Name:
Purshia tridentata - Artemisia tridentata Mesic Steppe & Shrubland Alliance
Reference:
NatureServe Biotics 2019
Description:
This mesic shrubland and steppe alliance occurs throughout the Intermountain West and occurs over a broad range of landforms and microhabitats. Stands are characterized by an open to moderately dense short-shrub layer dominated or codominated by <i>Purshia tridentata</i> with <i>Artemisia tridentata</i> and sometimes <i>Prunus virginiana</i> present to codominant. Other important shrubs include <i>Ericameria nauseosa, Eriogonum heracleoides, Ribes cereum</i>, and <i>Symphoricarpos oreophilus</i>. The understory is sparse to dense and typically dominated by perennial bunchgrasses such as <i>Achnatherum hymenoides, Achnatherum nelsonii, Achnatherum occidentale, Festuca campestris, Festuca idahoensis, Hesperostipa comata, Leymus cinereus, Poa secunda</i>, and <i>Pseudoroegneria spicata</i>. Some stands may have a well-developed forb component composed of <i>Arabis holboellii, Achillea millefolium, Balsamorhiza sagittata, Brodiaea</i> spp., <i>Eriogonum ovalifolium, Eriogonum umbellatum, Lithospermum ruderale</i>, and <i>Pteryxia terebinthina</i>. Mosses and lichens are important in some stands. Scattered trees may form an emergent layer of individual trees. Stands occur on flats to moderate slopes in foothills, on slopes of lakebeds with ash or pumice soils, and on drier sites within lower forest zones as shrub-steppe inclusions in forest. In Idaho, the alliance is reported from stabilized dunes. In general, it is an upland type associated with coarse, well-drained soils without high salinity or pH. Adjacent vegetation is typically <i>Artemisia</i> steppe, <i>Pseudoroegneria - Poa - Festuca</i> grasslands, or <i>Pinus flexilis</i> woodlands.
Accession Code:
urn:lsid:vegbank.org:commConcept:38467-{A5897BF3-7042-4F95-A5EF-D7670D84BCE5}
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
0
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