Name:
Festuca viridula - Deschampsia cespitosa - Ligusticum spp. Rocky Mountain-Vancouverian Grassland & Meadow Group
Reference:
NatureServe Biotics 2019
Description:
This Rocky Mountain, northern Vancouverian and Sierran group is restricted to sites from lower montane to subalpine where finely textured soils, snow deposition, rocky substrates, or windswept dry conditions limit tree establishment. Many occurrences are small-patch in spatial character, and are often found in mosaics with woodlands, more dense shrublands, or just below alpine communities. These are typically lush meadows dominated by a diversity of tall forbs, with grasses intermingled in many of them. The vegetation is typically forb-rich, with forbs often contributing more to overall herbaceous cover than graminoids. However, some stands are composed of dense grasslands, these often being taxa with relatively broad and soft blades, such as <i>Elymus trachycaulus, Festuca viridula</i>, and <i>Phleum alpinum</i>, but where the moist habitat promotes a rich forb component. Important taxa includes <i>Achillea millefolium, Balsamorhiza sagittata, Rudbeckia occidentalis, Thalictrum occidentale, Valeriana sitchensis, Xerophyllum tenax</i>, and numerous species of Asteraceae, <i>Campanula, Erigeron, Ligusticum, Lomatium, Lupinus, Mertensia, Phlox, Penstemon, Solidago</i>, and <i>Wyethia</i>. Important graminoids include <i>Deschampsia cespitosa, Koeleria macrantha, Luzula glabrata</i>, perennial <i>Bromus</i> spp., and a number of <i>Carex</i> species. In the Cascades, this group includes <i>Festuca viridula</i> meadows. <i>Dasiphora fruticosa ssp. floribunda</i> and <i>Symphoricarpos</i> spp. are occasional but not abundant. In the Sierra Nevada <i>Calamagrostis breweri, Carex filifolia, Carex straminiformis, Juncus drummondii, Oreostemma alpigenum, Solidago canadensis</i>, and <i>Trisetum spicatum</i> may dominate stands with diagnostics forbs <i>Oreostemma alpigenum</i>, and <i>Solidago canadensis</i>. Dwarf-shrubs such as <i>Vaccinium cespitosum</i> may have significant cover. Burrowing mammals can increase the forb diversity. This group is typically found above 2000 m in elevation in the southern part of its range and above 600 m in the northern part. These upland communities occur on gentle to moderate-gradient slopes and relatively moist habitats. The soils are typically seasonally moist to saturated in the spring but, if so, will dry out later in the growing season. These sites are not as wet as those found in ~Vancouverian-Rocky Mountain Subalpine-Alpine Snowbed, Wet Meadow & Dwarf-Shrubland Group (G520)$$ and ~Vancouverian-Rocky Mountain Montane Wet Meadow & Marsh Group (G521)$$, although some species are certainly shared with wet meadows, such as <i>Deschampsia</i>.
Accession Code:
urn:lsid:vegbank.org:commConcept:40039-{BDDE29CB-D819-4F6B-9967-6337A0B7C65E}
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
0
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