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A.1042 | EcoArt 2002
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Name: A.1042
Reference: EcoArt 2002
Description: This shrubland alliance occurs in floodplains of a large river basin in the Chihuahuan Desert. It possibly occurs in sites along the lower Colorado River in California and Arizona, but more survey is need. Sites are typically upper terraces along perennial streams. Slope is level to gentle. ~Prosopis pubescens$ is able to reach deep groundwater; however, the presence of ~Distichlis spicata$ usually indicates a relatively shallow water table of less than 1.5 m. Spring floods may or may not reach individual stands every year. Soils are derived from alluvium. Some sites have moderate to high soil salinity. Vegetation included in this desert riparian alliance is characterized by a tall-shrub canopy dominated by the broad-leaved deciduous thorny shrub ~Prosopis pubescens$, which may reach heights of 10 m. Canopy cover of this species is highly variable, but typically between 30-60%. There is a sparse short-shrub layer, also composed of broad-leaved deciduous species, including ~Baccharis salicifolia, Lycium andersonii, Rhus trilobata, Suaeda suffrutescens$, and ~Pluchea sericea$. The most common species in the herbaceous layer are the perennial grasses ~Distichlis spicata$ and ~Sporobolus airoides$. There is also a component of weedy, annual forbs, many of them introduced. Diagnostic of this alliance is the dominance of ~Prosopis pubescens$ in the shrub canopy. 
Accession Code: VB.CC.813.A1042
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: PROSOPIS PUBESCENS SHRUBLAND ALLIANCE
  Code: A.1042
  Common: American Screwbean Shrubland Alliance
(convergence) and Synonyms:
(undetermined) Prosopis pubescens Shrubland Alliance