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Pinus ponderosa / Quercus X pauciloba Woodland | NatureServe Biotics 2019
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Name: Pinus ponderosa / Quercus X pauciloba Woodland
Reference: NatureServe Biotics 2019
Description: This ponderosa pine woodland occurs at mid-elevations in the southern Rocky Mountains of southern Colorado and northern New Mexico on sites with moderate to high solar exposure on all aspects. Sites vary from gentle slopes on rolling mesatops, lava plateaus and shoulders (5-20% slope) to steep canyon slopes and rock outcrops (up 60% slope). Elevation ranges between 1995 and 2500 m (6550-8200 feet). Soils range from sandy to loamy, including well-developed Mollisols derived from pumice slope alluvium or rhyolitic colluvium, or occasionally as fine-textured Alfisols, or rock outcrop. Sites are often rocky or boulder-strewn with accumulations of litter in between. This tall conifer association ranges from open woodland where tree canopies are as low as 10% cover to closed-canopied forest with over 60% cover. <i>Pinus ponderosa</i> dominates the tree canopy, with <i>Juniperus monosperma</i> and <i>Pinus edulis</i> sometimes well-represented in the subcanopy. Stand understories are distinctively shrubby, dominated by the hybrid scrub oak <i>Quercus x pauciloba</i> with <i>Fallugia paradoxa</i> as a frequent associate. Other common shrub associates may include <i>Cercocarpus montanus</i> and <i>Robinia neomexicana</i>. <i>Quercus gambelii</i> is poorly represented or absent. The herbaceous layer is generally less than 5% cover but diverse. Dominant graminoid species may include <i>Bouteloua gracilis, Bouteloua hirsuta, Muhlenbergia montana, Poa fendleriana</i>, and <i>Schizachyrium scoparium</i>. While forbs are diverse, composition is variable from stand to stand and total forb cover is usually less than 5%. 
Accession Code: urn:lsid:vegbank.org:commConcept:29783-{2870E99E-1965-452E-BDF5-1B61241ED742}
Plot-observations of this Community Concept: 0
      Party Perspective according to: NatureServe (organization)
Perspective from: 18-Oct-2018 to: ongoing
      Names:   UID: ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.686686 NatureServe ExplorerNatureServe Explorer logo
  Code: CEGL000874
  Translated: Ponderosa Pine / Wavyleaf Oak Woodland
  Scientific: Pinus ponderosa / Quercus x pauciloba Woodland
(convergence) and Synonyms:
(similar) CEGL000874
(similar) Pinus ponderosa / Quercus x pauciloba Woodland
(similar) Pinus ponderosa / Quercus X pauciloba Woodland