Name:
North Vancouverian Montane Bedrock, Cliff & Talus Vegetation Group
Reference:
NatureServe Biotics 2019
Description:
This group consists of sparsely vegetated rock outcrops and cliff faces where fractures in the rock surface and colluvial slopes may be occupied by small patches of dense vegetation, typically scattered trees and/or shrubs. This group is found on the Alaska Peninsula and Aleutian Islands, Coast Mountains of British Columbia, as well as in the Cascade Range in Washington and Oregon, south to just inside northern California. Characteristic trees include <i>Abies</i> spp., <i>Callitropsis nootkatensis, Pseudotsuga menziesii</i> (not in Alaska), <i>Thuja plicata</i>, or <i>Tsuga</i> spp. There may be scattered shrubs present, such as <i>Acer circinatum, Alnus viridis</i>, and <i>Ribes</i> spp. Soil development is limited as is herbaceous cover. Mosses or lichens may be very dense, well-developed and display cover well over 10%. Substrates include active volcanic areas dominated by ash, pyroclastic deposits, lava, landslides and other exposed bare mineral and rock of various igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic bedrock types. Periodic eruptions and earthquakes are the primary processes maintaining a primarily barren environment. Decades of inactivity slowly provide opportunity for vegetation development as primary successional stages. Elevation ranges from foothill to subalpine, and includes steep cliff faces, narrow canyons, larger rock outcrops, unstable scree and talus slopes. The dominant process is the extreme growing conditions created by exposed rock or unstable slopes, with drought becoming more of an issue in the southern part of the range. Alaskan montane rock and talus is not drought-limited.
Accession Code:
urn:lsid:vegbank.org:commConcept:40073-{CAFDF45A-FFB4-41B3-9781-5B72D13E6EA7}
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
0
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