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Abies lasiocarpa - Picea engelmannii / Xerophyllum tenax - Luzula glabrata var. hitchcockii Woodland | Western Ecology Working Group of...
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Name: Abies lasiocarpa - Picea engelmannii / Xerophyllum tenax - Luzula glabrata var. hitchcockii Woodland Reference: Western Ecology Working Group of... Description: This association is broadly distributed throughout the mid to upper subalpine zones of the northern Rocky Mountains, concentrated in northern Idaho and western Montana and extending into the Canadian Rockies of southwestern Alberta. The demonstrated elevation range is from 1555 to 2135 m in the northern portion of its distribution and 1740 to 2380 m in its southern occurrence. It is strongly associated with moderate to steep warm slopes, usually having a southeast- through south- to west-facing exposure, usually occurring from midslopes upwards to slope shoulders and occasionally extending to high-elevation benchlands as well. It is characterized by having relatively heavy snowpack that persists well into the growing season. These sites have well-drained soils derived from a host of parent materials, including volcanics (granitics, andesite, rhyolite) sedimentaries (limestone, dolomite, siltstone), metamorphics (quartzite, argillite, gneiss, mica-schist) and metasediments. The range in soil surface texture is broad, from silty clays to sandy loams with the gravel content averaging about 30% near the surface and increasing markedly with depth. These are very open woodland sites with the tree component often occurring as scattered clumps and, at the highest and coldest extremes, approaching a krummholz form with trees as short as 5.5 m (18 feet) in height when mature. The canopy is generally strongly dominated by <i>Abies lasiocarpa</i> followed distantly in order of decreasing average cover by <i>Pinus albicaulis, Pinus contorta</i>, and <i>Picea engelmannii</i> (this order may change slightly by region and is undoubtedly due to differences in type and severity of disturbance). The undergrowth component is species-poor. Tall shrubs are virtually unrepresented, and the short shrubs <i>Vaccinium membranaceum</i> and <i>Lonicera utahensis</i> have high constancy but only the former has coverage exceeding 5%. The dwarf-shrub component has only two constant species, <i>Vaccinium scoparium</i> and <i>Vaccinium myrtillus</i>, only one of which exhibits high cover in a given location; <i>Phyllodoce empetriformis</i> may be a conspicuous component but its presence is very inconsistent. The graminoid component is singularly dominated by <i>Luzula glabrata</i> with a cover of 5 to 20% (extremes to 50 or 60%, where <i>Xerophyllum tenax</i> cover is low); <i>Carex geyeri</i> is a common component only in central Idaho representation of the type. <i>Xerophyllum tenax</i> is almost invariably the dominant herb, joined by a number of other forbs, none of which express high constancy.  Accession Code: VB.CC.32240.CEGL005898 Plot-observations of this Community Concept: 0
	Party Perspective according to: NatureServe (organization) Perspective from: 17-Nov-2014 to: 01-May-2019
	status: accepted This Community's Level: association This Community's Children: [none]		Names:   UID: ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.730866 NatureServe Explorer   Translated: Subalpine Fir - Engelmann Spruce / Common Beargrass - Hitchcock's Smooth Woodrush Woodland   Scientific: Abies lasiocarpa - Picea engelmannii / Xerophyllum tenax - Luzula glabrata var. hitchcockii Woodland   Code: CEGL005898