Name:
Salix exigua - Crataegus spp. - Forestiera pubescens Rocky Mountain-Great Basin Riparian Shrubland Group
Reference:
NatureServe Biotics 2019
Description:
These short to tall shrublands (0.5-5 m in height) occur along streams at and below lower treeline, that is, not up in the mountains, but in between mountain valleys and lowlands of the Interior West. Dominant shrubs include <i>Acer glabrum, Artemisia cana, Artemisia cana ssp. bolanderi, Artemisia cana ssp. viscidula, Artemisia tridentata ssp. tridentata, Cornus sericea, Crataegus douglasii, Crataegus rivularis, Dasiphora fruticosa ssp. floribunda, Forestiera pubescens, Oplopanax horridus, Philadelphus lewisii, Prunus virginiana, Rhus trilobata, Rosa nutkana, Rosa woodsii, Salix exigua, Salix irrorata, Salix melanopsis, Shepherdia argentea</i>, and <i>Symphoricarpos</i> spp. Herbaceous layers are often dominated by <i>Athyrium filix-femina, Carex flava, Carex</i> spp., <i>Elymus trachycaulus, Equisetum arvense, Deschampsia cespitosa, Festuca idahoensis, Galium triflorum, Glyceria striata, Gymnocarpium dryopteris, Heracleum maximum, Iris missouriensis, Juncus arcticus ssp. littoralis, Juncus</i> spp., <i>Leymus cinereus, Maianthemum stellatum, Muhlenbergia filiformis, Muhlenbergia richardsonis, Pascopyrum smithii, Poa cusickii</i>, and <i>Poa secunda</i>. Introduced forage species such as <i>Agrostis stolonifera, Poa pratensis, Phleum pratense</i>, and the invasive annual <i>Bromus tectorum</i> are often present in disturbed stands. Streams are permanent, intermittent and ephemeral. Stands occur in steep-sided canyons or in broad flat valleys. They can be large, wide occurrences on mid-channel islands in larger rivers or narrow bands on small, rocky canyon tributaries and well-drained benches. They also are typically found in backwater channels and other perennially wet but less scoured sites, such as floodplain swales and irrigation ditches, and they can occur in depressional wetlands and non-alkaline playas. Stands may also occur on upper benches away from active channel movement. Willow-dominated shrublands require flooding and bare gravels for reestablishment. Stands are maintained by annual flooding and hydric soils throughout the growing season. Sites are subject to temporary flooding during spring runoff. The water table is often just below the ground surface. Occurrences are found within the flood zone of rivers, on islands, sand or cobble bars, and immediate streambanks and upper benches, and occasionally on hillslope springs. This group occurs throughout the Rocky Mountain and Colorado Plateau regions from approximately 780 to 1850 m (2560-6000 feet) in elevation, around the edges and between the mountain ranges of the Great Basin and along the lower eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada at about 1220 m (4000 feet) in elevation, at lowland and montane elevations in the Columbia Plateau, on the periphery of the mountains surrounding the Columbia River Basin, and along major tributaries and the main stem of the Columbia at relatively low elevations. It also occurs in the foothills of the northern Rocky Mountains and the east slopes of the Cascades in the lower montane and foothill zones. Climate is generally semi-arid.
Accession Code:
urn:lsid:vegbank.org:commConcept:40207-{B62D0E61-26E7-4542-A298-7E4FD2569E51}
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
0
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