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Tsuga heterophylla / Xerophyllum tenax Forest | Western Ecology Working Group of...
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Name: Tsuga heterophylla / Xerophyllum tenax Forest Reference: Western Ecology Working Group of... Description: This association has only been described from a small area of the Olympic Mountains, on some of the driest and coldest sites capable of supporting <i>Tsuga heterophylla</i>. A few stands have been documented for eastern Washington and northern Idaho. These forests occupy topographically dry sites, on steep, straight, mid to upper slopes, with cold soils. Elevations average 925 m in the Olympics and 1460 m in northern Idaho. Parent materials in the Olympics are stony, metabasaltic colluvium. Soils are shallow (bedrock at <1 m), gravelly loams, gravelly silt loams and gravelly sandy loams, with low organic matter and nitrogen. They are well-drained and highly permeable; rock outcrops are common. <i>Tsuga heterophylla</i> and <i>Pseudotsuga menziesii</i> are codominant in the Olympics, while stands in the Okanogan Highlands and northern Idaho have little to no <i>Pseudotsuga</i>. Other important conifers can include <i>Thuja plicata, Pinus monticola, Abies lasiocarpa</i>, and <i>Picea engelmannii</i>. The shrub layer is not particularly abundant (typically <20% total cover of shrubs), and species composition is different between the stands in the Olympics and those farther east. <i>Acer circinatum, Vaccinium membranaceum</i>, or <i>Vaccinium parvifolium</i> are common; <i>Mahonia nervosa</i> dominates the low-shrub layer in the Olympics stands. In eastern Washington and Idaho, the low-growing <i>Paxistima myrsinites</i> or <i>Linnaea borealis</i> are common. The herbaceous layer is dominated by <i>Xerophyllum tenax</i> (averaging 30% cover), a perennial forb with dense tufts of grasslike leaves and stout rhizomes. Other forb species contribute little cover, and grass species are uncommon. Ground mosses and lichens average 10% cover, and epiphytic species are uncommon.  Accession Code: VB.CC.32488.CEGL000499 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.2.689180 NatureServe Explorer   Translated: Western Hemlock / Common Beargrass Forest   Scientific: Tsuga heterophylla / Xerophyllum tenax Forest   Code: CEGL000499