Name:
Tsuga mertensiana - Abies spp. / Salix spp. Montane Riparian Woodland Group
Reference:
NatureServe Biotics 2019
Description:
This riparian woodland group occurs throughout mountainous areas of the Pacific Northwest coast from Oregon to northern British Columbia, and east into Idaho along the tributaries of the Columbia River and south into the Sierra Nevada foothills of California. Dominant species include <i>Abies amabilis, Abies concolor, Abies magnifica, Alnus rhombifolia, Alnus rubra, Pinus contorta var. murrayana, Pinus jeffreyi, Populus balsamifera ssp. trichocarpa, Populus tremuloides</i>, and <i>Tsuga mertensiana</i>. Shrubs include <i>Alnus viridis ssp. sinuata, Betula occidentalis, Crataegus douglasii, Frangula purshiana, Oplopanax horridus, Philadelphus lewisii, Salix</i> spp., <i>Spiraea douglasii</i>, and <i>Vaccinium uliginosum</i>. Herbaceous wetland indicator species include <i>Achlys triphylla, Athyrium filix-femina, Carex angustata, Carex disperma, Clintonia uniflora, Gymnocarpium dryopteris</i>, and others. It occurs on steep streams and narrow floodplains above foothills but below the alpine environments, e.g., above 1500 m (4550 feet) elevation in the Klamath Mountains and western Cascades of Oregon, between 2130 and 2440 m (7000-8000 feet) in Yosemite National Park in the Sierra Nevada, up as high as 3300 m (10,000 feet) in the southern Cascades, and above 610 m (2000 feet) in northern Washington. This group occurs for the most part on the west side of the Cascade crest, but also occurs around the Columbia Basin along the tributaries of the Columbia River. Surrounding habitats include subalpine parklands and montane forests. These woodlands are dependent on seasonally high water tables and frequent (once every 3-5 years) flooding to provide channel scour and deposition for germination and maintenance. They occur on streambanks and overflow channels, seeps and edges of waterbodies. They are distinguished from the surrounding forest by riparian/ wetland indicators, when dominated by deciduous tree species, are visually a sharp contrast to immediate upland conifer forests.
Accession Code:
urn:lsid:vegbank.org:commConcept:40198-{DB54CB78-3DBC-4F1F-922F-F0E345ADBEEE}
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
0
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