Name:
Coleogyne ramosissima - Ephedra spp. Warm Desert Shrubland
Reference:
NatureServe Biotics 2019
Description:
This shrubland association is found at mid to upper elevations in the Mojave Desert and extends north and east into the Colorado Plateau and southern Great Basin in Arizona, California, Nevada, and southern Utah and often forms vast expanses across these environments. The vegetation is characterized by an open to patchy shrub canopy (9-29% cover) dominated or codominated by <i>Coleogyne ramosissima</i> with one or more species of <i>Ephedra</i> present to codominant. In the Mojave Desert and southern Great Basin, <i>Ephedra nevadensis</i> and <i>Ephedra aspera</i> are most common, whereas in the Colorado Plateau <i>Ephedra torreyana</i> is common with <i>Ephedra cutleri</i> less prevalent. <i>Ephedra viridis</i> typically occurs at higher elevation stands rangewide. Many other shrub associates are present across its range. If present, the herbaceous layer is sparse to open and composed of a mixture of grasses and forbs such as <i>Achnatherum hymenoides, Achnatherum speciosum, Amsinckia</i> spp., <i>Chamaesyce serpyllifolia, Dasyochloa pulchella, Pleuraphis jamesii, Pleuraphis rigida, Poa secunda, Sphaeralcea grossulariifolia, Sporobolus cryptandrus</i>, and exotic annuals <i>Bromus rubens, Bromus tectorum, Erodium cicutarium, Salsola tragus</i>, and <i>Schismus barbatus</i>. Stands can be seen on a variety of landforms. At lower elevations it occurs on ridgelines in transition areas with <i>Larrea tridentata</i> scrub and in gravelly and cobbly alluvial valleys, alluvial fans and hillslopes at mid to upper elevations, but includes eolian deposits/dunes, along drainage channels, basins, benches, mesas, terraces, plateaus, canyon slopes and rims, and ridges at 850 to 2133 m elevation. While predominantly found on flat or low-gradient settings, this association occasionally occurs on moderate to steep slopes. Soils are diverse, though primarily rapidly drained sandy loam or loam, and rarely finer-textured soils, and are derived from a variety of substrates. Dark cyanobacteria and mosses, if present, have sparse to low cover.
Accession Code:
urn:lsid:vegbank.org:commConcept:34060-{FD0C9C94-6223-4228-A248-E6D00D9CD3F8}
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
0
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