Name:
Picea glauca - Pseudotsuga menziesii Central Rocky Mountain Forest Group
Reference:
NatureServe Biotics 2019
Description:
This group is found in lower montane regions of western Montana, southwestern Alberta and southeastern British Columbia, with outliers in mountains of the northwestern Great Plains, especially the Black Hills of Wyoming and South Dakota. This forest group is limited to sideslopes and depressions, often adjoining cool, riparian zones, where snow persists well into the growing season. Soils vary widely from deep to quite shallow. <i>Picea glauca</i> is the characteristic conifer, but other trees can include <i>Pinus ponderosa, Pinus contorta, Picea engelmannii x glauca</i> hybrids, <i>Pseudotsuga menziesii, Populus tremuloides</i>, and <i>Betula papyrifera</i>. Undergrowth shrubs typically include <i>Arctostaphylos uva-ursi, Elaeagnus commutata, Juniperus communis, Linnaea borealis, Shepherdia canadensis, Symphoricarpos albus</i>, and <i>Vaccinium scoparium</i>. Common forbs and graminoids include <i>Fragaria virginiana, Oxytropis</i> spp., <i>Linnaea borealis, Leymus innovatus, Lathyrus ochroleucus, Hedysarum alpinum</i>, and Asteraceae spp. Disturbance regimes are not well-documented for this group, but likely include periodic windthrow as well as fire spreading from adjacent, drier forests and woodlands.
Accession Code:
urn:lsid:vegbank.org:commConcept:40091-{B80E2271-7D67-4939-BCA0-065115B6B08F}
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
0
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