Name:
Pinus ponderosa / Bouteloua gracilis Woodland
Reference:
Western Ecology Working Group of...
Description:
This widespread woodland occurs at foothill and lower montane elevations from the southern Rocky Mountains, extending east on southern Great Plains escarpments, south to the mountains of western Texas, west to the Colorado Plateau and Mogollon Rim of New Mexico, Arizona and Utah. Sites occur on dry, gentle to steep slopes on all aspects, but are more common on southern and western aspects, especially at higher elevations. Substrates are quite variable and include shallow sandy loam soils derived from granitic parent materials, coarse cinder soils, and clayey soil with or without high coarse fragment content. The vegetation is characterized by an open to moderately dense evergreen, needle-leaved tree canopy 10-30 m tall that is either dominated by Pinus ponderosa or codominated by Pinus ponderosa and Pinus edulis. Species of Juniperus may be important subdominants. The typically moderately dense herbaceous layer has greater cover than the shrub layer, and is dominated by graminoids. Bouteloua gracilis, the warm-season, sod-forming, shortgrass, dominates the herbaceous layer. Common graminoid associates include Aristida spp., Bouteloua hirsuta, Carex geophila, Elymus elymoides, Hesperostipa comata, Koeleria macrantha, Muhlenbergia montana, Poa fendleriana, or Schizachyrium scoparium. Quercus gambelii may be present in the sparse shrub layer (<10% cover) with low cover (<5%). Other shrubs may include scattered Artemisia tridentata, Ceanothus fendleri, Cercocarpus montanus, Ericameria nauseosa, Purshia tridentata, Rhus trilobata, and Tetradymia canescens. Forb cover is typically sparse.
Accession Code:
VB.CC.22964.PINUSPONDEROSAB
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
0
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