Name:
Hesperocyparis forbesii - Hesperocyparis nevadensis Woodland Alliance
Reference:
NatureServe Biotics 2019
Description:
This alliance consists of stunted or "scrub" woodlands (<5 m tall) composed of tree species <i>Hesperocyparis forbesii, Hesperocyparis nevadensis</i>, or <i>Hesperocyparis stephensonii</i>, sometimes mixed with <i>Juniperus californica, Pinus coulteri, Pinus sabiniana, Quercus douglasii</i>, or <i>Quercus engelmannii</i>. The tree canopy is typically open to intermittent, often <5 m (some slightly taller but still <10 m) in height. The shrub layer can be sparse to continuous, and the herbaceous layer is typically sparse. Shrubs are chaparral species and may include <i>Adenostoma fasciculatum, Arctostaphylos</i> spp., <i>Artemisia californica, Ceanothus</i> spp., <i>Chamaebatia australis, Dendromecon rigida, Ericameria linearifolia, Eriogonum wrightii, Eriogonum fasciculatum, Fraxinus dipetala, Garrya flavescens, Malosma laurina, Pickeringia montana, Quercus berberidifolia, Salvia munzii, Salvia sonomensis</i>, and <i>Xylococcus bicolor</i>. This alliance occurs on ridges, slopes, valleys, alluvial fans, and valley bottoms, often on north-facing slopes. Soils are either deep or shallow over alkaline clay, sandstone, granitic, mafic, metamorphic, and ultramafic substrates. Elevation ranges from 300 to 1850 m. All of the <i>Hesperocyparis</i> species are fire-adapted. In the <i>Hesperocyparis forbesii</i> communities, stand-replacing fires were probably rare before human-caused fires and altered fire regimes, and stands are eliminated by repeated moderate fire. Currently, stands of this cypress are at risk because of too-short fire-return intervals. This alliance occurs in the cismontane regions of the Sierra Nevada and southern California mountains and valleys.
Accession Code:
urn:lsid:vegbank.org:commConcept:38641-{0A20E213-20B3-4331-A4DF-7E99FFB98D38}
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
0
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