Name:
Abies lasiocarpa - Picea engelmannii - Pinus flexilis Dry-Mesic Rocky Mountain Krummholz Alliance
Reference:
NatureServe Biotics 2019
Description:
Stands of this alliance are a mosaic of dense patches of dwarfed evergreen conifer trees usually less than 2 m tall. The woody canopy is dominated by stunted <i>Abies lasiocarpa, Picea engelmannii</i>, and <i>Pinus flexilis</i> singly or in combination. Other woody species include shrubs and dwarf-shrubs, such as <i>Kalmia polifolia, Phyllodoce glanduliflora, Ribes montigenum, Salix brachycarpa, Salix glauca, Salix planifolia, Vaccinium membranaceum</i>, and <i>Vaccinium scoparium</i>, that may be present to codominant. The herbaceous layer is sparse under dense shrub canopy, or may be dense where the shrub canopy is open or absent. It is often dominated by mesic or xeric alpine forb and graminoid species, but may include subalpine species, especially in protected areas. Characteristic species may include forbs <i>Antennaria</i> spp., <i>Artemisia scopulorum, Geum rossii, Polemonium pulcherrimum ssp. delicatum, Potentilla diversifolia, Sedum lanceolatum, Sibbaldia procumbens, Thalictrum occidentale, Trifolium dasyphyllum</i>, and graminoids <i>Calamagrostis purpurascens, Carex</i> spp., <i>Festuca brachyphylla, Kobresia myosuroides, Poa</i> spp., and <i>Trisetum spicatum</i>. These dwarf-tree shrublands are a matrix type in the upper treeline areas of the Rocky Mountains and intermountain ranges of the Great Basin. Elevations range from 3600 m in the southern Rocky Mountains down to 2000 m in northern Montana and Alberta. Climate is cold temperate often with heavy winter snow, short cool summers, and windswept most of the year. Sites are nearly level to steeply sloping, often on more mesic northern aspects. Soils are shallow, lithic gravelly or sandy loams typically derived from granite or schist. Rock outcrop is common.
Accession Code:
urn:lsid:vegbank.org:commConcept:38860-{42ADC988-0DC8-4E87-8514-79CCF8C6D9DD}
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
0
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