Name:
Quercus chrysolepis - Quercus kelloggii Forest & Woodland Alliance
Reference:
NatureServe Biotics 2019
Description:
This alliance consists of woodlands and forests dominated by a single or mix of oak species with and without the presence of <i>Pinus ponderosa</i>. Oaks include <i>Quercus kelloggii, Quercus wislizeni</i>, or <i>Quercus chrysolepis</i>. Fire frequency and intensity drive composition of stands within this alliance with <i>Quercus chrysolepis</i> dominant with less frequent fires. With frequent annual burning (at lower elevations and on warmer sites), stands of this alliance are an open to dense woodland of large oaks with well-developed grassy understories of native perennial bunchgrasses. The predominant oaks with a higher frequency of fires include <i>Quercus kelloggii</i>. <i>Quercus chrysolepis</i> becomes dominant with less frequent fires. <i>Pseudotsuga menziesii</i> may co-occur with <i>Pinus ponderosa</i>, particularly in the North Coast Ranges and Klamath Mountains. On most sites, the oaks are dominant, forming a dense subcanopy under a more open canopy of the conifers. On many sites, <i>Quercus kelloggii</i> is the dominant; in late-seral stands on more mesic sites, conifers such as <i>Pinus ponderosa</i> or <i>Pseudotsuga menziesii</i> will form a persistent emergent canopy over the oak. Stands may have shrubby understories (in the Klamath Mountains and Sierra Nevada) and, more rarely, grassy understories (in North Coast Ranges). Common shrubs include <i>Arctostaphylos manzanita, Arctostaphylos viscida, Ceanothus cuneatus, Ceanothus integerrimus, Juniperus occidentalis, Rhamnus ilicifolia</i>, and <i>Toxicodendron diversilobum</i>. Grasses can include <i>Festuca californica, Festuca idahoensis, Elymus glaucus</i>, and <i>Danthonia californica</i> (close to the coast) and <i>Melica</i> spp. A variety of native forbs also occur. Historical fire was likely of high frequency but of low intensity. Conifer species, such as <i>Pseudotsuga menziesii</i>, become more abundant with wildfire suppression. This alliance is found throughout California's middle and inner North Coast Ranges, as well as the southern and eastern Klamath Mountains from 600 to 1800 m (1800-5900 feet) elevation, and the lower slopes of the western Sierra Nevada foothills up to 1600 m (4850 feet). It occurs in valleys and lower slopes on a variety of parent materials, including granitics, metamorphic and Franciscan metasedimentary parent material and deep, well-developed soils, and on steep, rocky slopes where snow and cold temperatures occur.
Accession Code:
urn:lsid:vegbank.org:commConcept:38636-{6DCC8C03-F39F-4B06-A5F4-BABD3FCC06E0}
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
0
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