Victoria E. Pennington1, Kyle A. Palmquist2, John B. Bradford3, and William K. Lauenroth4

Climate and Soil Texture Influence Patterns of Forb Species Richness and Composition in Big Sagebrush Plant Communities Across their Spatial Extent in the Western US

Plant Ecology

Victoria E. Pennington1, Kyle A. Palmquist2, John B. Bradford3, and William K. Lauenroth4

1M.S.Student, Department of Botany, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY 82071, USA,

Present Correspondence: Victoria Pennington, Avian Science Center, College of Forestry and Conservation, University of Montana, Missoula, MT 59812, USA. Email: ; Tel: 406-274-2585

Supplemental Material 1 Species-area relationships for untransformed forb species location data found along belt transects at each site in big sagebrush plant communities. There were 3, 100-m belt transects at each site. Species-area relationships are ordered geographically by Management Zone: (a) Malta, (b) Blakeslee, (c) Winnett, (d) Pinedale, (e) Jeffrey City, (f) Rock Springs, (g) Cowdrey, (h) Wells, (i) Yomba, (j) Loa, (k) Grasmere, (l) Mcdermitt, (m) Jackpot, (n) Laidlaw, and (o) Adel. Species-area relationships were built using Arrhenius (1921): S=caz

Supplemental Material 2. Sites that forb species were found at in big sagebrush plant communities.

Scientific Name / Total
Achilleamillefolium / 3
Agoserisglauca / 3
Allium brandegeei / 4
Allium / 1
Allium textile / 4
Alyssum alyssoides / 2
Alyssum desertorum / 4
Androsaceseptentrionalis / 3
Antennariadimorpha / 5
Antennariamicrophylla / 1
Antennariaparvifolia / 4
Arabis ×divaricarpa [drummondii × holboellii] / 1
Arabisfendleri var. fendleri / 1
Arabisholboellii / 4
Arabismicrophylla var. microphylla / 1
Arabispuberula / 1
Arenariahookeri / 1
Artemisia frigida / 1
Astragalusatratus / 1
Astragalusbisulcatus / 2
Astragaluscalycosus / 1
Astragaluscibarius / 6
Astragalusflavus / 1
Astragaluslentiginosus / 2
Astragalus miser / 4
Astragalusmissouriensis Nutt. / 1
Astragaluspurshii / 10
Astragalusspatulatus / 1
Blepharipappusscaber / 1
Calochortusbruneaunis / 1
Castillejaangustifolia / 1
Castillejapallescens / 2
Ceratocephalatesticulata / 4
Chaenactisdouglasii / 4
Chenopodiumleptophyllum / 2
Chorizanthewatsonii / 1
Cirsiumundulatum / 2
Collomialinearis / 1
Comandraumbellata / 2
Cordylanthusramosus / 4
Crepisacuminate / 2
Crepismodocensis / 4
Cryptanthacaespitosa / 1
Cryptanthaflavoculata / 2
Cryptanthagracilis / 3
Cymopteruslongipes / 1
Delphinium nuttallianum / 2
Delphinium scaposum / 2
Descurainiapinnata / 7
DescurainiaSophia / 1
Descurainia / 1
Drabaaurea / 1
Eriastrumsparsiflorum / 2
Erigeron aphanactis / 2
Erigeron caespitosus / 1
Erigeron filifolius / 1
Erigeron linearis / 1
Erigeron nematophyllus / 1
Erigeron pumilus / 6
Eriogonumcaespitosum / 3
Eriogonumovalifolium / 8
Eriogonumumbellatum / 2
Gayophytumdiffusum / 1
Giliainconspicua / 1
Hedeomahispida / 1
Hymenopappusfilifolius / 1
Ionactisalpina / 4
Ipomopsiscongesta / 2
Ipomopsisminutiflora / 1
Iva axillaris / 3
Lappulaoccidentalis / 2
Lepidiumdensiflorum / 1
Lepidiumperfoliatum / 1
Lesquerellakingii ssp. kingii var. kingie / 1
Lewisiarediviva / 2
Linumlewisii / 1
Logfiaarvensis / 2
Lomatiumfoeniculaceum / 5
Lomatiummacrocarpum / 1
Lomatiumnevadense / 1
Lomatium / 1
Lupinus / 4
Machaerantheracanescens / 5
Medicagolupulina / 1
Medicago sativa / 2
Melilotus officinalis / 2
Mentzeliaalbicaulis / 2
Mertensiabrevistyla / 1
Mertensiaoblongifolia / 1
Microsterisgracilis / 5
Musineondivaricatum / 1
Navarretiaintertexta / 1
Oenotheracaespitosa / 1
Opuntiafragilis / 1
Opuntiapolyacantha / 9
Orobanchecorymbosa / 1
Orobanchefasciculata / 1
Orthocarpusluteus / 1
Packeramultilobata / 1
Paronychia sessiliflora / 1
Pediocactussimpsonii / 3
Penstemoncaespitosus / 1
Penstemon procerus / 1
Penstemon / 1
Phlox austromontana / 1
Phlox hoodii / 12
Phlox longifolia / 8
Physaria / 1
Plantagopatagonica / 4
Polygonumpolygaloides ssp. confertiflorum / 1
Potentillaconcinna / 1
Potentillapensylvanica / 2
Sedum lanceolatum / 1
Selaginelladensa / 3
Silenedrummondii / 2
Sisymbriumirio / 1
Sphaeralceacoccinea / 5
Sphaeralceaparvifolia / 1
Stenotusacaulis / 3
Townsendiaflorifer / 2
Townsendiahookeri / 1
Tragopogondubius / 4
Trifoliumgymnocarpon / 4
Viciaamericana / 2
Zigadenuspaniculatus / 1
Zigadenusvenenosus / 1
Total / 322

