Login | Datasets | Logout
Jump to... Home PLOT search PLANT search COMMUNITY search Simple search Manage datasets Tutorial About FAQ ------- Site map VegBranch Data dictionary ERD

stdcommconcept1919919199

View Community Concepts - Detail

Populus balsamifera ssp. trichocarpa Temporarily Flooded Forest Alliance | Western Ecology Working Group of...
click to update datacart
Name: Populus balsamifera ssp. trichocarpa Temporarily Flooded Forest Alliance Reference: Western Ecology Working Group of... Description: This riparian forest alliance occurs on alluvial terraces along major streams and rivers throughout the western United States, west of the Continental Divide. Elevations range from sea level in California to 1800 m. They can occur on alluvial terraces of major streams and rivers, margins of lakes, meadows, deltas, river mouths, and terraces. Stands can occupy broad floodplains or form narrow stringers adjacent to streams with a much steeper slope. Soils typically overlay river gravel and/or cobbles and are coarse-textured. Water tables usually drop below 1 m of the soil surface in summer, but can remain moist due to capillary action. Vegetation within this alliance is characterized by an open to moderately dense tree layer that is dominated by Populus balsamifera ssp. trichocarpa. Tree associates include Populus deltoides, Populus angustifolia, Pinus ponderosa, Picea spp., and Alnus rhombifolia, Alnus rubra, and Fraxinus latifolia in stands along the west coast. A shrub layer is usually present and may be dominated by Alnus incana, Betula papyrifera, Cornus sericea, Crataegus douglasii, Prunus virginiana, Ribes americanum, Salix exigua, and Symphoricarpos albus. The herbaceous layer is usually relatively sparse and is dominated by either forbs or graminoids. Common species include Actaea rubra, Cicuta douglasii, Equisetum sylvaticum, Mentha arvensis, and Symphyotrichum spathulatum (= Aster occidentalis). The graminoid cover is usually less than 10%, but can be up to 80% consisting mainly of introduced hay grasses on disturbed sites. Species information on the graminoid and forb layers is lacking for much of the range of this alliance. Diagnostic of this alliance is the dominance of Populus balsamifera ssp. trichocarpa in the tree canopy in forests that are briefly flooded during the growing season.  Accession Code: VB.CC.19199.POPULUSBALSAMIF Plot-observations of this Community Concept: 0
	Party Perspective according to: NatureServe (organization) Perspective from: 26-Nov-1997 to: 01-May-2019
	status: accepted This Community's Level: Alliance This Community's Children: [none]		Names:   Scientific: Populus balsamifera ssp. trichocarpa Temporarily Flooded Forest Alliance   Translated: Black Cottonwood Temporarily Flooded Forest Alliance   UID: HIGHER_CLASS_UNIT.2.125033 NatureServe Explorer   Code: A.311