Name:
Acer grandidentatum Montane Forest Alliance
Reference:
Western Ecology Working Group of...
Description:
This alliance includes mainly deciduous forests dominated by Acer grandidentatum, occurring in relatively moist lower montane areas of the southern and central Rocky Mountains. These communities are also reported from Idaho, Utah, and southwest Wyoming, where they are becoming more widespread. They are also known from the canyons of Trans-Pecos Texas, and it is likely that they also occur in canyon habitats of Arizona and New Mexico. The alliance can occur on all aspects but is best developed on north-facing valleys or canyons with moderate insolation and favorable soil moisture. In the Guadalupe and Chisos mountains of Trans-Pecos Texas, these forests occur in mesic canyon bottoms at 1300-1800 m (4000-5500 feet) elevation. In the mountains of Utah and Idaho, these communities typically occupy moist north-facing swales at similar elevations. In the southern part of the range, these communities are typically associated with protected topographic positions with relatively moist soils and lower fire frequencies than surrounding hillsides. Farther north in the Rocky Mountains, these types appear to be maintained by periodic fire, which prevents the encroachment of coniferous forest. Intermediate communities of the southern Rocky Mountains and Colorado Plateau are presently undescribed. Forests in this alliance are dominated by a dense canopy of Acer grandidentatum, often occurring with Quercus spp. and Juniperus spp. Shrub and herb strata are relatively sparse throughout the range of the alliance and are comprised of short evergreen shrubs and annual or perennial graminoids and forbs. Associated species vary across the geographic range of these forests. In the mountains of western Texas, associated tree and tall-shrub species include Quercus muehlenbergii, Quercus gravesii, Quercus grisea, Quercus rugosa, Ostrya knowltonii, Arbutus xalapensis, Cupressus arizonica, Juniperus deppeana, Pinus edulis, and Pinus ponderosa var. scopulorum. In central Rocky Mountain stands, tree and shrub associates include Quercus gambelii, Prunus virginiana, Amelanchier alnifolia, Physocarpus malvaceus, Artemisia tridentata, Paxistima myrsinites, Symphoricarpos spp., and Populus tremuloides. Forests in this alliance grade to slightly less mesic, mixed evergreen-deciduous forests, woodlands, or brushfields on adjacent hillsides.
Accession Code:
VB.CC.18309.ACERGRANDIDENTA
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
0
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