Selected shrubland and grassland communities of the northern Great Plains
By: Patrick Comer (editor), Lorna Allen, Steve Cooper, Don Faber-Langendoen, George Jones
Contributors: Nature Conservancy; Montana Natural Heritage Program; Wyoming Natural Diversity Database; Natural Heritage Planning and Evaluation
Published: 1999
Language: eng
Number of pages: 119
Copyright date: 1999
Subjects: Shrubland ecology; Grassland ecology; Plant communities; Vegetation classification
Description: Conservation of the community/ecosystem level of biological organization is a  key component of a comprehensive approach to biodiversity conservation. The  Conservancy and its Natural Heritage Program partners have completed a  national classification of ecological communities. These types have been  preliminarily ranked in terms of their rarity, using a scale from G1 (Global 1,  critically imperiled globally due to rarity, endemism, and/or threats) to G5 (little to  no risk of global elimination). Currently, approximately 144 G1 - G3 communities  are known from the Northern Great Plains region, where a region-wide  management review is underway by the Great Plains program of the Nebraska  National Forest. A total of 52 G1 and G2, as well as eight G3 communities, were  described in a previous report (Faber-Langendoen et al. 1997).  This report serves as an addendum to the 1997 effort, providing descriptions for  an additional 28 shrubland and grassland communities ranked G3-G5. These  descriptions should allow for improved inventory of these types, thereby leading  to a future refinement of the preliminary global rank, as well as guidance on  conservation actions.  Fifteen additional shrubland and grassland types were researched and tentatively  described. This process brought to light classification issues that forced these  types to be "archived" until additional research can resolve specific classification  issues. These tentative descriptions are included as an appendix to help  document the classification process and status.
Notes: "A report to the Nebraska National Forest, February 1999."

Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: Acknowledgements; title: Executive Summary; title: Introduction; title: Ranking Methods; title: Estimating Ranks; title: Community Characterization Abstracts; title: References; title: Index to Association Descriptions; title: Index to Archived Association Descriptions.