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Arctostaphylos uva-ursi Dwarf-shrubland Alliance | Western Ecology Working Group of...
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Name: Arctostaphylos uva-ursi Dwarf-shrubland Alliance Reference: Western Ecology Working Group of... Description: These communities are typically located in the subalpine and lower alpine zones of mountains in the Pacific Northwest. The climate is cold and snowy with severe winds, snow abrasion, and a short growing season. Annual precipitation is often over 200 cm in the Cascades. These communities typically occur on droughty, exposed south-facing mountain slopes where snow blows off or melts relatively early. Elevations typically range from 1700-2400 m in the Cascades and up to 2600 m in the Rocky Mountains. Soils are composed of varied parent materials, including granitics, limestone, and basalt, but are usually skeletal and well-drained. These are dense dwarf-shrub communities strongly dominated by Arctostaphylos uva-ursi, with a sparse mixture of forb and graminoid associates. In the Cascades, Empetrum nigrum, another ericaceous shrub, may codominate stands. Minuartia obtusiloba is a characteristic forb associate in both Cascade and Rocky Mountain stands. Other common herbaceous associates across the range include Sedum lanceolatum, Achillea millefolium, Carex rupestris, Polygonum bistortoides, Festuca brachyphylla, and Carex scirpoidea ssp. pseudoscirpoidea. Carex spectabilis becomes a conspicuous graminoid associate in stands west of the Cascade crest. Adjacent vegetation is usually parkland or krummholz composed of Tsuga mertensiana, Pinus albicaulis, Larix lyallii, or Abies lasiocarpa, dry alpine grasslands, sedge wetlands, or bare rock and ice.  Accession Code: VB.CC.23671.ARCTOSTAPHYLOSU 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: Arctostaphylos uva-ursi Dwarf-shrubland Alliance   Translated: Kinikinnick Dwarf-shrubland Alliance   UID: HIGHER_CLASS_UNIT.2.126475 NatureServe Explorer   Code: A.1079