Vegetation in the badlands of southeastern Montana was classified into seven communities, each of which occurs as many widely scattered stands throughout the study area. Vegetation com- position, soils and physiographic characteristics in a number of stands of each community were studied and related to community distribution. The Sarcobatus community is the most saline-tolerant type, and occurs on moderate to steep slopes where subsurface soil water moves out to the surface. The Atriplex-Artemisia community is moderately tolerant of saline soils and is restricted to steep slopes of exposed geological strata. The vegetation of this community is mainly concentrated along contouring microbenches resulting from eroded lignite seams. The Artemisia-Atriplex-Agropyron community is restricted to moderate slopes supporting a shallow layer of sandstone talus material, and the closely related Artemisia-Agropyron community is found on more gentle slopes of deeper talus accumulations. Stands of the Rhus-Agropyron com- munity are found principally on outcrops of porcellanite material on moderate to steep slopes, usually near the ridgetops. The Juniperus- Agropyron community is restricted to the more mesic sites in the bad- lands, primarily in the drainage channels on badland slopes, whereas the Pinus-Juniperus community is restricted to small stands on col- luvial knolls at the base of extensive badland slopes. Physiographic and edaphic conditions - insofar as they may influence the availability of soil water - appear to be the principal factors controlling the distri- bution of badland plant communities.
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Ray W. Brown (1971) studied this question.