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Pleuraphis jamesii Shrub Herbaceous Alliance | Western Ecology Working Group of...
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Name: Pleuraphis jamesii Shrub Herbaceous Alliance Reference: Western Ecology Working Group of... Description: This alliance has been described from the southern Colorado Plateau in northwestern New Mexico and adjacent Arizona. Climate is semi-arid. The elevation ranges from 1500-1860 m, but stands likely occur over a wider elevational and geographical range. Sites occur on a variety of landforms including mesas, plains, alluvial flats and fans, floodplains, and hillslopes. Soils are shallow, poorly developed and alkaline. Soil textures range from fine sandy loam to silty clay loam to clay. The ground surface has high cover of bare ground (to 90%) with little litter or rock cover. The vegetation is dominated by a sparse to moderately dense herbaceous layer of perennial grasses that is characterized by Pleuraphis jamesii (= Hilaria jamesii) with a open short-shrub canopy (10-25% cover). Pleuraphis jamesii typically grows as a bunchgrass, but under favorable conditions may produce a sod. It dominates the herbaceous layer growing in nearly pure stands or is codominated by Sporobolus airoides or Sporobolus cryptandrus. Other common perennial grasses such as Achnatherum hymenoides (= Oryzopsis hymenoides), Elymus elymoides, Muhlenbergia torreyi, Schedonnardus paniculatus, or Bouteloua gracilis may occur in small amounts (less than half the cover of Pleuraphis jamesii). Forb cover is sparse and typically includes Sphaeralcea coccinea and Astragalus spp. The open short-shrub layer is often dominated by Atriplex obovata or Gutierrezia sarothrae, but may include other shrubs and dwarf-shrubs such as Artemisia bigelovii, Atriplex canescens, Atriplex confertifolia, Ericameria nauseosa, Ephedra spp., Krascheninnikovia lanata, Opuntia spp., or Yucca spp., with less than 25% total cover.  Accession Code: VB.CC.24053.PLEURAPHISJAMES 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: Pleuraphis jamesii Shrub Herbaceous Alliance   Translated: James' Galleta Shrub Herbaceous Alliance   UID: HIGHER_CLASS_UNIT.2.124594 NatureServe Explorer   Code: A.1532