Name:
Mortonia scabrella - Viguiera stenoloba - Bernardia obovata Chihuahuan Desert Scrub Alliance
Reference:
NatureServe Biotics 2019
Description:
This broadly defined foothill Chihuahuan Desert scrub alliance is found in southeastern Arizona, southern New Mexico, Trans-Pecos of western Texas, as well as on the Stockton Plateau. The typically open scrub canopy has a diversity of dominant woody species. Two associations have been included in this alliance. One is dominated by <i>Mortonia scabrella</i> with <i>Dasylirion wheeleri</i> and <i>Quercus pungens</i>, and the other is codominated by <i>Viguiera stenoloba</i> and <i>Bernardia obovata</i> with <i>Chamaesyce</i> sp. in the understory. However, <i>Leucophyllum minus</i> and other shrubs may also dominate stands as the concept of this alliance is broad. Other common shrubs may include <i>Acacia greggii, Agave lechuguilla, Aloysia wrightii, Cercocarpus montanus var. paucidentatus, Dalea formosa, Dasylirion leiophyllum, Fouquieria splendens, Krameria erecta, Leucophyllum frutescens, Mimosa aculeaticarpa var. biuncifera, Nolina</i> spp., <i>Parthenium incanum</i>, and <i>Rhus virens var. choriophylla</i>. Herbaceous species are often sparse, but may form an open to moderate layer composed of a variety of grasses such as <i>Achnatherum eminens, Aristida purpurea var. nealleyi, Bouteloua curtipendula, Bouteloua eriopoda, Muhlenbergia emersleyi</i>, and <i>Tridens muticus</i>. Frequent forbs include <i>Bahia absinthifolia</i> and <i>Astrolepis sinuata</i>. Climate is generally semi-arid with warm summers and cool winters. Approximately two-thirds of the 41 cm mean annual precipitation falls during the summer and early fall. The winter precipitation has high year-to-year variation. The cooler north and east aspects create relatively mesic sites necessary for the abundant growth of evergreen shrub species. Sites include rock outcrops and rocky foothills and mountains, often with substrates derived from limestone, igneous rock and possibly gypsum parent materials.
Accession Code:
urn:lsid:vegbank.org:commConcept:38476-{ED63D48F-B5B3-4F1B-8631-5C8218BC6DFF}
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
0
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