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Pseudotsuga menziesii - Sequoia sempervirens / Rhododendron macrophyllum / Vaccinium ovatum Forest | Western Ecology Working Group of...
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Name: Pseudotsuga menziesii - Sequoia sempervirens / Rhododendron macrophyllum / Vaccinium ovatum Forest Reference: Western Ecology Working Group of... Description: These giant conifer forests are found in the coastal fog zone of southwestern Oregon and northwestern California. They occupy steep slopes and ridges of coastal mountains, below 500 m in elevation (900 m in California). The canopy of these forests is dominated by <i>Pseudotsuga menziesii</i> and <i>Sequoia sempervirens</i> trees which are often greater than 60 m tall. There is almost always a subcanopy of <i>Lithocarpus densiflorus</i>, usually between 10-30 m tall, occasionally codominant with <i>Umbellularia californica</i>. <i>Lithocarpus densiflorus</i> (1-70%) also dominates the shrub layer with both <i>Rhododendron macrophyllum</i> (2-60%) and <i>Vaccinium ovatum</i> (10-70%). <i>Gaultheria shallon</i> and <i>Mahonia nervosa (= Berberis nervosa)</i> are often found, and in moist pockets <i>Polystichum munitum</i> and <i>Oxalis oregana</i> can be found. Other forbs include <i>Lotus crassifolius, Arnica cordifolia</i> and <i>Xerophyllum tenax</i>. This was the dominant forest community along the coastal fog belt in extreme southern Oregon and in extreme northwestern California. Farther south, <i>Sequoia sempervirens</i> completely dominates the forests, and farther north, it disappears. Both fire and windthrow play an important part in the maintenance of these giant forests. As a result, some ecologists believe these would be climax <i>Lithocarpus densiflorus</i> forests. However, since the canopy trees can live over 1000 years and are extremely resistant to fire, this seems unlikely. This association is the only <i>Pseudotsuga menziesii - Sequoia sempervirens</i> association which occurs with dense evergreen shrubs. The only other type from southwestern Oregon occurs on moist toeslopes and valleys and has a dense tall-forb understory dominated by <i>Polystichum munitum, Oxalis oregana</i>, and <i>Clintonia andrewsiana</i>.  Accession Code: VB.CC.32642.CEGL000082 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.2.690080 NatureServe Explorer   Translated: Douglas-fir - Redwood / Pacific Rhododendron / California Huckleberry Forest   Scientific: Pseudotsuga menziesii - Sequoia sempervirens / Rhododendron macrophyllum / Vaccinium ovatum Forest   Code: CEGL000082