Name:
Pinus contorta / Shepherdia canadensis Forest
Reference:
Western Ecology Working Group of...
Description:
This is an abundant forest type in the lodgepole pine belt of southeastern Idaho, northwestern and southeastern Wyoming and north-central Colorado. It also occurs in northeastern Washington but is less common there. It occurs on cool to warm, dry sites, mostly on well-drained gentle toeslopes and benches, on slopes of 4-10% (32%). Elevation ranges from 2105 to 2960 m (6900-9700 feet) in the Rocky Mountains and from 790 to 1620 m (2600-5320 feet) in southeastern Washington. Soils are shallow to moderately deep, skeletal sandy to silty loams derived from sandstone, conglomerate or outwash materials. The vegetation is characterized by nearly pure stands of <i>Pinus contorta</i>. Stands in northeastern Wyoming and northeastern Washington are often mixed with other, later-seral conifers such as <i>Abies lasiocarpa, Pseudotsuga menziesii</i>, and <i>Larix occidentalis</i>, but the stands are still strongly dominated by <i>Pinus contorta</i>. <i>Populus tremuloides</i> can be present on more mesic sites. The low-shrub layer is dominated by <i>Shepherdia canadensis</i> with 30-60% cover. Other shrub species present may include <i>Spiraea betulifolia, Amelanchier alnifolia, Mahonia repens, Lonicera utahensis, Vaccinium scoparium, Juniperus communis</i>, and <i>Linnaea borealis</i>. Tall shrubs when present are never abundant enough to form a tall-shrub layer. The herbaceous layer is generally depauperate, ranging from scattered individuals to as much as 10% cover each, and includes graminoids <i>Carex geyeri, Calamagrostis rubescens</i>, exotic grasses <i>Phleum pratense</i> and <i>Poa pratensis</i>, and forbs <i>Eurybia conspicua, Osmorhiza berteroi, Orthilia secunda, Geranium viscosissimum, Thalictrum occidentale, Arnica cordifolia, Fragaria virginiana</i>, and <i>Galium boreale</i>.
Accession Code:
VB.CC.33152.CEGL000163
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
0
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