Name:
Dasiphora fruticosa / Deschampsia cespitosa Wet Shrubland
Reference:
NatureServe Biotics 2019
Description:
This montane to subalpine shrubland association is widespread in the Rocky Mountains west to eastern Oregon and Utah on stream terraces above the channel, on drier edges of wetlands, on broad gently sloping valley bottoms and floodplains, on moderately steep mesic slopes near springs, and near glacial depressions. Elevation ranges from 2500-3300 m (8300-10,700 feet) in Colorado to 860-2267 m (2820-7400 feet) in Montana. Aspect is variable. Soils are typically derived from alluvium and are deep, fine-textured, but vary from sandy loam to clay loam. Gleying and mottling are common. Sites have a high water table that fluctuates (40-100 cm) seasonally. These riparian shrublands form an open to moderately dense, low-shrub layer dominated by <i>Dasiphora fruticosa ssp. floribunda</i> with thick cover of bunchgrasses. Other shrub species may include low cover of <i>Artemisia cana, Betula glandulosa, Salix boothii</i>, and <i>Salix planifolia</i>. The lush herbaceous layer is often typically diverse and usually dominated by the graminoid <i>Deschampsia cespitosa</i>, which is consistently present as a diagnostic species at least in trace amounts. Other characteristic graminoids may include <i>Carex aurea, Carex aquatilis, Carex heteroneura var. chalciolepis, Carex nova, Carex pellita, Carex microptera, Danthonia intermedia, Elymus trachycaulus, Festuca rubra, Festuca saximontana, Festuca brachyphylla, Phleum alpinum, Poa secunda</i>, and <i>Trisetum spicatum</i>. Numerous forb species may be present such as <i>Antennaria</i> spp., <i>Argentina anserina, Polygonum bistortoides, Caltha leptosepala, Cerastium arvense, Geum rossii, Penstemon procerus, Potentilla</i> spp., <i>Selaginella</i> spp., <i>Solidago simplex, Symphyotrichum</i> spp., <i>Stellaria longipes, Thalictrum</i> spp., <i>Trifolium longipes</i>, and <i>Valeriana edulis</i>. With heavy grazing <i>Achillea millefolium, Antennaria</i> spp., <i>Carex nebrascensis, Fragaria virginiana, Juncus arcticus ssp. littoralis</i>, and <i>Potentilla gracilis</i> increase in cover. Exotic graminoids <i>Poa pratensis</i> and <i>Alopecurus pratensis</i> and forbs <i>Taraxacum officinale</i> and <i>Trifolium repens</i> may be common in heavily grazed/disturbed stands.
Accession Code:
urn:lsid:vegbank.org:commConcept:30016-{1204E11A-3145-4514-AE95-EE0289B0D857}
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
4
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