Name:
Racomitrium spp. - Stereocaulon spp. - Phlox spp. North Pacific Alpine-Subalpine Bedrock & Scree Group
Reference:
NatureServe Biotics 2019
Description:
This group consists of exposed rock and rubble above the forestline (subalpine parkland and above) in the North Pacific mountain ranges and is restricted to the highest elevations in the Cascade Range, from southwestern British Columbia south into northern California, and also north into southeastern Alaska. It is composed of barren and sparsely vegetated alpine substrates, typically including bedrock outcrops, scree slopes, rock crevices, upper mountain slopes, summits and nunataks. Species composition is variable and may include <i>Artemisia arctica, Astragalus alpinus, Carex microchaeta, Carex</i> spp., <i>Minuartia arctica, Paxistima myrsinites, Saxifraga</i> spp., <i>Lomatium</i> spp., <i>Luina hypoleuca, Phlox</i> spp., <i>Salix rotundifolia, Saxifraga sibirica, Saxifraga bronchialis, Sibbaldia procumbens</i>, and <i>Silene acaulis</i>. Nonvascular (lichen)-dominated communities are common. Common nonvascular genera include <i>Racomitrium</i> and <i>Stereocaulon</i>. Exposure to desiccating winds, rocky and sometimes unstable substrates, and a short growing season limit plant growth. In Alaska, this group usually occurs above alpine dwarf-shrub, herbaceous meadow, and dwarf-shrub-herbaceous systems typically at elevations higher than 915 m (3000 feet) (possibly higher in southeastern Alaska). There can be sparse cover of forbs, grasses, lichens, shrubs and small trees, but the total vascular plant cover is typically less than 25% due to the high cover of exposed rock.
Accession Code:
urn:lsid:vegbank.org:commConcept:40074-{6B3A03EF-219C-46A0-A59A-DC80688E8172}
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
0
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