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A.967 | EcoArt 2002
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Name: A.967
Reference: EcoArt 2002
Description: This riparian alliance occurs on stream benches and floodplains in narrow to moderately wide valleys and hillside seeps in the mountains and foothills across much of the western U.S. Surface water is present for brief periods during the growing season, but the water table usually lies well below soil surface. Substrates are typically alluvial and range from fairly shallow, finer-textured soils to gravel and boulders. Soils usually have signs of saturation (mottles). The vegetation is characterized by a nearly continuous tall-shrub to small-tree canopy dominated by ~Betula occidentalis$ along the streambank with up to 90% cover. Other shrub species include ~Alnus incana, Cornus sericea, Dasiphora fruticosa ssp. floribunda (= Pentaphylloides floribunda), Salix exigua, Amelanchier utahensis, Prunus virginiana$, and ~Salix monticola$. Along narrow valleys at higher elevations, conifers may overhang the stream edge. Herbaceous undergrowth is usually limited because of the dense shrub canopy. Forb species include ~Maianthemum stellatum, Heracleum sphondylium, Thalictrum fendleri$, and ~Rudbeckia laciniata$. Graminoid cover is usually low and includes the following species: ~Carex utriculata, Carex pellita (= Carex lanuginosa), Carex microptera, Carex nebrascensis, Glyceria$ spp., ~Juncus balticus$, and introduced hay grasses. Diagnostic of this alliance is the ~Betula occidentalis$-dominated tall-shrub layer that occurs on sites that are flooded for brief periods during the growing season. 
Accession Code: VB.CC.2593.A967
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: III.B.2.N.d
  • This Community's Level: Alliance
  • This Community's Children: [none]
Names:   Scientific: BETULA OCCIDENTALIS TEMPORARILY FLOODED SHRUBLAND ALLIANCE
  Code: A.967
  Common: Water Birch Temporarily Flooded Shrubland Alliance
(convergence) and Synonyms:
(undetermined) Betula occidentalis Temporarily Flooded Shrubland Alliance