Supplemental Material 3. The mean number of new species found in the first 50m2 and the last 50m2 of the 3 transects for each site.

First 50 m2 / Last 50m2
Malta / 4.0 / 0.7
Blakeslee / 7.3 / 0.7
Winnett / 4.0 / 1.3
Pinedale / 7.7 / 0
Jeffrey City / 7.3 / 0.7
Rock Springs / 1.3 / 0.3
Cowdrey / 4.7 / 1.0
Loa / 6.7 / 1.0
Wells / 3.0 / 0
Yomba / 8.7 / 1.0
Grasmere / 6.7 / 0.7
Mcdermitt / 7.7 / 0.7
Jackpot / 0 / 0.3
Laidlaw / 5.3 / 0.3
Adel / 3.0 / 0

Supplemental Material 4. Forb species characteristics by Management Zone. Values represent the percentage of species in sites in each Management Zone according to their Group, Duration, and Status. All forb species characteristics were obtained from the USDA Plants Database (USDA, NRCS, 2017). Sites from Management Zones IV and V were combined because there was 1 site in Management Zone V.

I / II / III / IV & V
Group
Monocot / 4 / 1 / 5 / 5
Dicot / 88 / 97 / 89 / 83
Lycopod / 4 / 0 / 0 / 0
Unknown / 3 / 1 / 6 / 12
Duration
Annual / 15 / 10 / 13 / 23
Annual/Biennial / 9 / 0 / 2 / 4
Annual/Biennial/Perennial / 6 / 4 / 6 / 5
Annual/Perennial / 6 / 3 / 3 / 0
Biennial / 0 / 0 / 2 / 0
Biennial/Perennial / 6 / 6 / 9 / 5
Perennial / 55 / 75 / 56 / 47
Unknown / 3 / 1 / 9 / 15
Status
Native / 73 / 94 / 91 / 79
Introduced / 24 / 4 / 2 / 9
Unknown / 3 / 1 / 8 / 13

Supplemental Material 5. Percentage of sites that each forb species was found at in each Management Zone (MZ). MZ I had 3 sites, MZ II had 4 sites, MZ III had 3 sites, and MZs IV and V had 5 sites. Sites from Management Zones IV and V were combined because there was only 1 site in Management Zone V.

Species / % within MZ’s
I / II / III / IV & V
Achilleamillefolium / 100 / 0 / 0 / 0
Allium brandegeei / 0 / 0 / 0 / 60
Allium textile / 100 / 0 / 0 / 0
Alyssum alyssoides / 67 / 0 / 0 / 0
Alyssum desertorum / 0 / 75 / 0 / 0
Antennariadimorpha / 0 / 0 / 0 / 60
Antennariaparvifolia / 100 / 0 / 0 / 0
Arabisholboellii / 0 / 75 / 0 / 0
Astragalusbisulcatus / 67 / 0 / 0 / 0
Astragaluscibarius / 0 / 0 / 0 / 60
Astragalus miser / 0 / 50 / 0 / 0
Astragaluspurshii / 0 / 100 / 100 / 40
Ceratocephalatesticulata / 0 / 0 / 0 / 60
Chaenactisdouglasii / 0 / 0 / 67 / 40
Chenopodiumleptophyllum / 0 / 0 / 0 / 40
Cordylanthusramosus / 0 / 75 / 0 / 0
Crepismodocensis / 0 / 0 / 0 / 40
Cryptanthagracilis / 0 / 0 / 67 / 0
Delphinium nuttallianum / 0 / 0 / 0 / 40
Delphinium scaposum / 0 / 0 / 67 / 0
Descurainiapinnata / 0 / 0 / 100 / 60
Eriastrumsparsiflorum / 0 / 0 / 0 / 40
Erigeron aphanactis / 0 / 0 / 67 / 0
Erigeron pumilus / 100 / 0 / 0 / 40
Eriogonumcaespitosum / 0 / 50 / 0 / 0
Eriogonumovalifolium / 0 / 100 / 100 / 0
Eriogonumumbellatum / 0 / 50 / 0 / 0
Ionactisalpina / 0 / 0 / 0 / 60
Ipomopsiscongesta / 0 / 0 / 0 / 40
Iva axillaris / 100 / 0 / 0 / 0
Logfiaarvensis / 67 / 0 / 0 / 0
Lomatiumfoeniculaceum / 0 / 50 / 0 / 40
Lupinus / 67 / 0 / 0 / 40
Machaerantheracanescens / 67 / 50 / 0 / 0
Medicago sativa / 67 / 0 / 0 / 0
Melilotus officinalis / 67 / 0 / 0 / 0
Mentzeliaalbicaulis / 0 / 0 / 67 / 0
Microsterisgracilis / 100 / 0 / 0 / 0
Phlox hoodii / 100 / 100 / 100 / 40
Phlox longifolia / 0 / 0 / 100 / 80
Plantagopatagonica / 100 / 0 / 0 / 0
Potentillapensylvanica / 67 / 0 / 0 / 0
Selaginelladensa / 100 / 0 / 0 / 0
Silenedrummondii / 67 / 0 / 0 / 0
Sphaeralceacoccinea / 100 / 0 / 0 / 0
Stenotusacaulis / 0 / 50 / 0 / 0
Tragopogondubius / 100 / 0 / 0 / 0
Trifoliumgymnocarpon / 0 / 75 / 0 / 0
Viciaamericana / 67 / 0 / 0 / 0

