Login | Datasets | Logout
Jump to... Home PLOT search PLANT search COMMUNITY search Simple search Manage datasets Tutorial About FAQ ------- Site map VegBranch Data dictionary ERD

stdcommconcept4201242012

View Community Concepts - Detail

Juniperus monosperma / Bouteloua gracilis Open Woodland | NatureServe Biotics 2019
click to update datacart
Name: Juniperus monosperma / Bouteloua gracilis Open Woodland Reference: NatureServe Biotics 2019 Description: This southern Rocky Mountains woodland occur on foothills in south-central Colorado and northern New Mexico and extends out into the southwestern Great Plains where it is largely restricted to areas near hills and escarpments. It also extends westward into the southeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and southward into south-central New Mexico where it is a major association on desert mountains and mesas. Elevation ranges from 1372-2290 m (4500-7500 feet). Sites include gently rolling slopes, including weathered lava plateaus, gentle to steep footslopes and shoulder slopes of low sandstone hills or beneath sandstone bluffs, and steep upper sideslopes of low hills and volcano craters, on a variety of aspects with a tendency of increasing southerly slopes with increasing elevation. Further south it is generally cool (northwest to west), even at higher elevations. Substrates are variable but are frequently finer-textured Mollisols and Aridisols derived from limestone and sandstone, often with piedmont alluvial and slope colluvial deposits. The ground surface is characterized by scattered grass patches and litter amid an equal amount of exposed soil, gravel or rock. Vegetation is characterized by an open to very open tree canopy (10-40% cover) of mature <i>Juniperus monosperma</i> forming a generally open woodland or savanna with the grassy inter-tree spaces dominated by <i>Bouteloua gracilis</i>. Occasionally mature individuals, seedlings or saplings of <i>Pinus edulis</i> can be present. The dwarf-shrub <i>Gutierrezia sarothrae</i> is usually present and scattered throughout sites. Other shrubs are poorly represented or absent; succulents such as <i>Cylindropuntia imbricata</i> and <i>Opuntia phaeacantha</i> are the most frequent. The herbaceous layer is characteristically grassy and dominated by abundant <i>Bouteloua gracilis</i> with ruderal <i>Muhlenbergia torreyi</i> and <i>Aristida purpurea</i> often well-represented along with <i>Pleuraphis jamesii, Sporobolus cryptandrus</i>, and <i>Sporobolus airoides</i> as common subordinate associates. <i>Bouteloua curtipendula </i>may be present but is clearly not dominant. Forbs may be diverse but variable, and cover is generally low and may include <i>Artemisia dracunculus, Astragalus</i> spp., <i>Erigeron divergens, Heterotheca villosa, Ipomopsis longiflora, Ipomopsis multiflora, Penstemon</i> spp., <i>Townsendia</i> spp., and <i>Thelesperma megapotamicum</i>.  Accession Code: urn:lsid:vegbank.org:commConcept:29619-{F6D08D65-79C1-4B55-AAF3-92CC6C6F25BE} Plot-observations of this Community Concept: 0
	Party Perspective according to: NatureServe (organization) Perspective from: 17-Oct-2018 to: ongoing
	status: accepted Community's Parent: Juniperus monosperma Wooded Grassland Alliance This Community's Level: Association This Community's Children: [none]		Names:   UID: ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.688854 NatureServe Explorer   Code: CEGL000710   Translated: One-seed Juniper / Blue Grama Open Woodland   Scientific: Juniperus monosperma / Bouteloua gracilis Open Woodland (convergence) and Synonyms: (similar) CEGL000710 (similar) Juniperus monosperma / Bouteloua gracilis Woodland (similar) Juniperus monosperma / Bouteloua gracilis Woodland