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Sporobolus heterolepis - Schizachyrium scoparium - (Carex scirpoidea) / (Juniperus horizontalis) Grassland | NatureServe Biotics 2019
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Name: Sporobolus heterolepis - Schizachyrium scoparium - (Carex scirpoidea) / (Juniperus horizontalis) Grassland Reference: NatureServe Biotics 2019 Description: The little bluestem alvar grassland type is found primarily in the upper Great Lakes region of the United States and Canada, in northern Michigan and in Ontario. These grasslands occur on very shallow, patchy soils (usually less than 20 cm deep, average is about 6 cm deep) on flat limestone and dolostone outcrops (pavements). Soils are loams high in organic matter. This community often has a characteristic soil moisture regime of alternating wet and dry periods; they can have wet, saturated soils in spring and fall, combined with summer drought in most years (except unusually wet years). In large patches over 50 acres (20 ha) this grassland often occurs as a small-scale matrix, with smaller patches of other alvar communities occurring within the larger patch of little bluestem alvar grassland, forming a landscape mosaic. The vegetation is dominated by grasses and sedges, which usually have at least 50% cover. Characteristic species of the grassland are <i>Sporobolus heterolepis, Schizachyrium scoparium, Carex scirpoidea, Deschampsia cespitosa, Packera paupercula</i>, and <i>Carex crawei</i>. There is usually less than 10% cover of shrubs over 0.5 m tall; however, there may be as much as 50% cover of dwarf-shrubs (under 0.5 m tall), especially <i>Juniperus horizontalis</i>. This dwarf-shrub is shorter than the dominant grasses, and usually is found under the canopy of grasses, so the physiognomic type is here considered a grassland (in spite of relatively high cover of dwarf-shrubs). Less than 50% of the ground surface is exposed bedrock (including bedrock covered with nonvascular plants: lichens, mosses, algae).  Accession Code: urn:lsid:vegbank.org:commConcept:33997-{02CC692D-9557-47A3-9375-67467E752F9B} Plot-observations of this Community Concept: 18
	Party Perspective according to: NatureServe (organization) Perspective from: 22-Apr-1999 to: ongoing
	status: accepted Community's Parent: Sporobolus heterolepis - Deschampsia cespitosa / Dasiphora fruticosa Alvar Grassland Alliance This Community's Level: Association This Community's Children: [none]		Names:   UID: ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.685724 NatureServe Explorer   Code: CEGL005234   Translated: Prairie Dropseed - Little Bluestem - (Northern Single-spike Sedge) / (Creeping Juniper) Grassland   Common: Little Bluestem Alvar Grassland   Scientific: Sporobolus heterolepis - Schizachyrium scoparium - (Carex scirpoidea) / (Juniperus horizontalis) Grassland (convergence) and Synonyms: (similar) Sporobolus heterolepis - Schizachyrium scoparium - (Carex scirpoidea) / (Juniperus horizontalis) Herbaceous Vegetation (similar) CEGL005234 (similar) Sporobolus heterolepis - Schizachyrium scoparium - (Carex scirpoidea) / (Juniperus horizontalis) Herbaceous Vegetation