Name:
Leymus cinereus Alkaline Wet Meadow
Reference:
NatureServe Biotics 2019
Description:
This Great Basin wildrye association is found along lower elevation riparian corridors and some moderately alkaline valley bottomlands from Colorado to the Pacific coast states. Elevations range between 305 and 780 m (1000-2550 feet) in northeastern and central Oregon, between 915 and 1525 m (3000-5000 feet) in the Great Basin, and from 1830 to 2451 m (6000-8036 feet) in western Colorado and southwestern Wyoming. Generally, stands of this type are described as growing on mesic sites with more soil moisture than is available to the surrounding vegetation, including mesic swales and seeps, canyon bottoms, foothill ravines, moist bottomlands, and along streams. Sites are flat to steep and occur on all aspects. Soils are rapidly drained, often with a shallow water table. Soil texture is variable and ranges from silty clays to deep loamy sands derived from alluvium and colluvium. The vegetation is characterized by a tall (over 1.5 m), moderately dense to more typically dense grassland dominated by high cover (30-95%) of <i>Leymus cinereus</i>. Other plants are found mainly between the clumps of <i>Leymus cinereus</i> or on the edges of the dense stands. Scattered shrubs may be present, including <i>Artemisia tridentata, Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus, Ericameria nauseosa, Rhus trilobata, Ribes</i> spp., <i>Rosa</i> spp., and <i>Symphoricarpos oreophilus</i>. Associated species occurring at lower cover include graminoids such as <i>Achnatherum hymenoides, Achnatherum lettermanii, Carex douglasii, Elymus glaucus, Hesperostipa comata, Juncus arcticus ssp. littoralis, Pascopyrum smithii</i>, and introduced species <i>Bromus tectorum</i> and <i>Poa pratensis</i>, and forbs such as <i>Achillea millefolium, Agastache urticifolia, Castilleja</i> spp., <i>Iris missouriensis, Potentilla gracilis var. flabelliformis, Rumex crispus, Sidalcea oregana, Stephanomeria minor</i>, and <i>Vicia americana</i>. <i>Claytonia perfoliata</i> is always associated in northwestern Oregon, while more alkaline forbs (<i>Suaeda</i> spp.) are more important in northern Great Basin valleys.
Accession Code:
urn:lsid:vegbank.org:commConcept:30388-{92397223-FF93-44C9-A3E9-751A58460ECF}
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
0
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