Login | Datasets | Logout
 

View Community Concepts - Detail

Abies lasiocarpa - Picea engelmannii / Salix drummondiana Swamp Forest | NatureServe Biotics 2019
  click to update datacart
Name: Abies lasiocarpa - Picea engelmannii / Salix drummondiana Swamp Forest
Reference: NatureServe Biotics 2019
Description: This heavily forested spruce-fir riparian association occurs in the San Juan Mountains and southern Rocky Mountains in Colorado. It occurs along steep, narrow first-order streams above 2700 m (9000 feet) elevation where <i>Abies lasiocarpa - Picea engelmannii</i> forests also occur on adjacent hillslopes. Soils are typically shallow (&lt;1 m deep) sandy loams to sandy clay loams packed between large angular boulders and cobbles with a thin layer of partially decomposed organic matter under the litter layer. The canopy can be dense, with up to 90% cover of <i>Abies lasiocarpa</i> and <i>Picea engelmannii</i>. Occasional canopy associates can include <i>Picea pungens</i> at wet, low-elevation sites and <i>Pinus contorta</i> in drier, early-seral stands. <i>Populus tremuloides</i> may also occur sporadically. Tall <i>Salix drummondiana</i> and <i>Alnus incana</i> grow in a thick band along the edge of the stream depending on elevation; at higher elevations, <i>Salix drummondiana</i> is dominant and <i>Alnus incana</i> is rare, whereas at lower elevations, <i>Alnus incana</i> is more abundant than <i>Salix drummondiana</i>, but at mid elevations, the two shrubs can be codominant. Shrub associates that occur with less frequency include <i>Cornus sericea, Salix brachycarpa, Salix planifolia, Salix monticola, Salix bebbiana</i>, and <i>Lonicera involucrata</i>. The herbaceous layer is diverse and dominated by forbs; species can include <i>Heracleum maximum, Mertensia ciliata, Senecio triangularis</i>, and <i>Streptopus amplexifolius var. chalazatus</i>, among many others. 
Accession Code: urn:lsid:vegbank.org:commConcept:29236-{619AB2B4-27F2-4D37-86BF-9B3FBE9641F4}
Plot-observations of this Community Concept: 55
      Party Perspective according to: NatureServe (organization)
Perspective from: 13-Jul-2005 to: ongoing
      Names:   UID: ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.688656 NatureServe ExplorerNatureServe Explorer logo
  Code: CEGL000327
  Translated: Subalpine Fir - Engelmann Spruce / Drummond's Willow Swamp Forest
  Scientific: Abies lasiocarpa - Picea engelmannii / Salix drummondiana Swamp Forest
(convergence) and Synonyms:
(similar) Abies lasiocarpa / Salix drummondiana Forest
(similar) CEGL000327
(similar) Abies lasiocarpa - Picea engelmannii / Salix drummondiana Forest