Name:
Sporobolus airoides - Bouteloua gracilis Grassland
Reference:
NatureServe Biotics 2019
Description:
This grassland association occurs in basins of the northern Chihuahuan Desert in south-central New Mexico, within Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument in central New Mexico, and in the southern Colorado Plateau in northwestern New Mexico and northern Arizona at 1570 to 2240 m (5160-7370 feet) elevation. Stands occur on gently sloping (<1%) depressions or swales in alluvial flats and alluvial plains, on gentle slopes of low hills in central New Mexico, on lower piedmont slopes in southern New Mexico, and on mesas, lower slopes, sand deposits/sandsheets, and terraces in northern Arizona. In desert sites, soils are typically deep and fine silty loams, but not clayey. In other sites, soils range from silty clay loam to clay on alluvial plains to sand. The ground surface is largely bare soil, but may be characterized by bunchgrasses intermixed with exposed soil and gravel in the intergrass spaces. The vegetation is characterized by an open to dense (14-70% cover) herbaceous layer dominated by <i>Sporobolus airoides</i> and <i>Bouteloua gracilis</i>. Scattered shrubs may be present with low cover (<10%), such as <i>Atriplex confertifolia, Atriplex canescens, Gutierrezia sarothrae, Krascheninnikovia lanata, Cylindropuntia imbricata, Opuntia polyacantha</i>, and the characteristic desert species <i>Yucca elata</i>. Other common graminoid species may include <i>Achnatherum hymenoides, Aristida</i> spp., <i>Elymus elymoides, Muhlenbergia torreyi, Pleuraphis jamesii, Scleropogon brevifolius</i>, and <i>Sporobolus cryptandrus</i>. Forb cover is usually low and often diverse.
Accession Code:
urn:lsid:vegbank.org:commConcept:30595-{8B5D8390-7180-4662-BCBE-C0E7105BE2FC}
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
0
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