Name:
Purshia tridentata - Ribes cereum Shrubland Alliance
Reference:
NatureServe Biotics 2019
Description:
This shrubland alliance is found on gentle to very steep slopes in the foothills and mountains in the Colorado Front Range. Shrublands included in this alliance are characterized by a <i>Purshia tridentata</i>- or <i>Ribes cereum</i>-dominated shrub canopy. <i>Artemisia frigida</i> is the most constant shrub associate. <i>Arctostaphylos uva-ursi, Artemisia tridentata ssp. vaseyana, Ceanothus fendleri, Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus, Ericameria nauseosa, Jamesia americana, Juniperus communis, Prunus virginiana, Rhus trilobata</i>, and <i>Rubus deliciosus</i> are sometimes present. Scattered trees such as <i>Juniperus scopulorum, Pinus ponderosa</i>, and <i>Pseudotsuga menziesii</i> may be present at low covers. Graminoids are the most common herbaceous dominants, the most constant being <i>Hesperostipa comata, Leymus ambiguus</i>, and <i>Muhlenbergia montana</i>. Other common herbaceous associates include <i>Achillea millefolium, Achnatherum scribneri, Antennaria</i> sp., <i>Artemisia ludoviciana, Astragalus</i> sp., <i>Bouteloua gracilis, Chenopodium leptophyllum, Cryptantha virgata, Elymus albicans, Erigeron</i> spp., <i>Geranium caespitosum, Harbouria trachypleura, Helianthus pumilus, Heterotheca villosa, Penstemon virens, Phacelia heterophylla, Potentilla fissa, Scutellaria brittonii</i>, and <i>Symphyotrichum falcatum</i>. Sites where found are exposed, steep (30-90% slope) mountain slopes with southerly aspects on the eastern slopes of the Front Range, from 1700 to 2800 m in elevation. These sites are typically too xeric to support extensions of the surrounding coniferous forests. Parent materials are colluvial and residual metamorphic rocks.
Accession Code:
urn:lsid:vegbank.org:commConcept:38945-{D4A8F81E-AE95-44D3-A2B2-0615647FD31A}
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
0
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