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Larrea tridentata / Bouteloua eriopoda Shrubland | NatureServe Biotics 2019
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Name: Larrea tridentata / Bouteloua eriopoda Shrubland
Reference: NatureServe Biotics 2019
Description: This is a major upper piedmont community of the Jornada del Muerto and Tularosa basins of New Mexico and is also common in mountain drainages that occur throughout the Oscura and San Andres mountains. It has been reported from Arizona and Texas, as well. This association typically occurs at mid elevations across moderately sloped upper piedmonts and on the surrounding and slightly steeper foothill slopes (lower escarpments and dipslopes). Here, stands occur on platform summits of remnant alluvial deposits or on newly deposited colluvial sediments on the collar of foothill slopes. Soils range from loams to loamy sands with an abundance of gravel and some rocks, and are well-drained and well-developed with calcic horizons less than one meter in depth. Parent material is mixed (limestone, sandstone and igneous), and aspects are generally, but not limited to, slopes which have moderate (east- and west-facing) solar incidence. This Chihuahuan shrubland is characterized by a diverse and open shrub layer dominated by <i>Larrea tridentata</i>, with a well-developed grassy understory dominated by <i>Bouteloua eriopoda</i>. Tall-shrub phases of <i>Prosopis glandulosa, Fouquieria splendens</i>, and <i>Thymophylla acerosa</i> have been proposed. Canopies also include several other short- and tall-growing shrubs such as <i>Gutierrezia sarothrae, Parthenium incanum, Opuntia phaeacantha</i>, and <i>Cylindropuntia leptocaulis</i>. Species composition and diversity within the herbaceous layer vary from stand to stand, but grasses consistently found in the understory include <i>Muhlenbergia porteri</i> (under shrub canopies), <i>Dasyochloa pulchella</i> (found growing between <i>Bouteloua eriopoda</i> clumps), and <i>Aristida purpurea</i>. Generally, the forbs are scattered and collectively contribute little to canopy cover. Common recurrent species are <i>Bahia absinthifolia, Menodora scabra, Echinocactus horizonthalonius</i>, and <i>Echinocereus triglochidiatus</i>. 
Accession Code: urn:lsid:vegbank.org:commConcept:30174-{D4C97346-9DA6-4038-8C9C-F5F387A34A8F}
Plot-observations of this Community Concept: 0
      Party Perspective according to: NatureServe (organization)
Perspective from: 30-Aug-2012 to: ongoing
      Names:   UID: ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.683311 NatureServe ExplorerNatureServe Explorer logo
  Code: CEGL001265
  Translated: Creosotebush / Black Grama Shrubland
  Scientific: Larrea tridentata / Bouteloua eriopoda Shrubland
(convergence) and Synonyms:
(similar) CEGL001265
(similar) Larrea tridentata / Bouteloua eriopoda Shrubland
(similar) Larrea tridentata / Bouteloua eriopoda Shrubland