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Tsuga heterophylla / Xerophyllum tenax Forest | Western Ecology Working Group of...
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Name: Tsuga heterophylla / Xerophyllum tenax Forest Reference: Western Ecology Working Group of... Description: This association has only been described from a small area of the Olympic Mountains, on some of the driest and coldest sites capable of supporting Tsuga heterophylla. A few stands have been documented for eastern Washington and northern Idaho. These forests occupy topographically dry sites, on steep, straight, mid to upper slopes, with cold soils. Elevations average 925 m in the Olympics and 1460 m in northern Idaho. Parent materials in the Olympics are stony, metabasaltic colluvium. Soils are shallow (bedrock at <1 m), gravelly loams, gravelly silt loams and gravelly sandy loams, with low organic matter and nitrogen. They are well-drained and highly permeable; rock outcrops are common. Tsuga heterophylla and Pseudotsuga menziesii are codominant in the Olympics, while stands in the Okanogan Highlands and northern Idaho have little to no Pseudotsuga. Other important conifers can include Thuja plicata, Pinus monticola, Abies lasiocarpa, and Picea engelmannii. The shrub layer is not particularly abundant (typically <20% total cover of shrubs), and species composition is different between the stands in the Olympics and those farther east. Acer circinatum, Vaccinium membranaceum, or Vaccinium parvifolium are common; Mahonia nervosa dominates the low-shrub layer in the Olympics stands. In eastern Washington and Idaho, the low-growing Paxistima myrsinites or Linnaea borealis are common. The herbaceous layer is dominated by Xerophyllum tenax (averaging 30% cover), a perennial forb with dense tufts of grasslike leaves and stout rhizomes. Other forb species contribute little cover, and grass species are uncommon. Ground mosses and lichens average 10% cover, and epiphytic species are uncommon.  Accession Code: VB.CC.25912.TSUGAHETEROPHYL Plot-observations of this Community Concept: 0
	Party Perspective according to: NatureServe (organization) Perspective from: 26-Nov-1997 to: 17-Nov-2014
	status: accepted Community's Parent: Tsuga heterophylla Forest Alliance This Community's Level: Association This Community's Children: [none]		Names:   Translated: Western Hemlock / Bear-grass Forest   UID: ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.689180 NatureServe Explorer   Code: CEGL000499   Scientific: Tsuga heterophylla / Xerophyllum tenax Forest   Common: Western Hemlock / Bear-grass Forest (convergence) and Synonyms: (undetermined) Tsuga heterophylla / Xerophyllum tenax Forest