Name:
Larrea tridentata - Flourensia cernua - Prosopis spp. Chihuahuan Desert Scrub Macrogroup
Reference:
NatureServe Biotics 2019
Description:
This widespread Chihuahuan Desert scrub macrogroup has a moderate to sparse xeromorphic shrub layer frequently dominated by diagnostic species <i>Acacia constricta, Acacia neovernicosa, Flourensia cernua, Larrea tridentata, Prosopis glandulosa</i>, or <i>Prosopis velutina</i>. Stands may be dominated by a single species or be mixed, composed of a variety of desert scrub, thornscrub, stem rosette and succulent species present to codominant. Characteristic species may include <i>Acacia greggii, Agave lechuguilla, Aloysia wrightii, Artemisia filifolia, Atriplex canescens, Baccharis pteronioides, Bernardia obovata, Dasylirion leiophyllum, Euphorbia antisyphilitica, Ephedra torreyana, Ephedra trifurca, Ferocactus</i> spp., <i>Fouquieria splendens, Jatropha dioica, Koeberlinia spinosa, Krameria erecta, Leucophyllum minus, Lycium</i> spp., <i>Mimosa aculeaticarpa var. biuncifera, Mortonia scabrella, Opuntia engelmannii, Cylindropuntia imbricata, Grusonia schottii, Cylindropuntia spinosior, Parthenium incanum, Poliomintha incana, Rhus microphylla, Viguiera stenoloba, Yucca elata</i>, and <i>Yucca torreyi</i>. Many stands lack a herbaceous understory layer and develop a pebbly desert pavement on the soil surface sometimes with scattered grasses and forbs. If present, the understory is a sparse to moderately dense herbaceous layer dominated by graminoids. Grasses are common but generally have lower cover than shrubs. Associated graminoid species may include <i>Bothriochloa barbinodis, Bouteloua curtipendula, Bouteloua eriopoda, Bouteloua gracilis, Bouteloua hirsuta, Bouteloua ramosa, Dasyochloa pulchella, Muhlenbergia porteri, Muhlenbergia setifolia, Pleuraphis mutica, Scleropogon brevifolius, Setaria leucopila</i>, and <i>Sporobolus flexuosus</i>. Forb species are often present, but have low cover. Stands occur 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. Elevation ranges from 1000-2000 m. Substrates include coarse-textured loams on well-drained, gravelly plains and slopes with typically non-saline, and frequently calcareous soils, often with a petrocalcic layer and derived from limestone, or to a lesser degree igneous rocks. However, substrates are variable and include sandy plains, coppice dunes and sandsheets that often occur on the leesides of large playas in basins where sand accumulates. Soils are fine-textured, often saline (silts, clay loams and clays) on alluvial flats and around playas, as well as in river floodplains. Stands can extend upslope on to colluvial slopes with cobbly skeletal soils.
Accession Code:
urn:lsid:vegbank.org:commConcept:40496-{8CB4CD3F-E1C4-40ED-B60F-6D3FFC06A7B8}
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
0
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