Name:
Artemisia tridentata ssp. vaseyana / Festuca thurberi Shrubland
Reference:
Western Ecology Working Group of...
Description:
This relatively common mountain sagebrush shrubland occurs in the southern Rocky Mountains in central, north-central, and northwestern Colorado. Stands are found on mesic high-elevation sites with gentle to steep slopes (5-72% slopes) often on warm, southerly aspects too dry for forests at higher elevations and on more mesic north and northeasterly aspects at lower elevations. Elevations generally range between 2550 and 3200 m (8360-10,500 feet) but are reported up to 3660 m (12,000 feet). Substrates are typically deep, well-drained, variably gravelly or cobbly (skeletal) loamy to clayey soils derived from a variety of parent materials. The vegetation is characterized by an open to moderate (25-50% cover) short-shrub layer (to 1 m tall) that is dominated by <i>Artemisia tridentata ssp. vaseyana</i>, with a typically patchy graminoid layer dominated by the tall bunchgrass <i>Festuca thurberi</i>. The shrub layer is typically diverse, with additional short and dwarf-shrubs providing low cover, such as <i>Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus, Ericameria parryi, Mahonia repens, Rosa woodsii</i>, and <i>Symphoricarpos rotundifolius</i>. Disturbed sites may have high cover of <i>Ericameria nauseosa</i>. The herbaceous layer is diverse and provides moderate to dense cover. Additional graminoids that provide low to moderate cover include <i>Achnatherum pinetorum, Achnatherum lettermanii, Achnatherum nelsonii, Carex geyeri, Bromus anomalus, Bromus porteri, Elymus trachycaulus, Koeleria macrantha, Poa fendleriana</i>, and introduced species <i>Bromus inermis</i> and <i>Poa pratensis</i>. Forbs are diverse and provide moderate cover, including <i>Achillea millefolium var. occidentalis, Campanula rotundifolia, Cirsium undulatum var. tracyi, Delphinium x occidentale, Eriogonum umbellatum, Lathyrus lanszwertii</i>, and <i>Vicia americana</i>.
Accession Code:
VB.CC.34384.CEGL001024
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
0
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