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Pinus albicaulis - Abies lasiocarpa / Vaccinium scoparium / Xerophyllum tenax Woodland | Western Ecology Working Group of...
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Name: Pinus albicaulis - Abies lasiocarpa / Vaccinium scoparium / Xerophyllum tenax Woodland
Reference: Western Ecology Working Group of...
Description: This minor small- to large-patch community is found primarily in upper subalpine habitats throughout the northern Rocky Mountains from central Idaho north and east into west-central Montana, and northward to the Canadian Rockies of southwestern Alberta. It ranges in elevation from 1585 to 2530 m (5200-8300 feet). The lower elevation occurrences are mostly associated with frost-pocket conditions. It usually occupies moisture-shedding sites from midslope to ridge shoulders and ridgetops; it can be found on well-drained benches in cold-air drainages. Degree of slope is highly variable, but warm aspects (from east-facing through west-facing) are predominant. Parent materials are various, from intrusive volcanics of the Idaho Batholith to extrusive volcanics (andesite and basalt) to various sedimentary and metamorphic species, including quartzite, argillite, siltstone, sandstone and schist. Soils are acidic, well-drained, and soil texture is usually on the coarser end of the spectrum (gravelly sandy loams and loams being common). Exposed rock and soil are generally less than 10%, but rock content in the profile often exceeds 20%. The overstory is usually an open canopy (less than 50% cover) dominated by a variable mix of Abies lasiocarpa, Picea engelmannii, Pinus contorta, and the indicator species Pinus albicaulis, which must have at least 5% cover for this type to be recognized. The undergrowth may be quite dense with a layer of Vaccinium scoparium surrounding clumps of Xerophyllum tenax with a thinly distributed Vaccinium membranaceum superimposed; the combined cover of these three species often exceeds 80%. Tall shrubs, if present, could be characterized as accidentals. Spiraea betulifolia and Lonicera utahensis are consistently scattered in the short-shrub layer. Carex geyeri and Calamagrostis rubescens are the only graminoids regularly present, and their cover seldom exceeds 10%. Other than the abundance of the diagnostic Xerophyllum tenax, the forb layer has low cover and is comparatively depauperate with only Arnica latifolia, Anemone piperi, Goodyera oblongifolia, Orthilia secunda (= Pyrola secunda), and Viola orbiculata having a consistent presence. 
Accession Code: VB.CC.28310.PINUSALBICAULIS
Plot-observations of this Community Concept: 0
      Party Perspective according to: NatureServe (organization)
Perspective from: 10-Feb-2004 to: 17-Nov-2014
      Names:   Translated: Whitebark Pine - Subalpine Fir / Grouseberry / Bear-grass Woodland
  UID: ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.730886 NatureServe ExplorerNatureServe Explorer logo
  Code: CEGL005838
  Scientific: Pinus albicaulis - Abies lasiocarpa / Vaccinium scoparium / Xerophyllum tenax Woodland
(convergence) and Synonyms:
(undetermined) Pinus albicaulis - Abies lasiocarpa / Vaccinium scoparium / Xerophyllum tenax Woodland