Name:
Pinus engelmannii - Pinus leiophylla - Pinus arizonica Forest & Woodland Group
Reference:
NatureServe Biotics 2019
Description:
This forest and woodland group occurs in mountains and plateaus generally at mid-elevations (1460-2400 m) in the Sierra Madre Occidentale and Sierra Madre Orientale in Mexico, Trans-Pecos Texas, southern New Mexico and Arizona, generally south of the Mogollon Rim. These forests and woodlands are composed of Madrean pines (<i>Pinus arizonica, Pinus engelmannii</i>, and <i>Pinus leiophylla</i>) or madrones (<i>Arbutus arizonica, Arbutus xalapensis</i>) and evergreen oaks (<i>Quercus arizonica, Quercus emoryi, Quercus gravesii, Quercus grisea, Quercus hypoleucoides</i>, or <i>Quercus rugosa</i>) intermingled with shrublands and pinyon-juniper woodlands. In northern stands and at higher elevations, <i>Pinus ponderosa var. scopulorum</i> may replace <i>Pinus arizonica</i>; however, Madrean species still characterize the subcanopy or understory. This group also includes <i>Hesperocyparis arizonica</i>-dominated stands with <i>Quercus hypoleucoides</i> or <i>Quercus rugosa</i> in the understory. Other tree species may include <i>Juniperus deppeana, Juniperus flaccida, Pinus cembroides, Pinus discolor</i>, and <i>Pseudotsuga menziesii</i>. Subcanopy and shrub layers may include typical encinal and chaparral species, such as <i>Agave</i> spp., <i>Arctostaphylos pringlei, Arctostaphylos pungens, Garrya wrightii, Nolina</i> spp., and <i>Quercus turbinella</i>. Some stands have moderate cover of perennial graminoids, such as <i>Muhlenbergia emersleyi, Muhlenbergia longiligula, Muhlenbergia straminea</i>, and <i>Schizachyrium cirratum</i>. Sites are variable, ranging from warm to cool, xeric to dry-mesic, gentle to very steep slopes, and dry benches that occur at lower to mid-montane elevation (1460-2400 m). Substrates are generally lithic soils, but include finer-textured alluvial soils along streams. Fires are frequent with perhaps more crown fires than ponderosa pine woodlands, which tend to have more frequent ground fires on gentle slopes.
Accession Code:
urn:lsid:vegbank.org:commConcept:40001-{651061B8-8016-4013-ACEF-EFBA4C5EEA4E}
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
0
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