yucca brevifolia, Quercus garryana, Populus tremuloides, and Cercocarpus ledifolius. The herbaceous layer is usually dominated by perennial bunch grasses, including Muhlenbergia montana, Elymus lanceolatus, Hesperostipa comata (= Stipa comata), Poa secunda (= Poa sandbergii), Koeleria macrantha, and Achnatherum hymenoides (= Oryzopsis hymenoides). Some stands may have a well-developed forb component composed of Achillea millefolium, Balsamorhiza sagittata, Brodiaea spp., and Erigeron corymbosus. Mosses and lichens are important in some stands. Diagnostic of this alliance is the dominance of Purshia tridentata in a shrub layer that is greater than 25% on average.  Accession Code: VB.CC.20545.PURSHIATRIDENTA 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: Purshia tridentata Shrubland Alliance   UID: HIGHER_CLASS_UNIT.2.125494 NatureServe Explorer   Translated: Bitterbrush Shrubland Alliance   Code: A.825