Name:
Larrea tridentata - Flourensia cernua - Acacia neovernicosa Chihuahuan Mixed Desert Scrub Group
Reference:
NatureServe Biotics 2019
Description:
This group is the extensive desert scrub that occurs in the broad desert basins and plains extending up onto dissected gravelly alluvial fans and piedmonts (bajadas), and foothills in the Chihuahuan Desert below the chaparral zone. The vegetation has a moderate to sparse shrub layer (<10% cover on extremely xeric sites). <i>Larrea tridentata</i> is the most common dominant, often covering entire landscapes in near monotypic stands. Stands can also be codominated or dominated by a mix of thornscrub or other desert scrub species such as <i>Agave lechuguilla, Bernardia obovata, Dasylirion leiophyllum, Flourensia cernua, Fouquieria splendens, Lycium</i> spp., <i>Mimosa aculeaticarpa var. biuncifera, Mortonia scabrella, Opuntia engelmannii, Parthenium incanum, Rhus microphylla</i> (in ephemeral washes), <i>Viguiera stenoloba</i>, and <i>Yucca</i> spp. Stands of thornscrub dominated by <i>Acacia constricta</i> or <i>Acacia neovernicosa</i> are included in this group, and can be especially prolific on limestone substrates (but not always). If present, <i>Prosopis glandulosa</i> does not dominate the shrub layer, but may codominate in a mixed stand with <i>Larrea tridentata</i>. Grasses are common but generally have lower cover than shrubs. Common species may include <i>Bouteloua eriopoda, Bouteloua ramosa, Dasyochloa pulchella, Muhlenbergia porteri, Pleuraphis mutica</i>, and <i>Scleropogon brevifolius</i>. Some shrublands have a sparse understory, sometimes with a pebbly desert pavement on the soil surface. It has recently expanded into former desert grasslands in the northern portion of its range. Substrates are typically coarse-textured loams on gravelly plains and slopes. Soils are alluvial, typically non-saline, and frequently calcareous, sometimes with a petrocalic layer and are often derived from limestone and, to a lesser degree, igneous rocks. Stands can extend upslope on to colluvial slopes with cobbly skeletal soils.
Accession Code:
urn:lsid:vegbank.org:commConcept:40051-{3D886ABF-FD0A-43AD-8CBA-ECB5A16E89C0}
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
0
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