Name:
Panicum virgatum - Calamovilfa arcuata Herbaceous Vegetation
Reference:
Southeastern Ecology Working Gro...
Description:
This scour prairie community occurs on moderately wet to relatively well-drained scour zones on the rocks, boulders, and cobbles that form the banks of larger streams and rivers of the Ouachita Mountains. It is best expressed where the rivers have cut through rock outcrops and bare rock is exposed, often adjoining rocky bluffs. Vegetation is typically short (0.5-1 m), and bare rock exposures are common. Species composition is variable depending in part on size of river and width of riverbank. Commonly dominant are Panicum virgatum, Schizachyrium scoparium, and Calamovilfa arcuata. Other common herbaceous species include Andropogon gerardii, Symphyotrichum dumosum (= Aster dumosus) (riverbank form), Baptisia sphaerocarpa, Boltonia diffusa, Coreopsis tripteris, Diodia virginiana, Euphorbia corollata, Conoclinium coelestinum (= Eupatorium coelestinum), Eupatorium serotinum, Ludwigia alternifolia, Panicum rigidulum, Rhexia mariana, Silphium laciniatum, Trachelospermum difforme, Tradescantia ohiensis, Tridens flavus, Tripsacum dactyloides, and others. Commonly occurring woody species include Acer rubrum var. trilobum, Alnus serrulata, Amorpha fruticosa, Amorpha ouachitensis, Betula nigra, Cornus obliqua (= Cornus amomum ssp. obliqua), Diospyros virginiana, Hamamelis vernalis, Hypericum lobocarpum, Hypericum prolificum, Ilex decidua, Ilex vomitoria, Liquidambar styraciflua, Nyssa sylvatica, Platanus occidentalis, and others. Characteristic species of this community include Camassia scilloides, Carex crinita, Ceanothus herbaceus, Cooperia drummondii, Houstonia purpurea, Juncus coriaceus, Liatris squarrosa, Dichanthelium acuminatum var. lindheimeri (= Panicum lindheimeri), Parthenium integrifolium, Physostegia intermedia, Rhynchospora glomerata, Trepocarpus aethusae, and Valerianella radiata. This community is maintained by the scouring of floods in relatively high gradient flashy rivers. Where river size is too small, scouring is not intense enough to remove shrubs which then come to dominate the site. Where the river is too large or becomes low gradient, the plant community shifts to riparian forest vegetation. Hydrological alteration degrades and eliminates this community.
Accession Code:
VB.CC.25624.PANICUMVIRGATUM
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
0
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