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CEGL000760 Pinus aristata / Festuca thurberi Woodland
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Bristlecone Pine / Thurber''s Fescue Woodland
Colloquial Name: No Data Available
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: This bristlecone pine woodland association is found in the mountains of Colorado and New Mexico. This description is based on information from Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve in Colorado. Additional global information will be added as it becomes available. This association is found on colluvial slopes between 3150 and 3590 m in elevation. Sites are south-facing and moderate to steeply sloped (24-38°). The soils are well-drained sandy loam, sandy clay loam and silt. Litter and duff make up most of the ground cover with 30-75%. Bare soil can have up to 40% cover, and basal area ranges from 5-20%. Pinus aristata forms an open-canopy (35-50%) woodland over a Festuca thurberi-dominated herbaceous layer. Short shrubs Ribes montigenum, Symphoricarpos sp., and Holodiscus dumosus can have up to 15% cover, but do not exceed herbaceous cover. Forbs are generally sparse, with less than 10% cover between the bunchgrasses. Trace forb species often include Erigeron formosissimus, Lupinus argenteus, Achillea millefolium var. occidentalis, Anaphalis margaritacea, Antennaria rosea, Arenaria fendleri, Besseya alpina, Draba streptocarpa, Oreochrysum parryi, Packera fendleri, Penstemon whippleanus, Polemonium pulcherrimum, Potentilla spp., Pseudocymopterus montanus, and Androsace septentrionalis.
Diagnostic Characteristics: Pinus aristata is dominant or is codominant with Picea engelmannii in the overstory. Grasses dominate the understory with Festuca thurberi as the indicator species. Abies lasiocarpa var. arizonica may occur as an accidental.
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: No Data Available
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: No Data Available
Dynamics: Studies of fire history in the Pecos Wilderness obtained from bristlecone pine stands indicate that fire played a dramatic role in development of coniferous stands. Prehistoric and historic fire regimes created and maintained the characteristic mosaic of these high-elevation coniferous forests, aspen groves and mountain meadows. As elsewhere in the Southwest, prior to 1873, low-intensity spreading fires occurred at regular intervals. Apparently, this pattern of fires ceased after 1873, due most likely to increasing numbers of free-roaming, grazing domestic livestock. Grazing animals removed the dense herbaceous fuels which previously allowed surface fires to spread. (Moir et al. 1995).
Environmental Description: This woodland occurs on steep mid and upper slopes on cold, dry sites mostly near timberline or within the spruce-fir zone on skeletal soils. Elevations exceed 3200 m (10,500 feet).
Geographic Range: This woodland association is found in the mountains of Colorado and New Mexico, primarily in the San Juan Mountains in Colorado and the Sangre de Cristo Mountain Range of Colorado and northern New Mexico.
Nations: US
States/Provinces: CO, NM
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.684123
Confidence Level: Low
Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: G5
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.5 Subalpine Fir - Engelmann Spruce - Whitebark Pine Rocky Mountain Forest Macrogroup | M020 | 1.B.2.Nb.5 |
| Group | 1.B.2.Nb.5.e Limber Pine - Bristlecone Pine Rocky Mountain Subalpine-Montane Woodland Group | G221 | 1.B.2.Nb.5.e |
| Alliance | A0537 Bristlecone Pine Woodland Alliance | A0537 | 1.B.2.Nb.5.e |
| Association | CEGL000760 Bristlecone Pine / Thurber''s Fescue Woodland | CEGL000760 | 1.B.2.Nb.5.e |
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: = Pinus aristata / Festuca thurberi (Stuever and Hayden 1997a)
= Pinus aristata / Festuca thurberi Habitat Type (Komarkova et al. 1988a)
= Pinus aristata / Festuca thurberi Habitat Type (DeVelice et al. 1986)
= Pinus aristata / Festuca thurberi Plant Association (Johnston 1987)
= Pinus aristata / Festuca thurberi Habitat Type (Komarkova et al. 1988a)
= Pinus aristata / Festuca thurberi Habitat Type (DeVelice et al. 1986)
= Pinus aristata / Festuca thurberi Plant Association (Johnston 1987)
- Ahleslager, K. E. 1986. Pinus aristata. In: Fire Effects Information System [Online]. USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer). [http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/]
- 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.
- CNHP [Colorado Natural Heritage Program]. 2006-2017. Tracked natural plant communities. Colorado Natural Heritage Program, Colorado State University, Fort Collins. [https://cnhp.colostate.edu/ourdata/trackinglist/plant_communities/]
- DeVelice, R. L. 1983. Forest vegetation of northern New Mexico and southern Colorado. Unpublished dissertation, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces. 191 pp.
- DeVelice, R. L., J. A. Ludwig, W. H. Moir, and F. Ronco, Jr. 1986. A classification of forest habitat types of northern New Mexico and southern Colorado. General Technical Report RM-131. USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station, Fort Collins, CO. 59 pp.
- Hess, K., and R. R. Alexander. 1986. Forest vegetation of the Arapaho and Roosevelt national forests in northcentral Colorado: A habitat type classification. Research Paper RM-266. USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station, Fort Collins, CO. 48 pp.
- Johnston, B. C. 1987. Plant associations of Region Two: Potential plant communities of Wyoming, South Dakota, Nebraska, Colorado, and Kansas. R2-ECOL-87-2. USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Region. Lakewood, CO. 429 pp.
- Komarkova, V., A. Peters, G. Kamani, W. Jones, V. Howard, H. Gordon, and K. Southwick. 1988a. Natural recovery of plant communities on disturbance plots and history of land use in the Niwot Ridge/Green Lakes Valley, Front Range, Colorado. University of Colorado Longterm Ecological Research Working Paper 88/1. Boulder, CO. 46 pp.
- Moir, W. H., J. Elson, C. D. Allen, W. DuBuys, and P. Tatschl. 1995. A photo history of the southern portion of the Pecos Wilderness, New Mexico. Draft manuscrip. USDA Forest Service Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station, Fort Collins, CO.
- Salas, D. E., J. Stevens, K. Schulz, M. Artmann, B. Friesen, S. Blauer, E. W. Schweiger, and A. Valdez. 2010b. Vegetation classification and mapping project report: Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve. Natural Resource Report NPS/ROMN/NRR--2010/179. National Park Service, Fort Collins, CO.
- Stuever, M. C., and J. S. Hayden. 1997a. Plant associations of Arizona and New Mexico, edition 3. Volume 1: Forests. USDA Forest Service, Southwestern Region. Habitat Typing Guides. 291 pp.
- USFS [U.S. Forest Service]. 1987a. Forest and woodland habitat types (plant associations) of northern New Mexico and northern Arizona. USDA Forest Service, Southwestern Region, Albuquerque, NM. Second edition, 170 pp. plus insert.
- Western Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Boulder, CO.