Name:
Juniperus monosperma / Artemisia bigelovii Woodland
Reference:
NatureServe Biotics 2019
Description:
This woodland association ranges from southern Colorado to northern New Mexico and Arizona, and possibly extreme southern Utah. Stands occur in the mesas and hillslopes, piedmonts, canyons, escarpments, and other geographic breaks in the southern Colorado Plateau to foothills of the southern Rocky Mountains and breaks in the southwestern Great Plains. Elevation ranges from 1520-2130 m (5000-7000 feet). Sites are on nearly level surfaces to steep, rocky slopes in canyons and on hillsides. Stands occur on all aspects except in elevational extremes where low-elevation stands are restricted to the more mesic north slopes, whereas high-elevation stands occur on southern aspects. Sites are typically dry with shallow, rocky, calcareous, alkaline soils. Soil textures range from sandy loam to clay soils typically derived from limestone, sandstone or shale. The vegetation is characterized by a typically open (5-15% cover) to occasionally moderately dense evergreen, scale-leaved tree canopy 2-7 m tall composed of <i>Juniperus monosperma</i>. Sparse canopy stands have trees distributed in patches, resembling a savanna, whereas the tree crowns touch in the moderately dense stands. Occasional <i>Pinus edulis</i> trees may also be present. At higher elevations, <i>Juniperus scopulorum</i> may be present, and in the southern extent, Madrean evergreen woodland elements such as <i>Juniperus deppeana</i> and <i>Juniperus coahuilensis</i> may be present but not codominant. The understory is typically a sparse and patchy dwarf-shrub layer dominated by <i>Artemisia bigelovii</i>. Other shrubs and dwarf-shrubs may be present such as <i>Atriplex canescens, Ephedra</i> spp., <i>Gutierrezia sarothrae, Krascheninnikovia lanata, Opuntia</i> spp., <i>Parryella filifolia, Purshia stansburiana, Yucca</i> spp., and <i>Mahonia fremontii</i>, depending on geography. A sparse to moderately dense herbaceous layer dominated by perennial grasses may be present. The most abundant species are <i>Bouteloua eriopoda, Bouteloua gracilis, Aristida</i> spp., <i>Pleuraphis jamesii, Achnatherum hymenoides, Piptatheropsis micrantha, Sporobolus</i> spp., <i>Hesperostipa comata, Hesperostipa neomexicana</i>, and introduced annual grass <i>Bromus tectorum</i>. Many forb species can occur, but few have much cover.
Accession Code:
urn:lsid:vegbank.org:commConcept:29614-{F976ACDE-483C-4713-B156-6FC45E0855FD}
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
0
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