Name:
Salix boothii / Mesic Forbs Shrubland
Reference:
Western Ecology Working Group of...
Description:
This association is known from southern and central Idaho, western Montana, western Colorado, Utah, California, and Wyoming. Stands are found over a broad range of elevations from 1370-3050 m (4500-10,000 feet), in riparian areas on stream benches, meadows, and seeps located in narrow or broad valley bottoms. Soils are often organic. The vegetation has a 1- to 2-m tall-shrub layer that often forms extensive thickets, or willow carrs, on broad montane floodplains. The overstory of this shrubland association is dominated by <i>Salix boothii</i>. <i>Salix geyeriana</i> or <i>Salix drummondiana</i> may codominate. <i>Salix wolfii, Lonicera involucrata</i>, and/or <i>Ribes inerme</i> commonly form a low-shrub layer, generally tucked under the bases of the taller willows. The dense herbaceous understory is dominated by forbs. No one species in dominant or consistently present in all stands; however, when taken together, the total forb cover is greater than the total graminoid cover. Forb species typically include <i>Heracleum maximum (= Heracleum lanatum), Mertensia</i> spp., <i>Maianthemum stellatum (= Smilacina stellata), Symphyotrichum foliaceum, Aconitum columbianum, Cirsium arvense, Fragaria virginiana, Geranium viscosissimum, Hydrophyllum fendleri, Urtica dioica</i>, and <i>Rudbeckia occidentalis</i>. Although highly variable, graminoid cover is typically less than 20%. Graminoid species include <i>Poa pratensis, Carex microptera, Calamagrostis canadensis, Agrostis gigantea</i>, and <i>Phleum pratense</i>.
Accession Code:
VB.CC.32387.CEGL001180
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
0
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