Name:
Tsuga heterophylla / Clintonia uniflora Forest
Reference:
NatureServe Biotics 2019
Description:
This association is known from northeastern Washington, northern Idaho and northeastern Montana. This is the most widespread type of the interior <i>Tsuga heterophylla</i> forests and is considered one of the driest of the interior western hemlock communities. In the western part of its range, it typically occurs on uplands, generally the upper one-third of a slope. In northwestern Montana, at the easternmost extent of its range, it occurs on lower slopes, valley bottoms, and stream terraces. Elevations range from 550 to 1585 m (1800-5200 feet). Slopes range from gentle to steep (2-58%). Soils are silty clay loams, silt loams to sandy loams. Parent materials are generally quartzite, siltite, glacial till and outwash, sandstone and metasediments with an ash cap. Late-seral stages of this type are dense, shady stands dominated by <i>Tsuga heterophylla</i> and <i>Thuja plicata</i>. However, only about 10% of all stands sampled are older than 200 years, so most stands have a complex, variable mixed canopy. Most stands have <i>Pseudotsuga menziesii, Larix occidentalis, Abies grandis, Pinus contorta</i>, and/or <i>Pinus monticola</i>, but not all of these species are present in all stands. Note that <i>Tsuga heterophylla</i> and <i>Thuja plicata</i> are always present at least in the tree subcanopy, if not in the overstory canopy. Early-seral stages can be very similar to <i>Thuja plicata</i> types; however, these generally lack <i>Tsuga heterophylla</i> and have a lower conifer diversity. The shrub and herbaceous layers are species-rich. Most stands have <i>Lonicera utahensis, Paxistima myrsinites, Rosa</i> spp., and <i>Linnaea borealis</i>. <i>Clintonia uniflora, Tiarella trifoliata, Viola orbiculata, Prosartes hookeri</i>, and <i>Goodyera oblongifolia</i> are typical forbs. <i>Clintonia uniflora</i> is the most abundant (5%) and most highly constant species in an otherwise highly variable herbaceous layer. Total biomass can be sparse with dense canopies. Other herbaceous species that can be abundant are <i>Arnica latifolia, Calamagrostis rubescens</i>, and <i>Coptis occidentalis</i>.
Accession Code:
urn:lsid:vegbank.org:commConcept:29402-{310678FF-427A-481E-8CE9-9588E10C6BDB}
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
7
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