Name:
Purshia stansburiana - Artemisia tridentata Shrubland
Reference:
NatureServe Biotics 2019
Description:
This association is currently described only from the Mojave Desert Network. Additional global information will be added as it becomes available. It is found in the upper elevation, limestone and dolomite bedrock slopes and ridges in the southern Great Basin, such as in the Cottonwood and Panamint mountains of Death Valley National Park, California. Elevation ranges from approximately 1500 to 1800 m, and averages 1637 m. Slopes are usually very steep (2-51°). This association is found primarily on bedrock cliffs and canyon walls with colluvial disturbance, and rarely in rocky channel beds, along northerly and easterly aspects. Soils are typically sandy loams, and are derived from nutrient-poor, dolostone (dolomite) or limestone substrates. Vegetation forms an open shrub canopy in which the shrub cover ranges from 11 to 21%. The emergent tree layer is sparse and ranges from 0 to 0.5% cover, and the herb understory is variable and ranges from 2 to 10% cover. <i>Purshia stansburiana, Artemisia tridentata</i>, and <i>Ephedra viridis</i> are the dominant and/or codominant shrubs with <i>Ericameria nauseosa, Eriogonum heermannii</i>, and <i>Gutierrezia microcephala</i> being characteristically present. Other shrubs often present include <i>Atriplex confertifolia, Brickellia microphylla, Eriogonum fasciculatum, Krascheninnikovia lanata, Lepidium fremontii, Stephanomeria pauciflora</i>, and <i>Symphoricarpos</i> spp. Commonly associated herbs include <i>Bromus rubens, Poa secunda, Achnatherum speciosum, Achnatherum pinetorum, Castilleja angustifolia, Cryptantha confertiflora, Elymus elymoides, Linanthus pungens, Mirabilis laevis</i>, and <i>Sphaeralcea ambigua</i>, and those trees sometimes present include <i>Juniperus osteosperma</i>. Nonvascular plants include cryptogamic crust, lichens, and mosses.
Accession Code:
urn:lsid:vegbank.org:commConcept:37516-{C4C1A3E9-84A1-4544-93A8-BA0716C99E6E}
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
0
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