Name:
Quercus grisea / Bouteloua curtipendula Scrub Woodland
Reference:
NatureServe Biotics 2019
Description:
This encinal association occurs in southeastern Arizona, southern New Mexico, and possibly Trans-Pecos Texas and adjacent Mexico. Stands occur on gently to moderately sloping alluvial plains, bajadas and canyon bottoms to steep, rocky slopes in canyons, piedmont hills and mountains. Elevation ranges from 1300-1980 m (4270-6500 feet) extending up to 2285 m (7500 feet) on southern to western aspects. Soils are shallow, gravelly or stony sandy loams or sandy clay loams, derived from a mixture of alluvium and colluvium. The vegetation is characterized by an open to moderately dense evergreen tree layer (10-60% cover) dominated by <i>Quercus grisea</i> with a grassy understory. The tree canopy is typically 3-5 m tall and >5 m tall in bottomland stands. Stands range from tree savanna to open woodland and moderately dense woodland at higher elevations and in canyon bottoms. <i>Quercus arizonica, Quercus emoryi, Quercus gravesii, Quercus oblongifolia, Prosopis</i> spp., <i>Juniperus deppeana, Juniperus monosperma</i>, and occasional <i>Pinus cembroides, Pinus discolor</i>, or <i>Pinus edulis</i> may be present in tree canopy but generally not codominant. There may be a sparse to moderately dense shrub layer, but graminoids dominate the understory. Shrubs and succulents present may include <i>Agave palmeri, Acacia constricta, Arctostaphylos pungens, Brickellia</i> spp., <i>Cercocarpus montanus, Dasylirion wheeleri, Dodonaea viscosa, Ericameria laricifolia, Eriogonum wrightii, Erythrina flabelliformis, Eysenhardtia orthocarpa, Garrya wrightii, Mimosa aculeaticarpa var. biuncifera, Mimosa dysocarpa, Nolina microcarpa, Opuntia engelmannii, Opuntia phaeacantha, Cylindropuntia spinosior, Quercus turbinella, Rhus trilobata, Yucca baccata</i>, and <i>Yucca madrensis</i>. The graminoid layer is moderately dense to dense (25-80% cover) and typically dominated by medium-tall bunchgrasses such as <i>Bouteloua curtipendula, Schizachyrium cirratum</i>, or <i>Muhlenbergia emersleyi</i>, but it can be very diverse. Other common graminoids may include <i>Aristida schiedeana var. orcuttiana, Bouteloua chondrosioides, Bouteloua eriopoda, Bouteloua gracilis, Bouteloua hirsuta, Bothriochloa barbinodis, Eragrostis intermedia, Leptochloa dubia, Muhlenbergia longiligula</i>, and <i>Poa fendleriana</i>. The usually sparse, but often diverse, forb layer may include <i>Artemisia ludoviciana, Boerhavia intermedia, Commelina erecta, Chenopodium</i> spp., <i>Datura wrightii, Ipomoea cristulata, Geranium caespitosum, Phaseolus</i> spp., and many others. Diagnostic of this association is the dominance of <i>Quercus grisea</i> in the tree canopy with at least 5% cover and a grass-dominated understory.
Accession Code:
urn:lsid:vegbank.org:commConcept:29598-{38DA9BB5-11C5-4F7D-9BEC-522ACF542A60}
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
0
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