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Abies lasiocarpa - Picea engelmannii / Menziesia ferruginea / Xerophyllum tenax Forest | NatureServe Biotics 2019
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Name: Abies lasiocarpa - Picea engelmannii / Menziesia ferruginea / Xerophyllum tenax Forest
Reference: NatureServe Biotics 2019
Description: This association occurs throughout the middle to northern Rocky Mountains and on into the Canadian Rockies as a small- to large-patch type from mid to upper subalpine habitats. In the southerly portions of its distribution, the Wallowa and Seven Devils mountains and Idaho Batholith, it faithfully occupies moderate to steep slopes of northerly aspects at elevations ranging from 1700 to 2300 m (5600-7500 feet), but dropping to 1370 m (4500 feet) where frost pocket conditions obtain. Further to the north it also occurs predominantly on northerly exposures, but at higher elevations in wetter climates, it may be found on southerly exposures. It can occur on a given slope from the toe, up the backslope to the slope shoulder, and in wetter climates is found on ridgetops as well. It is perhaps most widely distributed in western Montana where individual stands may comprise hundreds to thousands of acres. It exhibits no particular substrate preferences being found on granitics, fine-grained sedimentaries (including argillite and limestone), metasediments, and mica-schist; volcanic ash caps of varying depths (to 50 cm thickness) are very prevalent in the southern and western portions. The predominant soil texture is silt loam, and soils are uniformly well-drained. Rock content of surface horizons ranges from about 15% to over 50%. This is a closed forest type for the most part with total upper canopy cover ranging upward from 60%. A variable mix of <i>Abies lasiocarpa</i> and <i>Picea engelmannii</i> dominates the canopy as well as the regeneration layers. Seral tree species do poorly on these sites; <i>Pinus contorta, Pseudotsuga menziesii</i>, and <i>Larix occidentalis</i> are the only tree species consistently present and seldom is their canopy cover as great as 20%. The modal condition for the undergrowth varies with geographic region. <i>Menziesia ferruginea</i> consistently dominates the tall-shrub layer, which may also have <i>Alnus viridis ssp. sinuata</i> as a conspicuous component. In all parts of the type's range <i>Vaccinium membranaceum</i> is the mid (short) shrub dominant with coverages generally upwards of 30%; it is usually accompanied by low cover of <i>Ribes lacustre</i> and the somewhat shorter dwarf-shrub <i>Vaccinium scoparium</i> (or its ecological analogue <i>Vaccinium myrtillus</i>). The only graminoid consistently present, <i>Luzula glabrata</i>, occurs in slightly greater than trace amounts in stands at higher elevations and experiencing deeper snowpack. The herb layer, depauperate in comparison to that of ~<i>Abies lasiocarpa - Picea engelmannii / Menziesia ferruginea / Clintonia uniflora</i> Forest (CEGL005893)$$, is strongly dominated by <i>Xerophyllum tenax</i>; <i>Arnica cordifolia, Arnica latifolia, Goodyera oblongifolia, Viola orbiculata</i>, and <i>Orthilia secunda</i> are the only forbs approaching or exceeding 50% constancy. 
Accession Code: urn:lsid:vegbank.org:commConcept:34548-{6AC5997C-FD3C-4F5D-9AA0-ECF11ADC9360}
Plot-observations of this Community Concept: 0
      Party Perspective according to: NatureServe (organization)
Perspective from: 13-Feb-2004 to: ongoing
      Names:   UID: ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.730842 NatureServe ExplorerNatureServe Explorer logo
  Code: CEGL005895
  Translated: Subalpine Fir - Engelmann Spruce / Rusty Menziesia / Common Beargrass Forest
  Scientific: Abies lasiocarpa - Picea engelmannii / Menziesia ferruginea / Xerophyllum tenax Forest
(convergence) and Synonyms:
(similar) Abies lasiocarpa - Picea engelmannii / Menziesia ferruginea / Xerophyllum tenax Forest
(similar) Abies lasiocarpa - Picea engelmannii / Menziesia ferruginea / Xerophyllum tenax Forest