Print Report
CEGL000908 Pseudotsuga menziesii / Pseudoroegneria spicata Woodland
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Douglas-fir / Bluebunch Wheatgrass Woodland
Colloquial Name: No Data Available
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: This dry Douglas-fir woodland type occurs in scattered stands throughout the interior northwestern United States and British Columbia. Slopes are generally steeper than 20% and can exceed 70% in the southern part of the range. Elevations range from 500 m (1640 feet) in British Columbia to around 2200 m (7200 feet) in northwestern Colorado. Aspect likewise varies, with warm southerly aspects preferred in the northern part of the range to cool, sheltered north-facing slopes at the southern extreme. Soils may be derived from any mineral parent material but are generally coarse-textured, rocky and poorly developed due to constant downslope movement. The vegetation is characterized by an open canopy of Pseudotsuga menziesii with 25 to 35% cover, often accompanied by scattered Pinus ponderosa or, less often, Pinus flexilis. Shrubs such as Amelanchier alnifolia, Prunus virginiana, Ribes cereum, Purshia tridentata, Spiraea betulifolia, Symphoricarpos oreophilus, Arctostaphylos uva-ursi, and Mahonia repens are generally present but have less than 10% total cover. The herbaceous layer is diverse and has moderate to high cover of grasses. Pseudoroegneria spicata is the dominant grass with up to 35% cover. Other graminoids present may include Carex geyeri and Festuca idahoensis in the northern part of the range and Melica bulbosa and Poa fendleriana in the southern part of the range. Forbs are diverse: Balsamorhiza sagittata is the most consistent species, but most stands have a dozen species of forbs or more. Bromus tectorum is common to abundant in degraded stands.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: This association is restricted to cool, steep slopes where rock outcrops and shallow soils create a relatively xeric microclimate. The diagnostic features of this type are an open canopy of Pseudotsuga menziesii with a primarily herbaceous understory dominated by Pseudoroegneria spicata.
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: This association is characterized by an open canopy of Pseudotsuga menziesii with 25 to 35% cover, often accompanied by scattered Pinus ponderosa or, less often, Pinus flexilis. Shrubs such as Amelanchier alnifolia, Prunus virginiana, Ribes cereum, Purshia tridentata, Spiraea betulifolia, Symphoricarpos oreophilus, Arctostaphylos uva-ursi, and Mahonia repens are generally present but have less than 10% cover. The herbaceous layer is diverse and has moderate to high cover of grasses; the higher the tree canopy cover, the lower the herbaceous cover. Pseudoroegneria spicata is the dominant grass with up to 35% cover. Other graminoids present include Carex geyeri and Festuca idahoensis in the northern part of the range and Poa fendleriana in the southern part of the range. Forbs are diverse: Balsamorhiza sagittata, Achillea millefolium, Petradoria pumila, Lomatium dissectum, Lupinus leucophyllus, Maianthemum racemosum (= Smilacina racemosa), Antennaria sp., and Fragaria vesca are among the more common species. Bromus tectorum is common to abundant in degraded stands.
Dynamics: Fire suppression tends to result in canopy closure and subsequent reduction in the density of the grass understory (Cole 1982). Overgrazing tends to replace the native grasses with forbs and exotic annual grasses (Steele et al. 1981). Any disturbance tends to destabilize the slopes and slow regeneration.
Environmental Description: This xeric Douglas-fir woodland type is documented from scattered stands in Montana, Idaho, Oregon, Washington and Colorado. Stands occupy moderate to steep, dry slopes (U.S.) or alluvial fans (Canada), usually at or near the lower elevational limit of Douglas-fir. In British Columbia, this association occupies west- and south-facing slopes below 1000 m (3280 feet); in Oregon, stands occur on south-facing slopes below 1600 m (5250 feet); in Idaho the range is south-facing slopes between 1160 and 2290 m (3800-7500 feet); stands in west-central and central Montana extend from 1525 to 1980 m (5000-6500 feet); and Colorado stands are oriented to the north at around 2200 m (7200 feet). Slopes are generally steeper than 20% and can exceed 70% in the southern part of the range. Soils are coarse-textured, rapidly drained, usually rocky and are derived from sedimentary, metamorphic, volcanic and granitic parent materials.
Geographic Range: This type has been reported from interior British Columbia (McLean 1970), central Montana (Pfister 1977), eastern Washington, northeastern Oregon (Cole 1982), central Idaho (Steele et al. 1981) and northwestern Colorado. It is likely to occur in Utah. The range of the principal species extends south into Arizona and New Mexico and north throughout western Canada, so it may be more widespread than is currently known.
