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A.1038 | EcoArt 2002
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Name: A.1038
Reference: EcoArt 2002
Description: Vegetation in this alliance occurs throughout the lower to middle elevations (600-1600 m) of the Great Basin and the eastern Mojave Desert, usually on mountain slopes or alluvial fans bordering intermountain basins. The climate is arid to semi-arid with precipitation ranging from 15-30 cm annually. Winter precipitation dominates in the western area, with summer rain becoming more important eastward. Soils are highly variable, but are generally coarse-textured and well-drained, and often alkaline. The vegetation is more drought-tolerant than ~Artemisia tridentata$-dominated communities and typically occurs where local climate or salty soils create high moisture stress. This alliance is characterized by a sparse to moderately dense shrub layer of ~Grayia spinosa$. Other shrub species are species of Mojavean or Great Basin affinities. Species found in southern stands include ~Menodora spinescens, Picrothamnus desertorum (= Artemisia spinescens), Ephedra nevadensis, Atriplex confertifolia, Atriplex canescens, Coleogyne ramosissima$, and ~Larrea tridentata$. Occasionally, scattered individuals of ~Yucca brevifolia$ may be emergent through the shrub layer. The herbaceous layer in these xeric southern stands is typically sparse with ~Achnatherum speciosum (= Stipa speciosa), Pleuraphis jamesii (= Hilaria jamesii), Achnatherum hymenoides (= Oryzopsis hymenoides), Navarretia$ spp., and ~Eriogonum$ spp. being common associates. Northward, and at higher elevations, the Mojavean element drops out, and common shrub associates include ~Artemisia nova, Artemisia tridentata, Ephedra viridis, Chrysothamnus$ spp., and ~Prunus andersonii$. Herbaceous associates include ~Elymus elymoides, Poa secunda, Stipa$ spp., and ~Festuca$ spp. 
Accession Code: VB.CC.808.A1038
Plot-observations of this Community Concept: 0
      Party Perspective according to: NatureServe (organization)
Perspective from: 26-Nov-1997 to: 17-Mar-2005
     
  • status: accepted
  • Community's Parent: III.B.3.N.a
  • This Community's Level: Alliance
  • This Community's Children: [none]
Names:   Scientific: GRAYIA SPINOSA SHRUBLAND ALLIANCE
  Code: A.1038
  Common: Spiny Hopsage Shrubland Alliance
(convergence) and Synonyms:
(undetermined) Grayia spinosa Shrubland Alliance