Name:
Cercocarpus montanus - Quercus x pauciloba - Rhus trilobata Foothill Shrubland Group
Reference:
NatureServe Biotics 2019
Description:
This Rocky Mountain foothill shrubland group ranges from southern New Mexico north into Wyoming, and west into the Intermountain West region. <i>Cercocarpus montanus</i> dominates pure stands in parts of Wyoming and Colorado. The vegetation is typically dominated by a variety of shrubs, including <i>Amelanchier utahensis, Cercocarpus montanus, Quercus x pauciloba, Purshia tridentata, Rhus trilobata, Ribes cereum, Symphoricarpos oreophilus</i>, or <i>Yucca glauca</i>. Grasses and sedges are dominant in the understory and may include <i>Achnatherum scribneri, Bouteloua curtipendula, Carex geyeri, Elymus lanceolatus, Hesperostipa comata, Hesperostipa neomexicana, Leymus ambiguus, Muhlenbergia montana</i>, and <i>Pseudoroegneria spicata</i>. Scattered trees or inclusions of grassland patches or steppe may be present. Stands are found in the foothills, canyon slopes and lower mountains of the Rocky Mountains and on outcrops and canyon slopes in the western Great Plains. These shrublands occur between 1500 and 2900 m elevation and are usually associated with exposed sites, rocky substrates, and dry conditions, which limit tree growth. It is common where <i>Quercus gambelii</i> is absent, such as the northern Colorado Front Range and in drier foothills and prairie hills. This group is generally drier than ~Southern Rocky Mountain Gambel Oak - Mixed Montane Shrubland Group (G277)$$, but may include mesic montane shrublands where <i>Quercus gambelii</i> does not occur. Fires play an important role in this group as the dominant shrubs usually have a severe die-back, although some plants will stump sprout. <i>Cercocarpus montanus</i> requires a disturbance such as fire to reproduce, either by seed sprout or root-crown sprouting. Fire suppression may have allowed an invasion of trees into some of these shrublands, but in many cases, sites are too xeric for tree growth.
Accession Code:
urn:lsid:vegbank.org:commConcept:40042-{4315BA66-3B67-480B-843C-026A16D7B833}
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
0
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