Name:
Picea engelmannii - Picea pungens - Populus angustifolia Riparian & Swamp Forest Group
Reference:
NatureServe Biotics 2019
Description:
This group contains woodlands dominated by cottonwood, conifer and aspen that line montane streams. Dominant tree species usually include <i>Abies lasiocarpa, Picea engelmannii, Pinus ponderosa, Juniperus scopulorum</i>, and/or <i>Populus angustifolia</i>; other important species include <i>Pseudotsuga menziesii, Picea pungens, Picea x albertiana</i>, and <i>Populus tremuloides</i>. Other trees possibly present but not usually dominant include <i>Alnus incana, Abies concolor, Abies grandis, Pinus contorta</i>, and <i>Juniperus osteosperma</i>. Shrub cover tends to be limited but may include <i>Alnus incana, Betula occidentalis, Cornus sericea, Crataegus rivularis, Forestiera pubescens var. pubescens, Ribes</i> spp., <i>Rosa woodsii, Salix</i> spp., and others. The herbaceous undergrowth can be lush to depauperate. Herbaceous species include <i>Calamagrostis canadensis, Carex aquatilis var. aquatilis, Carex obnupta, Carex pellita, Equisetum arvense, Heracleum maximum, Ranunculus alismifolius, Senecio bigelovii var. bigelovii, Streptopus amplexifolius</i>, and <i>Veratrum californicum</i>. This riparian group includes seasonally flooded forests found at montane to subalpine elevations of the Rocky Mountain cordillera, from southern New Mexico north into Montana, and west into the Intermountain West region and the Colorado Plateau. It occurs throughout the interior of British Columbia and the eastern slopes of the Cascade Range. These are communities tolerant of periodic flooding and high water tables. Snowmelt moisture may create shallow water tables or seeps for a portion of the growing season. Stands typically occur at elevations between 1500 and 3300 m (4920-10,830 feet); farther north, elevation ranges between 900 and 2000 m. This is confined to specific riparian environments occurring on floodplains or terraces of rivers and streams, in V-shaped, narrow valleys and canyons (where there is cold-air drainage). Less frequently, occurrences are found in moderately wide valley bottoms on large floodplains along broad, meandering rivers, and on pond or lake margins.
Accession Code:
urn:lsid:vegbank.org:commConcept:40136-{4651ED80-2B51-4EE9-BE9A-73B32D1C3891}
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
0
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