Supplemental Material 6. Percentage of forb genera found at each site in each Management Zone (MZ). MZ I had 3 sites, MZ II had 4 sites, MZ III had 3 sites, and MXs IV and V had 5 sites. Sites from Management Zones IV and V were combined because there was 1 site in Management Zone V.

Genus / % within MZ’s
I / II / III / IV & V
Achillea / 100 / 0 / 0 / 0
Allium / 100 / 0 / 67 / 60
Alyssum / 67 / 75 / 0 / 0
Antennaria / 100 / 50 / 0 / 40
Arabis / 0 / 75 / 67 / 40
Astragalus / 67 / 100 / 100 / 60
Castilleja / 0 / 50 / 0 / 0
Ceratocephala / 0 / 0 / 0 / 60
Chaenactis / 0 / 0 / 67 / 40
Chenopodium / 0 / 0 / 0 / 40
Cordylanthus / 0 / 75 / 0 / 0
Crepis / 0 / 0 / 0 / 60
Cryptantha / 0 / 0 / 100 / 0
Delphinium / 0 / 0 / 67 / 40
Descurainia / 0 / 0 / 100 / 80
Eriastrum / 0 / 0 / 0 / 40
Erigeron / 100 / 75 / 67 / 60
Eriogonum / 0 / 100 / 100 / 0
Ionactis / 0 / 0 / 0 / 60
Ipomopsis / 0 / 0 / 0 / 40
Iva / 100 / 0 / 0 / 0
Logfia / 67 / 0 / 0 / 0
Lomatium / 0 / 50 / 67 / 60
Lupinus / 67 / 0 / 0 / 40
Machaeranthera / 67 / 50 / 0 / 0
Medicago / 67 / 0 / 0 / 0
Melilotus / 67 / 0 / 0 / 0
Mentzelia / 0 / 0 / 67 / 0
Mertensia / 0 / 50 / 0 / 0
Microsteris / 100 / 0 / 0 / 0
Penstemon / 0 / 0 / 0 / 40
Phlox / 100 / 100 / 100 / 80
Plantago / 100 / 0 / 0 / 0
Potentilla / 67 / 0 / 0 / 0
Selaginella / 100 / 0 / 0 / 0
Silene / 67 / 0 / 0 / 0
Sphaeralcea / 100 / 0 / 0 / 0
Stenotus / 0 / 50 / 0 / 0
Tragopogon / 100 / 0 / 0 / 0
Trifolium / 0 / 75 / 0 / 0
Vicia / 67 / 0 / 0 / 0

Supplemental Material 7. Percentage of forb families by Management Zone (MZ). MZ I had 3 sites, MZ II had 4 sites, MZ III had 3 sites, and MZ IV and V had 5 sites. Sites from Management Zones IV and V were combined because there was 1 site in Management Zone V.

Family / % within MZ’s
I / II / III / IV & V
Apiaceae / 0 / 50 / 100 / 80
Asteraceae / 100 / 100 / 100 / 80
Boraginaceae / 0 / 50 / 100 / 40
Brassicaceae / 100 / 100 / 100 / 100
Caryophyllaceae / 67 / 50 / 0 / 0
Chenopodiaceae / 0 / 0 / 0 / 40
Fabaceae / 100 / 100 / 100 / 80
Liliaceae / 100 / 0 / 67 / 60
Loasaceae / 0 / 0 / 67 / 0
Malvaceae / 100 / 0 / 0 / 0
Plantaginaceae / 100 / 0 / 0 / 0
Polemoniaceae / 100 / 100 / 100 / 100
Polygonaceae / 0 / 100 / 100 / 60
Ranunculaceae / 0 / 0 / 67 / 60
Rosaceae / 67 / 0 / 0 / 0
Scrophulariaceae / 0 / 75 / 0 / 60
Selaginellaceae / 100 / 0 / 0 / 0