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Vaccinium membranaceum - Vaccinium myrtillus - Vaccinium scoparium Montane-Subalpine Shrubland Alliance | NatureServe Biotics 2019
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Name: Vaccinium membranaceum - Vaccinium myrtillus - Vaccinium scoparium Montane-Subalpine Shrubland Alliance
Reference: NatureServe Biotics 2019
Description: This shrubland alliance is characterized by a moderate to dense, often patchy layer of dwarf-shrubs. Total vegetation cover ranges from 30 to 70% and is dominated by <i>Vaccinium cespitosum, Vaccinium membranaceum, Vaccinium myrtillus</i>, and/or <i>Vaccinium scoparium</i>. Multiple <i>Vaccinium</i> may be present, but typically one species is dominant. Other shrubs of high constancy and low cover include <i>Paxistima myrsinites, Spiraea betulifolia</i>, and <i>Sorbus scopulina</i>; <i>Rubus parviflorus</i> is present at lower elevations. <i>Xerophyllum tenax</i> is restricted to and often dominates the herbaceous layer in northern stands. Herbaceous species reflect the subalpine/lower alpine character of the alliance and vary greatly across its range, with few species in common among Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana/Alberta stands. Some wetland species may be present because of late snowmelt and mesic soil conditions. This dwarf-shrub alliance occurs near treeline in the mountains of northern Colorado and northwestern Wyoming. It has also been reported from the Ruby Mountains of northeastern Nevada, Glacier National Park in Montana and Waterton Lakes National Park and Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada. Stands are found on gentle to steep-gradient slopes on all aspects. Elevations range from 3220 to 3690 m elevation in its southern extent and 1600 to 2280 m elevation in the northern extent. Stands occur as patches in subalpine forests and lower alpine just above treeline in areas where snow accumulates in the winter and melts relatively late in the summer. The soils are poorly developed, may have high organic matter content, developed from a variety of parent materials such as argillites, mudstone and sandstone of colluvial or glacial deposition, and contain more than 20% rock in the upper profile. Soil textures are variable. Stands occur as smaller patches of shrubland on dry, rocky, often unstable sites that are marginal for tree growth or on sites where stand-replacing fire has permitted early-seral shrublands that persist for long periods because of repeated burns and changes in the presence of volatile oils in the soil which impedes tree regeneration. 
Accession Code: urn:lsid:vegbank.org:commConcept:39179-{4D049A8B-3803-47D9-BFEC-B2E53D70C023}
Plot-observations of this Community Concept: 0
      Party Perspective according to: NatureServe (organization)
Perspective from: 14-Mar-2014 to: ongoing
      Names:   UID: ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.900020 NatureServe ExplorerNatureServe Explorer logo
  Code: A3969
  Translated: Thinleaf Huckleberry - Whortleberry - Grouse Whortleberry Montane-Subalpine Shrubland Alliance
  Common: Montane-Subalpine Huckleberry - Whortleberry Shrubland
  Scientific: Vaccinium membranaceum - Vaccinium myrtillus - Vaccinium scoparium Montane-Subalpine Shrubland Alliance