Name:
Calocedrus decurrens - Pinus lambertiana - Abies lowiana Forest & Woodland Group
Reference:
NatureServe Biotics 2019
Description:
This group comprises low- to mid-montane elevation forests and woodlands dominated by conifer trees, either with one dominant species or as mixed-conifer forests. They occur on all aspects in lower montane zones from southern Oregon (600-2200 m [1800-6700 feet] elevation) down to 425 m (1400 feet) in elevation along Klamath River, south through the Sierra Nevada (1200-2150 m) in southern California, throughout the Transverse Ranges of California, and into northern Baja California, Mexico (1200-2740 m [4000-8300 feet]). They also occur in the higher North Coast Ranges, Klamath Mountains, the southern Cascades, on the Modoc Plateau as well as at lower to middle elevations of the Sierra Nevada on both the east and west sides. This group occurs in a variety of topo-edaphic positions, such as upper slopes at higher elevations, canyon sideslopes, ridgetops, and south- and west-facing slopes which burn relatively frequently. It also occurs in cool ravines and north-facing slopes. Several conifer species co-occur in individual stands and the wide variation of possible combinations is difficult to capture in a few summary sentences. The following list of species are those that cover the range of the group and that occur as pure stands or mixed with two or more species as dominants with others as sub-dominants: <i>Abies lowiana, Calocedrus decurrens, Pinus jeffreyi, Pinus lambertiana, Pinus ponderosa, Pseudotsuga menziesii, Quercus chrysolepis, Quercus kelloggii</i>, and <i>Pinus monticola</i>. Additional species included in this group that have limited ranges include <i>Pseudotsuga macrocarpa</i> stands of the Transverse Ranges of southern California; <i>Abies bracteata</i> stands of the central coast region; in the central and southern Sierra Nevada, <i>Sequoiadendron giganteum</i> dominates, usually with <i>Abies lowiana</i>; at the highest elevations stands may mix with <i>Abies magnifica var. magnifica</i> and <i>Abies magnifica var. shastensis</i>; <i>Chrysolepis chrysophylla</i> occurs in the western Klamath Mountains; <i>Pinus ponderosa var. washoensis</i> may replace <i>Pinus jeffreyi</i> further north in the Carson Range and Warner Mountains. Understories are variable. This group also includes forests dominated by conifer trees on serpentine (ultramafic) soils. Many of the characteristic conifer alliances of this group have associations that are specific to serpentine soils.
Accession Code:
urn:lsid:vegbank.org:commConcept:40090-{8AA1D22C-73C7-47F8-AE11-BA235D1C2945}
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
0
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