From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Shrub-steppe is a type of low rainfall natural grassland. Shrub-steppes are distinguishable from deserts, which are too dry to support a noticeable cover of perennial grasses or other shrubs, while the shrub-steppe has sufficient moisture levels to support a cover of perennial grasses and/or shrubs. Rainfall is less than 180 mm or 7" per year.

North America

The shrub steppes of North America occur in the western United States and Canada, between the Pacific Coast Ranges and Sierra Nevada on the west and the Rocky Mountains on the east. They extend from south-central British Columbia into southeastern Washington eastern Oregon, and eastern California, through Idaho, Nevada, and Utah, and into western Wyoming and Colorado. Growth is primarily low-lying shrubs, such as sagebrush.

Shrub-steppe ecoregions of North America include:

• Colorado Plateau shrublands: northern Arizona, western Colorado, eastern Utah, and northern and central New Mexico
• Great Basin shrub steppe: eastern California, central Nevada, western Utah, and southeastern Idaho.
• Mojave desert: southeastern California, southern Nevada, and northwestern Arizona.
• Columbia Basin and Cascade rainshadow steppe: south-central Washington, eastern Oregon, northeastern California, northern Nevada, and central Idaho.
• South Okanagan-Similkameen shrub steppe: Okanagan Valley of British Columbia, and the Keremeos area of the Similkameen Country in British Columbia and North-central Washington.
• Wyoming Basin shrub steppe: central Wyoming, reaching into south-central Montana, northeastern Utah, southwestern Idaho, and northwestern Colorado.

See also

• Arid Lands Ecology Reserve (in Washington state in the US)
• Deserts and xeric shrublands
• Sagebrush steppe
• Temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands

External links

• U.S. Government article on Shrub-steppes
• Index to Deserts & Xeric Shrublands at bioimages.vanderbilt.edu