Name:
Abies lasiocarpa - Picea engelmannii Rocky Mountain Moist Forest Alliance
Reference:
NatureServe Biotics 2019
Description:
This alliance consists of upper montane and subalpine conifer-dominated forests and woodlands of the Rocky Mountains. <i>Abies lasiocarpa</i> and <i>Picea engelmannii</i> dominate the canopy either singly or together. Some sites are codominated by <i>Populus tremuloides</i> depending on stand age. Associates vary geographically. Common associated conifers can include <i>Larix occidentalis, Picea pungens, Pinus albicaulis, Pinus contorta</i>, and <i>Pseudotsuga menziesii</i>. Understories are highly variable across the range of this alliance and can be dominated by grasses, dry sedges, ferns, mesic forbs or shrubs (typically ericaceous). Dominant shrubs may include <i>Menziesia ferruginea, Rhododendron albiflorum, Spiraea betulifolia, Symphoricarpos albus, Vaccinium cespitosum</i>, and <i>Vaccinium scoparium</i>. Important herbaceous species may include <i>Actaea rubra, Clintonia uniflora, Coptis occidentalis, Cornus canadensis, Galium triflorum, Gymnocarpium dryopteris, Linnaea borealis, Luzula glabrata var. hitchcockii, Maianthemum stellatum, Senecio triangularis, Streptopus amplexifolius, Thalictrum occidentale</i>, and <i>Xerophyllum tenax</i>. Elevations range from 970-3200 m. Sites where these forest and woodlands are found include gentle to very steep mountain slopes, high-elevation ridgetops and upper slopes, basins, alluvial terraces, well-drained benches, and inactive stream terraces.
Accession Code:
urn:lsid:vegbank.org:commConcept:38834-{045571A8-AD28-44DD-8BD6-84217D87F7AD}
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
0
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