Name:
Thuja plicata - Picea engelmannii / Lysichiton americanus Swamp Forest Group
Reference:
NatureServe Biotics 2019
Description:
This forested wetland/swamp group occurs in the northern Rocky Mountains from northwestern Wyoming north into the Canadian Rockies and west into eastern Oregon and Washington. It is dominated by conifers with diagnostic hydric undergrowth vegetation. Dominant conifers include <i>Abies grandis, Abies lasiocarpa, Picea engelmannii, Picea glauca</i> (and their hybrid), <i>Pinus contorta, Pseudotsuga menziesii, Thuja plicata</i>, and/or <i>Tsuga heterophylla</i>. Aquatic obligate herbs include <i>Alopecurus aequalis, Calamagrostis canadensis, Carex disperma, Carex vesicaria, Dryopteris</i> spp., <i>Eleocharis palustris, Lysichiton americanus, Mitella breweri, Mitella pentandra, Phalaris arundinacea, Senecio triangularis</i>, and/or <i>Streptopus amplexifolius</i>. Typical wetland shrubs such as <i>Alnus incana, Cornus sericea, Rhamnus alnifolia</i>, and <i>Salix</i> spp. may also be present. These occur on poorly drained soils that are saturated year-round or may have seasonal flooding in the spring. These are primarily on flat to gently sloping lowlands, but also occur up to near the lower limits of continuous forest (below the subalpine parkland), and can occur on steeper slopes where soils are shallow over unfractured bedrock (aka on seeps). This group is indicative of poorly drained, mucky areas, and areas are often bathed in a mosaic of moving and stagnant water. It can also occur around vernal ponds (usually <1 m but can be as much as 2 m deep) that usually fill with water over the fall, winter and early spring, but then at least partially dry up towards the end of the growing season. Trees that ring these ponds shade the water and influence the hydrology of the ponds themselves. Soils can be woody peat, muck or mineral but tend toward mineral. Stands generally occupy sites on benches, toeslopes or valley bottoms along mountain streams. Stands are usually dominated by conifers, but can have hardwoods mixed or dominant. These wetland types are generally distinguishable from other upland forests and woodlands by shallow water tables.
Accession Code:
urn:lsid:vegbank.org:commConcept:40135-{6F3A556A-294B-4003-A955-F044945DBF3E}
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
0
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