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A.996 | EcoArt 2002
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Name: A.996
Reference: EcoArt 2002
Description: This 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 extended periods during the growing season. The water table, after flooding ceases, is variable, extending from saturated to well below the ground 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. 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 extended periods during the growing season. 
Accession Code: VB.CC.2623.A996
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.e
  • This Community's Level: Alliance
  • This Community's Children: [none]
Names:   Scientific: BETULA OCCIDENTALIS SEASONALLY FLOODED SHRUBLAND ALLIANCE
  Code: A.996
  Common: Water Birch Seasonally Flooded Shrubland Alliance
(convergence) and Synonyms:
(undetermined) Betula occidentalis Seasonally Flooded Shrubland Alliance