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A.586 | EcoArt 2002
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Name: A.586
Reference: EcoArt 2002
Description: Plant associations in this alliance occur in semi-arid, mountainous habitats of the interior western United States. Annual precipitation averages 25-45 cm, with a significant proportion falling as winter snow. These woodlands often form small patchy stands on rocky outcrops or escarpments in forested areas, or may form the only tree cover in steppe regions. Elevations where the alliance is found range from 600 m to over 2650 m. Soils are typically rocky and immature, and are always of coarser texture than soils of adjacent coniferous woodlands or forests. The vegetation in this alliance is characterized by an open canopy of ~Cercocarpus ledifolius$. These woodlands may occur as scattered communities in arid steppe or on rocky outcrops or steep escarpments within forests. Steppe woodlands typically have only ~Cercocarpus ledifolius$ in the overstory canopy, but ~Juniperus occidentalis, Juniperus osteosperma, Juniperus scopulorum$, or ~Pinus monophylla$ occur in local areas. Evergreen or cold-deciduous shrubs often grow in these woodlands and include ~Artemisia tridentata ssp. vaseyana, Purshia tridentata, Amelanchier alnifolia, Holodiscus dumosus, Ericameria nauseosa (= Chrysothamnus nauseosus), Ribes$ spp., and ~Symphoricarpos$ spp. The understory is typically dominated by bunch grasses, including ~Festuca idahoensis, Leymus ambiguus, Pseudoroegneria spicata, Elymus elymoides, Calamagrostis rubescens$, and ~Stipa$ spp. Adjacent vegetation is usually ~Pinus ponderosa$ forest, ~Artemisia$ shrublands, or ~Festuca - Stipa$ grassland. 
Accession Code: VB.CC.2230.A586
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.5.N.a
  • This Community's Level: Alliance
  • This Community's Children: [none]
Names:   Scientific: CERCOCARPUS LEDIFOLIUS WOODLAND ALLIANCE
  Code: A.586
  Common: Curl-leaf Mountain-mahogany Woodland Alliance
(convergence) and Synonyms:
(undetermined) Cercocarpus ledifolius Woodland Alliance