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BC Conservation Data Centre: Ecological Community Summary

Artemisia tridentata / Pseudoroegneria spicata - Balsamorhiza sagittata
big sagebrush / bluebunch wheatgrass - arrowleaf balsamroot

 
Scientific Name: Artemisia tridentata / Pseudoroegneria spicata - Balsamorhiza sagittata
English Name: big sagebrush / bluebunch wheatgrass - arrowleaf balsamroot
Scientific Name - Concept Reference: Meidinger, D. 1992. Vegetation classification hierarchy: DBASE September 1992. B.C. Minist. For. Res. Branch, Victoria.
Ecosystem Group: Terrestrial Realm - Grassland Group (G): Shrub Steppe Class (Gs)
   
Conservation Status / Legal Designation
Global Status: G2
Provincial Status: S2 (Oct 2004)
BC List: Red
Provincial FRPA list:   
Notable Species:
 
Ecology & Dynamics
Environmental Summary: This ecological community occurs on gentle to steep, mid to upper slopes, over morainal blankets and veneers, or on glaciofluvial terraces. Soil moisture regime is xeric to mesic. Medium to rich soils with a well-developed lichen crust are characteristic.
Vegetation Summary: This shrub-grassland is dominated by Artemisia tridentata (big sagebrush) and Pseudoroegneria spicata (bluebunch wheatgrass). Balsamorhiza sagittata (arrow-leaved balsamroot), Koeleria macrantha (junegrass), Festuca idahoensis (Idaho fescue), and Achillea millefolium (common yarrow) are generally present with variable cover. Early seral communities occur on the same sites but vary significantly in species composition. Introduced species, such as Bromus tectorum (cheatgrass), are present with higher cover and native grass species have a correspondingly lower cover. Some native species, such as Poa secunda var. secunda (Sandberg's bluegrass), are characteristic of early seral communities. The lichen crust in early seral and damaged communities is fragmented and poorly developed with low species diversity. Four distinct but related plant associations have been lumped into one ecological community classification. Consequently, plant species composition is variable. Diagnostic species may include > 10% cover of Poa secunda var. secunda, as well as Bromus tectorum and > 5% cover of Artemisia tridentata.
Dynamic Processes Summary:
Spatial Pattern: Small patch
 
Distribution
Endemic: Y
   
Authors / Contributors
Author: Dunster, K. and C.M. Cadrin
Last updated: Oct 30, 2009
   
References and Related Literature
B.C. Ministry of Forests, Lands, and Natural Resource Operations. Biogeoclimatic Ecosystem Classification (BEC) Map, WHSE_FOREST_VEGETATION.BEC_BIOGEOCLIMATIC_POLY [ESRI ArcSDE format]. Version 9. Ministry of Forests, Lands, and Natural Resource Operations, Forest Analysis and Inventory Branch, Victoria, B.C. Updated Regularly.
Iverson, K. 2004. Grasslands of the Southern Interior. B.C. Minist. Water, Land and Air Prot., Biodiv. Branch. Victoria, B.C. 6 pp.
Iverson, K., C. Cadrin, D. Spaeth Filatow, and C. Erwin. 2004. Sensitive Ecosystems Inventory: Central Okanagan, 2000-2001. Volume 2: Terrestrial Ecosystem Mapping, Surface Erosion and Slope Stability, and Expanded Legend. Unpublished report. Minist. Environment, Victoria, BC. and Canadian Wildlife Service, Pacific and Yukon Region.
Lloyd, D., K. Angove, G. Hope, and C. Thompson. 1990. A guide to site identification and interpretation for the Kamloops Forest Region. B.C. Minist. For., Res. Branch, Victoria, B.C. Land Manage. Handb. No. 23. 399pp.
Meidinger, D. 1992. Vegetation classification hierarchy: DBASE September 1992. B.C. Minist. For. Res. Branch, Victoria.
Sensitive Ecosystems Inventory [SEI] of Naramata. 2006. Dalzeil, Rod.1:20 000 spatial data.
Terrestrial Ecosystem Mapping [TEM] for the BC GAS Inland Pacific Connector Project. 2002. Prepared for Wayne Biggs at Westland Resource Group, by JMJ Holdings Inc., Nelson, B.C. 1:20 000 spatial data.
Terrestrial Ecosystem Mapping [TEM] of portions of the PPxh1 and IDFxh1 in the Central Okanagan. 2002i. Prepared for the Regional District of the Central Okanagan and the Ministry of Sustainable Resource Management, by K. Iverson, C. Erwin, C. Sinnemann, L. Lacelle and D. Spaeth Filatow. 1:20,000 spatial data.
Terrestrial Ecosystem Mapping [TEM] of Weyerhaeuser Canada Ltd., Tree Farm License 15. 1999d. Prepared for Weyerhaeuser Canada Ltd., Okanagan Falls in partnership with FRBC and the Ministry of Forests, Kamloops, B.C., by Bruhjell, D. and S. Robertson 1:20 000 spatial data.
Terrestrial Ecosystem Mapping [TEM]: Cathedral Provincial Park Bioterrain And Ecosystem Inventory Draft. March 25 1996. Prepared for Judy Miller, BC Parks, Summerland, B.C., by JMJ Holdings Inc., Nelson, B.C. 1:20 000 spatial data.
 

Please visit the website Conservation Status Ranks for definitions of the data fields used in this summary report.

Suggested Citation:

B.C. Conservation Data Centre. 2009. Ecological Community Summary: Artemisia tridentata / Pseudoroegneria spicata - Balsamorhiza sagittata. B.C. Minist. of Environment. Available: https://a100.gov.bc.ca/pub/eswp/ (accessed Nov 6, 2025).