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Tsuga mertensiana / Streptopus amplexifolius Forest | Western Ecology Working Group of...
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Name: Tsuga mertensiana / Streptopus amplexifolius Forest Reference: Western Ecology Working Group of... Description: This plant association is described from sites located primarily in the upper Clearwater River drainage, within the central region of the Bitterroot Mountains ecoregional section. The plant association occurs in a mountainous region characterized by a Pacific maritime climatic regime. Sites are cool, wet, north-facing toeslopes or narrow stringers of streamside terraces at 1525 to nearly 1830 m (5000-6000 feet) elevation. At the lower elevation range stands are characterized by earlier snowmelt and runoff. At the higher elevation range (described as the <i>Luzula glabrata var. hitchcockii (= Luzula hitchcockii)</i> phase) snowpacks are often deep and persistent. Parent materials are metamorphic rocks. Soils are seasonally saturated, with high gravel content throughout the profile. Textures range from sandy loams, silt loams to silts. The evergreen needle-leaved forest association is dominated by a variable composition of <i>Tsuga mertensiana, Abies lasiocarpa</i> and <i>Picea engelmannii</i>. All three of these species are capable of rapidly recolonizing following disturbance. Several other conifer species can occur as seral components in younger stands. The understory has a well-developed deciduous shrub layer, less than 2 m tall, dominated by <i>Menziesia ferruginea</i> and lesser amounts of <i>Vaccinium membranaceum</i>. The herbaceous layer is characterized by a variable assemblage of forbs indicative of wet sites, including <i>Streptopus amplexifolius, Senecio triangularis, Mitella breweri, Ligusticum canbyi, Trautvetteria caroliniensis</i> and <i>Veratrum viride</i>. Total herbaceous cover varies from 30-40%. On sites above 1710 m (5600 feet), a phase is recognized where the perennial graminoid <i>Luzula glabrata var. hitchcockii</i> is abundant (24% cover), and overall forb cover and richness are significantly less than in the lower elevation stands.  Accession Code: VB.CC.32357.CEGL000511 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.2.686219 NatureServe Explorer   Translated: Mountain Hemlock / Clasping Twisted-stalk Forest   Scientific: Tsuga mertensiana / Streptopus amplexifolius Forest   Code: CEGL000511