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Deschampsia cespitosa - Artemisia lindleyana Marsh | NatureServe Biotics 2019
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Name: Deschampsia cespitosa - Artemisia lindleyana Marsh
Reference: NatureServe Biotics 2019
Description: This association is found only along the shores of the Columbia River in Washington (and very rarely in Oregon) in the western Cascades. It occurs on silty portions of gravel and cobble bars that are seasonally flooded. The association is a codominance of the grass <i>Deschampsia cespitosa</i> and the forb <i>Artemisia lindleyana</i>; the total herbaceous cover is open to semi-open. A foliose lichen, <i>Dermatocarpon</i> sp., covers much of the exposed cobble or gravel.<br /><br />Habitat is cobble beds and silt along the Columbia River at the western end of the Columbia River Gorge. The cobble beds are inundated when Bonneville Dam releases surplus water, usually in spring, and may be 30-60 cm (1-2 feet) above the summer water levels. <i>Salix lucida ssp. lasiandra</i> and <i>Fraxinus latifolia</i> may be present as seedlings or at shrub height. <i>Salix fluviatilis</i> is the principal species in the shrub layer, but <i>Amorpha fruticosa</i> is rapidly spreading along the riverbanks. <i>Deschampsia cespitosa</i> was not recorded from one of the two plots sampled here but was present nearby and is also present in the Oregon site, and so is considered to be the principal species in the herb layer with at least 35% cover. <i>Artemisia lindleyana</i> is present with an average cover of 23%, and <i>Coreopsis tinctoria var. atkinsoniana</i> is a consistent associate but with very low percent cover. The other 14 species in the herb layer are scarce, and over half of them are exotics, but inundation and scouring by winter flows keep their cover low. The cobbles are coated with silt and covered with the lichen <i>Dermatocarpon luridum</i>. Both <i>Artemisia lindleyana</i> and <i>Coreopsis tinctoria var. atkinsoniana</i> are more typical of riparian areas of eastern Oregon and Washington. The association is currently known only from both sides of the river between the Pierce Island-Beacon Rock area and the Sandy River delta, where cobbles and silt predominate. The plots on the Washington side of the river are in good condition, but those on the Oregon side are weedy. More plots are needed to adequately describe this association, but it may be difficult to find remnants in good condition. It is probable that this association extended much further upriver, possibly throughout the Columbia River Gorge and into eastern Oregon, but all these areas are now drowned behind a series of dams. It should be sought in the free-flowing section of the river in the Hanford Reach of Washington. 
Accession Code: urn:lsid:vegbank.org:commConcept:32307-{DF7BAFC2-085B-468B-A08C-E0907EC8706B}
Plot-observations of this Community Concept: 0
      Party Perspective according to: NatureServe (organization)
Perspective from: 10-Jun-2006 to: ongoing
      Names:   UID: ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.685711 NatureServe ExplorerNatureServe Explorer logo
  Code: CEGL003425
  Translated: Tufted Hairgrass - Columbia River Wormwood Marsh
  Scientific: Deschampsia cespitosa - Artemisia lindleyana Marsh
(convergence) and Synonyms:
(similar) CEGL003425
(similar) Deschampsia caespitosa - Artemisia lindleyana Herbaceous Vegetation
(similar) Deschampsia caespitosa - Artemisia lindleyana Herbaceous Vegetation