DISTRIBUTION AND OCCURRENCE
SPECIES: Artemisia rigida | Stiff Sagebrush 



GENERAL DISTRIBUTION : 
Stiff sagebrush occurs on dry rocky soils in central and eastern
Washington, central and eastern Oregon, and adjacent parts of Idaho [7].
It is present throughout the Columbia and Snake River Basins and the
northern end of the Great Basin [12].

Many authors include western Montana in the distribution; Ward [13] and
Beetle [1] do not.  Ward [13] claims the report of stiff sagebrush in
western Montana is the result of identification errors [11].


ECOSYSTEMS : 
   FRES21  Ponderosa pine
   FRES25  Larch
   FRES29  Sagebrush
   FRES36  Mountain grasslands


STATES : 
     ID  MT  OR  WA


ADMINISTRATIVE UNITS : 
     JODA


BLM PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGIONS : 
    5  Columbia Plateau


KUCHLER PLANT ASSOCIATIONS : 
   K011  Western ponderosa forest
   K014  Grand fir - Douglas-fir forest
   K050  Fescue - wheatgrass
   K051  Wheatgrass - bluegrass
   K055  Sagebrush steppe


SAF COVER TYPES : 
   237  Interior ponderosa pine
   239  Pinyon - juniper


SRM (RANGELAND) COVER TYPES : 
NO-ENTRY


HABITAT TYPES AND PLANT COMMUNITIES : 
Stands of stiff sagebrush may occur next to stands of basin big
sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata ssp. tridentata), mountain big sagebrush
(A. tridentata ssp. vaseyana), or threetip sagebrush (A. tripartita).
The limitations are clearly edaphic [14].  

Stiff sagebrush has been listed as an indicator or dominant species in
the following publications:
 
Steppe vegetation of Washington [5]
Plant communities of the Blue Mountains in eastern Oregon and
  southeastern Washington [7]
Sagebrush-grass habitat types of southern Idaho [9]

Stiff sagebrush communities are often floristically diverse, yet often
look impoverished because of sparse vegetation and low ground cover
[5,6].  Common associated species include Sandberg bluegrass (Poa
secunda), bottlebrush squirreltail (Elymus elymoides), tapertip onion
(Allium acuminatum), bulbous woodlandstar (Lithophragma bulbifera),
biscuitroot (Lomatium spp.), spring draba (Draba verna), autumn
willowweed (Epilobium paniculatum), dwarf monkeyflower (Mimulus nanus),
Pacific fescue (Festuca pacifica), bighead clover (Trifolium
macrocephalus), and several mosses (Tortula spp., Bryum spp.,Ceratodon
spp.) [6].  Cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) is a major increaser on
disturbed stiff sagebrush sites.

Related categories for Species: Artemisia rigida | Stiff Sagebrush