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Pinus contorta / Spiraea douglasii Forest | NatureServe Biotics 2019
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Name: Pinus contorta / Spiraea douglasii Forest
Reference: NatureServe Biotics 2019
Description: This association is common in Oregon at moderate elevations (4100-5300 feet) in the western part of the East Cascades ecoregion and is common on the eastern fringe of the East Cascades ecoregion at higher elevation (4800-5800 feet). It may also be found in California. This transitional association is common on several landforms, including (1) low-gradient, shallowly incised, pumice-filled drainages and basins, (2) narrow, deeply incised, moderate-gradient drainages with narrow floodplains, and (3) moderate-gradient, narrow floodplains in deep valleys in the vicinity of the Cascade Range and Yamsay Mountain in the Cascades. Soils are derived from deep pumice alluvium or air-laid pumice. Surface textures range from loamy sand to fine sandy loam. Available water-holding capacity is moderately low. There is insignificant accumulation of organic matter in the soil surface. Subsurface soils are of very coarse pumice. Maximum water tables are 15-60 cm below the soil surface in May and June. The water table lowers to 90-120 cm below the soil surface in August and September. The association is characterized by an overstory of <i>Pinus contorta</i> and a dense shrub layer dominated by <i>Spiraea douglasii</i>. <i>Pinus contorta</i> is climax and other conifers are scattered. <i>Arctostaphylos uva-ursi</i> is common on most plots. On two plots, <i>Ribes montigenum</i> is the most abundant shrub. Willows and sedges are absent or restricted to moist microsites. Grasses are poorly represented; <i>Elymus glaucus</i> is the only consistent grass found on the sample plots. The relatively dry forb layer includes <i>Achillea millefolium, Fragaria virginiana, Galium boreale, Maianthemum stellatum</i>, and <i>Trifolium longipes</i>. With overuse by livestock, <i>Spiraea douglasii</i> decreases in cover because of trampling. Disturbances are more likely to result in an increase in the cover of bare ground rather than a dramatic increase in grasses and forbs. Wildfire was probably common in this type. Soils are dry by mid-summer and fire can easily encroach from adjacent uplands. <i>Spiraea douglasii</i> will resprout from the stem base. Fire will not change the vegetative composition of the association except for its impacts on <i>Pinus contorta</i>. 
Accession Code: urn:lsid:vegbank.org:commConcept:31512-{59B07B3E-6CC7-4C1A-A143-88A189BFE939}
Plot-observations of this Community Concept: 0
      Party Perspective according to: NatureServe (organization)
Perspective from: 05-Jul-2018 to: ongoing
      Names:   UID: ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.686005 NatureServe ExplorerNatureServe Explorer logo
  Code: CEGL002604
  Translated: Lodgepole Pine / Rose Spirea Forest
  Scientific: Pinus contorta / Spiraea douglasii Forest
(convergence) and Synonyms:
(similar) CEGL002604
(similar) Pinus contorta / Spiraea douglasii Forest
(similar) Pinus contorta / Spiraea douglasii Forest