Name:
Vaccinium (myrtillus, scoparium) / Luzula glabrata Dwarf-shrubland
Reference:
NatureServe Biotics 2019
Description:
This community has been documented from throughout the southern reaches of Glacier National Park, Montana. This small-patch community has been documented from 1775 to 2280 m (5820-7475 feet), usually on moderate to steep southerly exposures (southeasterly to southwesterly), but northerly aspects have been noted as well. It is mostly found on mid- to upper-slope positions as well as slope shoulders and ridges. Soils have developed from argillites, mudstone and sandstone of colluvial or glacial deposition, contain more than 20% rock in the upper profile and are rapidly drained loams and loamy sands. All sampled stands currently have mixtures of trace amounts of seedling and sapling <i>Abies lasiocarpa, Picea engelmannii</i>, and <i>Pinus albicaulis</i>. These sites are characterized as having more than 10% <i>Vaccinium scoparium</i> (or <i>Vaccinium myrtillus</i>) cover; usually these species have in excess of 20% cover. Other shrubs are not consistently present and, with the exception of <i>Spiraea betulifolia</i>, none have more than 3% cover. The graminoid component for a given stand ranges from diverse (in excess of 10 species) to relatively depauperate (only 2 species), but only four species, <i>Luzula glabrata, Trisetum spicatum, Danthonia intermedia</i>, and <i>Carex geyeri</i>, occur with greater than 50% constancy and only <i>Luzula glabrata</i> has coverages consistently in excess of 10%. <i>Luzula</i>'s presence and cover are indicative of persisting snowpack; also indicative of this condition are the graminoids <i>Juncus drummondii</i> and <i>Juncus parryi</i> and forbs <i>Sibbaldia procumbens</i> and <i>Arenaria capillaris</i>, but their constancy and covers are low. The forb component is generally diverse, but there were no forbs having high-constancy values; only <i>Xerophyllum tenax, Chamerion angustifolium</i>, and <i>Silene parryi</i> have values in excess of 50%. There is a relatively broad moisture regime represented with the moister sites having <i>Erigeron peregrinus, Valeriana sitchensis</i>, and <i>Hypericum scouleri</i> and on the drier ones <i>Eriogonum flavum, Erigeron compositus</i>, and trace amounts of various bunchgrass species or <i>Carex geyeri</i>.
Accession Code:
urn:lsid:vegbank.org:commConcept:34532-{01EBEFD0-38FD-4FBB-82F3-21839F848D85}
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
0
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