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Picea sitchensis - Pinus contorta / Gaultheria shallon - Vaccinium ovatum Forest | Western Ecology Working Group of...
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Name: Picea sitchensis - Pinus contorta / Gaultheria shallon - Vaccinium ovatum Forest
Reference: Western Ecology Working Group of...
Description: This mid-seral association is locally common along the Pacific coast between northern California and southwestern Washington, where it occurs on dry stabilized dunes, tree islands and deflation plains. Most aspects and slopes are represented. A poorly developed humus layer from 1-6 inches deep overlies sand. Stands are dominated by <i>Pinus contorta</i> and <i>Picea sitchensis</i>, with smaller amounts of <i>Pseudotsuga menziesii</i>. Young stands on deflation plains may be composed of low, nearly impenetrable, wind-pruned thickets subject to salt spray and sand abrasion. <i>Pinus contorta</i> and <i>Picea sitchensis</i> are the dominant reproducing conifers. Older stands may be littered with fallen trees, mostly <i>Pinus contorta</i>. <br><br>The shrub layer is generally dense, dominated by <i>Vaccinium ovatum, Gaultheria shallon</i>, and <i>Morella californica (= Myrica californica)</i>, with up to 95% cover. Shrub height averages 8 feet and can be up to 12 feet. The ground layer is depauperate because of the high shrub cover, but mosses are moderately abundant. <i>Picea sitchensis</i> and <i>Tsuga heterophylla</i> eventually replace the <i>Pseudotsuga menziesii</i> and <i>Pinus contorta</i>, but <i>Tsuga heterophylla</i> survives only in areas sheltered from salt spray. 
Accession Code: VB.CC.33161.CEGL000403
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.2.684904 NatureServe ExplorerNatureServe Explorer logo
  Translated: Sitka Spruce - Lodgepole Pine / Salal - California Huckleberry Forest
  Scientific: Picea sitchensis - Pinus contorta / Gaultheria shallon - Vaccinium ovatum Forest
  Code: CEGL000403