Nations: CA,US
States/Provinces: BC, CO, ID, MT, OR, UT?, WA
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.683717
Confidence Level: Low
Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: G4
Greasons: No Data Available
| Type | Name | Database Code | Classification Code |
|---|---|---|---|
| Class | 1 Forest & Woodland Class | C01 | 1 |
| Subclass | 1.B Temperate & Boreal Forest & Woodland Subclass | S15 | 1.B |
| Formation | 1.B.2 Cool Temperate Forest & Woodland Formation | F008 | 1.B.2 |
| Division | 1.B.2.Nb Rocky Mountain Forest & Woodland Division | D194 | 1.B.2.Nb |
| Macrogroup | 1.B.2.Nb.2 Ponderosa Pine - Douglas-fir - Limber Pine Central Rocky Mountain Dry Forest Macrogroup | M501 | 1.B.2.Nb.2 |
| Group | 1.B.2.Nb.2.b Douglas-fir - Ponderosa Pine Central Rocky Mountain Forest Group | G210 | 1.B.2.Nb.2.b |
| Alliance | A3395 Douglas-fir - Ponderosa Pine / Herbaceous Understory Central Rocky Mountain Woodland Alliance | A3395 | 1.B.2.Nb.2.b |
| Association | CEGL000908 Douglas-fir / Bluebunch Wheatgrass Woodland | CEGL000908 | 1.B.2.Nb.2.b |
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: = Pseudotsuga menziesii / Agropyron spicatum Community Type (Cole 1982)
= Pseudotsuga menziesii / Agropyron spicatum Habitat Type (Pfister 1977)
= Pseudotsuga menziesii / Agropyron spicatum Habitat Type (Steele et al. 1981)
= Pseudotsuga menziesii / Agropyron spicatum Habitat Type (McLean 1970)
= Pseudotsuga menziesii / Agropyron spicatum Habitat Type (Pfister 1977)
= Pseudotsuga menziesii / Agropyron spicatum Habitat Type (Steele et al. 1981)
= Pseudotsuga menziesii / Agropyron spicatum Habitat Type (McLean 1970)
- Bourgeron, P. S., and L. D. Engelking, editors. 1994. A preliminary vegetation classification of the western United States. Unpublished report. The Nature Conservancy, Western Heritage Task Force, Boulder, CO. 175 pp. plus appendix.
- Cole, D. N. 1977b. Man''s impact on wilderness: An example from Eagle Cap Wilderness, northeastern Oregon. Ph.D. dissertation, Oregon State University, Corvallis. 307 pp.
- Cole, D. N. 1982. Vegetation of two drainages in Eagle Cap Wilderness, Wallowa Mountains, Oregon. Research Paper INT-288. USDA Forest Service, Intermountain Forest and Range Experiment Station, Ogden, UT. 26 pp.
- Coles, J., D. Cogan, D. Salas, A. Wight, G. Wakefield, J. Von Loh, and A. Evenden. 2008a. Vegetation classification and mapping project report, Dinosaur National Monument. Natural Resource Technical Report NPS/NCPN/NRTR-2008/112. National Park Service, Fort Collins, CO. 814 pp.
- Cooper, S. V., K. E. Neiman, R. Steele, and D. W. Roberts. 1987. Forest habitat types of northern Idaho: A second approximation. General Technical Report INT-236.USDA Forest Service, Intermountain Research Station, Ogden, UT. 135 pp. [reprinted in 1991]
- Kagan, J. S., J. A. Christy, M. P. Murray, and J. A. Titus. 2004. Classification of native vegetation of Oregon. January 2004. Oregon Natural Heritage Information Center, Portland. 52 pp.
- MTNHP [Montana Natural Heritage Program]. 2002b. List of ecological communities for Montana. Montana Natural Heritage Program, Montana State Library, Helena, MT.
- McLean, A. 1970. Plant communities of the Similkameen Valley, British Columbia, and their relationships to soils. Ecological Monographs 40(4):403-424.
- Pfister, R. D. 1977. Ecological classification of forest land in Idaho and Montana. Pages 329-358 in: Proceedings of Ecological Classification of Forest Land in Canada and Northwestern USA, University of British Columbia, Vancouver.
- Pfister, R. D., B. L. Kovalchik, S. F. Arno, and R. C. Presby. 1977. Forest habitat types of Montana. General Technical Report INT-34. USDA Forest Service, Intermountain Forest and Range Experiment Station, Ogden, UT. 174 pp.
- Steele, R., R. D. Pfister, R. A. Ryker, and J. A. Kittams. 1981. Forest habitat types of central Idaho. General Technical Report INT-114. USDA Forest Service, Intermountain Forest and Range Experiment Station, Ogden, UT. 138 pp.
- WNHP [Washington Natural Heritage Program]. 2018. Unpublished data files. Washington Natural Heritage Program, Department of Natural Resources, Olympia, WA.
- Western Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Boulder, CO.