Name:
Artemisia bigelovii Shrubland Alliance
Reference:
Western Ecology Working Group of...
Description:
Stands included in this dwarf-shrubland alliance are found on the Colorado Plateau and in southeastern Colorado. Sites include gentle to moderately steep shale hillslopes and mesas in Arizona and breaks and shale plains in the shortgrass steppe west to the foothills near the Colorado Front Range. Soils are typically shallow, well-drained, calcareous loams, clay loams, and clays derived from limestone, sandstone, shale and alluvium. The soil surface has high cover of bare soil and rock. The vegetation is characterized by a sparse to moderately dense dwarf-shrub layer that is dominated or codominated by Artemisia bigelovii. Dwarf-shrub associates from the shortgrass steppe include Yucca glauca, Krascheninnikovia lanata, Frankenia jamesii, and Glossopetalon spinescens var. meionandrum, which may be present to codominant. On the Colorado Plateau, stands may be codominated by Ephedra spp., Eriogonum corymbosum, Parryella filifolia, or Purshia stansburiana. Gutierrezia sarothrae and species of Atriplex and Yucca are common in most stands. Scattered Juniperus spp. trees are occasionally present. A sparse to moderate graminoid layer is usually present. Dominant grasses include Aristida purpurea, Achnatherum hymenoides (= Oryzopsis hymenoides), Bouteloua gracilis, Hesperostipa neomexicana (= Stipa neomexicana), Pleuraphis jamesii (= Hilaria jamesii), Sporobolus cryptandrus, or less commonly Pascopyrum smithii. On the Colorado Plateau forbs are generally sparse. However, cushion plants are common on shortgrass steppe slopes. Other forbs, such as Astragalus missouriensis, Heterotheca villosa, Melampodium cinereum, Picradeniopsis oppositifolia, Stanleya pinnata, and Zinnia grandiflora, are usually present. Exotic annuals, such as Bromus japonicus, Bromus tectorum, Salsola kali, and Descurainia sophia, may be present to common depending on disturbance, and amount and season of precipitation. Diagnostic of this alliance is the Artemisia bigelovii-dominated or codominated dwarf-shrub layer.
Accession Code:
VB.CC.24293.ARTEMISIABIGELO
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
0
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