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A.485 | EcoArt 2002
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Name: A.485
Reference: EcoArt 2002
Description: This woodland alliance of the desert Southwest is found along canyon waterways and faultlines on intermittently flooded sites below 900 m in elevation. Permanent subsurface water is required to maintain ~Washingtonia filifera$, a relict species. Only 24 sites are known to support oases in the Colorado Desert, one of the most arid regions in North America. The mean 24-hour maximum temperature may exceed 38 degrees Celsius for several weeks a year. Annual precipitation totals between 90 and 168 mm. Salinity is low in the root zone, but increases near the surface where evaporation leaves salt accumulations. Reproduction of ~Washingtonia filifera$ is limited by water supply, surface salinity, rainfall, and fire. Oases are the only desert community in which fire is an important abiotic factor. Fan palms are fire-tolerant, while the understory species are not. Fires open up the understory allowing palm seedlings to establish. Removal of the understory also decreases competition for water. This alliance of the oases of the Colorado Desert is recognized by the presence of ~Washingtonia filifera$ as the sole or dominant tree in the canopy. There is great floristic diversity among oases, and this palm is the only species that does not differ in its relative importance. The vegetation of oases along waterways differs consistently from those along faultlines. Other trees that may be present include ~Platanus racemosa, Quercus chrysolepis, Populus fremontii$, and ~Fraxinus velutina$. A subcanopy is often present and may be comprised of ~Salix lasiolepis, Salix gooddingii, Salix exigua$, and ~Prosopis glandulosa$. 
Accession Code: VB.CC.2135.A485
Plot-observations of this Community Concept: 0
      Party Perspective according to: NatureServe (organization)
Perspective from: 26-Nov-1997 to: 17-Mar-2005
     
  • status: accepted
  • Community's Parent: II.A.2.N.b
  • This Community's Level: Alliance
  • This Community's Children: [none]
Names:   Scientific: WASHINGTONIA FILIFERA SEASONALLY FLOODED WOODLAND ALLIANCE
  Code: A.485
  Common: California Fan Palm Seasonally Flooded Woodland Alliance
(convergence) and Synonyms:
(undetermined) Washingtonia filifera Seasonally Flooded Woodland Alliance