Name:
Bouteloua gracilis - Bouteloua dactyloides Shortgrass Prairie Alliance
Reference:
NatureServe Biotics 2019
Description:
This shortgrass prairie alliance is common across the western portions of the central and southern Great Plains with outlier stands in the northern Great Plains. This vegetation is characterized by a moderate to dense sod of short grasses <i>Bouteloua gracilis</i> and <i>Bouteloua dactyloides</i> with scattered midgrasses and forbs . Other short graminoids include <i>Bouteloua hirsuta, Carex duriuscula, Carex inops ssp. heliophila, Carex filifolia</i>, and <i>Muhlenbergia torreyi</i>. Midgrasses such as <i>Aristida purpurea, Bothriochloa saccharoides, Bouteloua curtipendula, Elymus elymoides, Hesperostipa comata, Pascopyrum smithii, Pleuraphis jamesii, Schizachyrium scoparium</i>, and <i>Sporobolus cryptandrus</i> are usually sparse and stunted by the semi-arid conditions and do not exceed 0.7 m in height. Forb cover is generally low but may be diverse and includes species of <i>Astragalus, Eriogonum, Machaeranthera, Opuntia, Psoralidium, Ratibida, Sphaeralcea</i>, and <i>Zinnia</i>. Scattered shrubs are rare and may include <i>Artemisia frigida, Atriplex canescens, Ericameria nauseosa, Gutierrezia sarothrae</i>, and <i>Yucca glauca</i>. Climate is semi-arid continental, with over half the annual precipitation typically occurring during the summer. Stands often occur in lowland sites that have well-developed soils ranging from loams to clay and silty clay.
Accession Code:
urn:lsid:vegbank.org:commConcept:39210-{7F74E66D-9026-4208-9004-0B12547B34A7}
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
0
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