Name:
Populus fremontii / Scour Riparian Forest
Reference:
NatureServe Biotics 2019
Description:
This association is known from the Gila River, San Francisco River and Colorado River watersheds, and is likely to occur elsewhere in southwestern U.S. This type is characterized by open to dense, young regeneration stands of <i>Populus fremontii</i>. A variety of other trees and shrubs may be present, but with low cover. As the name implies, these are recently established young stands on newly exposed sands and gravels, meaning that the vegetation has not had time to develop or the herbaceous layer has been buried under recent deposition. The vegetation structure is overstory tree canopy with very little shrub or herb cover with mostly bare ground. Scattered shrubs and herbs can often be found; however, their species composition is not characteristic of this association. <i>Ericameria nauseosa, Rhus aromatica, Purshia stansburiana, Salix exigua</i>, and <i>Baccharis salicifolia</i> are common shrubs but not abundant. Forbs and grasses are scattered and variously represented by a suite of wetland indicators that may include <i>Cyperus esculentus, Echinochloa crus-galli, Juncus arcticus ssp. littoralis, Polypogon monspeliensis, Polypogon viridis, Schoenoplectus pungens, Schoenoplectus tabernaemontani, Equisetum arvense, Polygonum lapathifolium, Rorippa sphaerocarpa</i>, and <i>Veronica americana</i>. This early- to mid-successional forest association is found within the floodplain of large lowland valleys at elevations ranging from 1111 to 1640 m (3600-5370 feet). Stands occur on low bars or riverwash within the active channel. Sites are seasonally flooded, scouring away much of the undergrowth. Soils are either sandy, moist, weakly developed Entisols (Sandy Aquic Ustipsamments) or riverwash composed of non-cohesive and unconsolidated deposits of sands, gravels, or cobbles.
Accession Code:
urn:lsid:vegbank.org:commConcept:34630-{ABAA93E1-2DCE-44E4-8420-E54D99F58B21}
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
0
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