Name:
Pinus flexilis / Cercocarpus montanus - Amelanchier utahensis Woodland
Reference:
Western Ecology Working Group of...
Description:
This limber pine woodland is only known from Fossil Butte National Monument in southwestern Wyoming. Stands occur on rims and upper slopes of ridges and buttes on gentle to steep (2- to 41-degree) slopes on all aspects between 2258 and 2413 m elevation. The unvegetated surface has low exposure of bare soil, moderate to high cover of litter, low to moderate cover of small rocks, low cover of large rocks, and sparse cover of bedrock and dead wood. Soils are moderately well-drained to rapidly drained sandy loams, silts, and clays derived from the Wasatch Formation. This association is characterized by an open to moderately dense tree canopy, typically 10-20 m tall, of <i>Pinus flexilis</i> trees with between 6 and 48% cover, and a shrub-dominated understory consisting primarily of <i>Amelanchier utahensis</i> and <i>Cercocarpus montanus</i> with between 10 and 50% cover. Total vegetation cover ranges from 37 to nearly 100%. Scattered <i>Pseudotsuga menziesii</i> trees occur in the tree canopy of some stands. Some stands have a sparse subcanopy of sapling <i>Pinus flexilis, Pseudotsuga menziesii</i>, and <i>Juniperus scopulorum</i>. Associated shrubs include <i>Artemisia tridentata ssp. vaseyana, Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus, Holodiscus dumosus, Mahonia repens, Prunus virginiana, Ribes cereum, Shepherdia canadensis</i>, and <i>Symphoricarpos oreophilus</i>. The herbaceous layer is diverse but provides little cover. Common grasses include <i>Leymus cinereus, Pascopyrum smithii, Poa fendleriana</i>, and <i>Poa secunda</i>. Forbs include <i>Mertensia oblongifolia, Pteryxia terebinthina (= Cymopterus terebinthinus), Eriogonum umbellatum, Eriogonum brevicaule, Cirsium undulatum, Achillea millefolium, Lithospermum ruderale</i>, and <i>Trifolium gymnocarpon</i>.
Accession Code:
VB.CC.31866.CEGL005320
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
0
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