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Pinus ponderosa / Alnus incana Woodland | Western Ecology Working Group of...
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Name: Pinus ponderosa / Alnus incana Woodland
Reference: Western Ecology Working Group of...
Description: This coniferous riparian woodland is found along foothill and lower montane canyon bottoms of the southern Rocky Mountains along the Colorado Front Range and may occur in similar habitats in New Mexico and Arizona. Stands occur along rivers and streams on southern aspects that would be too dry for <i>Pinus ponderosa</i>, except for the stream moisture. Sites are flooded for brief periods during the growing season, and the shrubs and trees have access to the water table. Substrates are well-drained, coarse alluvium. Large, mature <i>Pinus ponderosa</i> trees provide an open overstory canopy (25-70% cover) with a narrow band of <i>Alnus incana ssp. tenuifolia</i> (10-30% cover) overhanging the generally narrow and steep stream channel. Older <i>Pinus ponderosa</i> trees are usually rooted in well-drained locations at the top of the streambank or farther from the edge of the channel. <i>Betula occidentalis</i> is usually present (5-35% cover ), as are <i>Prunus virginiana, Salix bebbiana</i>, and <i>Salix ligulifolia (= Salix eriocephala var. ligulifolia)</i>. <i>Toxicodendron rydbergii</i> may also be present. The herbaceous undergrowth is usually sparse because of the droughty soils. Diagnostic of this riparian woodland association is the dominance of <i>Pinus ponderosa</i> in the tree layer with a shrub layer dominated by <i>Alnus incana</i> and other mesic shrubs. 
Accession Code: VB.CC.32820.CEGL002638
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.2.686681 NatureServe ExplorerNatureServe Explorer logo
  Translated: Ponderosa Pine / Gray Alder Woodland
  Code: CEGL002638
  Scientific: Pinus ponderosa / Alnus incana Woodland