Name:
Coleogyne ramosissima Shrubland
Reference:
NatureServe Biotics 2019
Description:
This broadly defined, common shrubland association occurs in the Colorado Plateau, southern Great Basin, Mojave Desert, and Sierra Nevada foothills. The vegetation is characterized by an open to moderately dense short-shrub layer that is clearly dominated by the evergreen microphyllous shrub <i>Coleogyne ramosissima</i>, sometimes in nearly pure stands with a typically sparse herbaceous layer. Shrub cover is usually around 20%, although it can range as low as 5% or as high as 50%. Because it is a wide-ranging type, a variety of other shrub and dwarf-shrub species may be present with low cover, including <i>Acamptopappus sphaerocephalus, Ambrosia dumosa, Artemisia bigelovii, Artemisia filifolia, Atriplex canescens, Atriplex confertifolia, Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus, Ephedra funerea, Ephedra cutleri, Ephedra nevadensis, Ephedra torreyana, Ephedra viridis, Ericameria linearifolia, Ericameria teretifolia, Eriogonum corymbosum, Gutierrezia sarothrae, Gutierrezia microcephala, Krascheninnikovia lanata, Lycium</i> spp., <i>Menodora spinescens, Opuntia</i> spp., <i>Psorothamnus fremontii</i>, and <i>Yucca baccata</i>. Occasional <i>Juniperus</i> spp., <i>Pinus edulis</i>, or <i>Pinus monophylla</i> trees are present in some stands. The herbaceous layer generally includes only sparse cover of graminoids and forbs, except during wet years when cover of annuals may be high. Cover of the introduced annual <i>Bromus</i> spp. may be high in disturbed stands, but in general, the substrate does not support the growth of more than a trace of grasses. Stands are found on a variety of landforms. Sites are on level to steep slopes, rarely exceeding 45% and include all aspects. In southern Nevada, stands occur on lower foothills and upper bajadas, often with cooler northern and eastern aspects. In the Colorado Plateau, stands occupy alluvial fans, benches, canyon bottoms, hills, mesas, plains, plateaus, ridges, rims, sand dunes, sideslopes, terraces, valley bottom fill and colluvial slopes oriented to any aspect. Elevations range from 1065-2133 m (3500-7000 feet). Climate is temperate, continental, with hot summers and cold winters. The unvegetated surface is dominated by bare ground, except on some sandy sites, where biological soil crusts may provide more than 50% cover. Substrates range from barren shales to alluvium and eolian sands to broken limestone. Soils tend to be shallow, calcareous, sandy-textured on eolian sand sites, and clay-textured on shale sites. There is often a caliche subhorizon. Gravel, boulders and rock outcrops are common.
Accession Code:
urn:lsid:vegbank.org:commConcept:30241-{510EB387-ADCC-4985-A41C-BD837781AC88}
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
4
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