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CEGL003283 Populus balsamifera ssp. trichocarpa / Rubus spectabilis Riparian Woodland
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Black Cottonwood / Salmonberry Riparian Woodland
Colloquial Name: No Data Available
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: This plant association is common in southeastern and coastal south-central Alaska. It is found on newly exposed, well-drained gravels on outburst floodplains and active floodplains, and on dunes of outburst floodplains. Flooding occurs seasonally to rarely on the floodplains. It is dominated by relatively young (40-80 years old) Populus balsamifera ssp. trichocarpa up to 20 m (65 feet) tall. Spruce and cottonwood regeneration are uncommon in the thick shrub cover. Alnus viridis ssp. sinuata and Rubus spectabilis often form a nearly impenetrable thicket between the widely spaced Populus balsamifera ssp. trichocarpa trees. Herbaceous species are sparsely represented, and the most common is Circaea alpina. This community is an early-seral type that may eventually be replaced by Picea sitchensis forest and, possibly, by a Tsuga heterophylla forest.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: The first published account for this type is from the Yakutat Foreland (Shephard 1995). These woodlands also occur in the Stikine Area, Tongass National Forest (Pawuk and Kissinger 1989) and in the Copper River Delta (Boggs 1996). The association is synonymous with the Populus trichocarpa / Alnus sinuata - Rubus spectabilis plant association from southeastern Alaska (Pawuk and Kissinger 1989), and portions of the Populus trichocarpa / Alnus crispa and Populus trichocarpa / Aruncus sylvester plant associations from the Copper River Delta, Alaska (Boggs 2000).
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: It is dominated by relatively young (40-80 years old) Populus balsamifera ssp. trichocarpa (= Populus trichocarpa ) up to 20 m (65 feet) tall. Spruce and cottonwood regeneration are uncommon in the thick shrub cover. Alnus viridis ssp. sinuata (= Alnus sinuata) and Rubus spectabilis often form a nearly impenetrable thicket between the widely spaced Populus balsamifera ssp. trichocarpa trees. Herbaceous species are sparsely represented, and the most common is Circaea alpina.
Dynamics: This community is an early-seral type that may eventually be replaced by Picea sitchensis forest and, possibly, by a Tsuga heterophylla forest.
Environmental Description: This plant association is common in southeastern and coastal south-central Alaska. It is found on newly exposed, well-drained gravels on outburst floodplains and active floodplains, and on dunes of outburst floodplains. Flooding occurs seasonally to rarely on the floodplains.
Geographic Range: The association is restricted to southeastern Alaska and the rainforest portions of south-central Alaska.
Nations: US
States/Provinces: AK
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.684335
Confidence Level: Moderate
Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: G3
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.3 Temperate Flooded & Swamp Forest Formation | F026 | 1.B.3 |
| Division | 1.B.3.Ng Vancouverian Flooded & Swamp Forest Division | D193 | 1.B.3.Ng |
| Macrogroup | 1.B.3.Ng.1 Vancouverian Flooded & Swamp Forest Macrogroup | M035 | 1.B.3.Ng.1 |
| Group | 1.B.3.Ng.1.f Sitka Spruce - Black Cottonwood Alaskan Riparian Woodland Group | G852 | 1.B.3.Ng.1.f |
| Alliance | A3744 Black Cottonwood - Sitka Spruce - Western Hemlock Riparian Forest Alliance | A3744 | 1.B.3.Ng.1.f |
| Association | CEGL003283 Black Cottonwood / Salmonberry Riparian Woodland | CEGL003283 | 1.B.3.Ng.1.f |
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: > Populus trichocarpa / Alnus crispa (Boggs 2000)
= Populus trichocarpa / Alnus sinuata - Rubus spectabilis (Pawuk and Kissinger 1989)
> Populus trichocarpa / Aruncus sylvester (Boggs 2000)
= Populus trichocarpa / Alnus sinuata - Rubus spectabilis (Pawuk and Kissinger 1989)
> Populus trichocarpa / Aruncus sylvester (Boggs 2000)
- Boggs, K. 1996. Forested plant communities of maritime southcentral and southeast Alaska. Unpublished report of the Alaska Natural Heritage Program, University of Alaska, Anchorage.
- Boggs, K. 2000. Classification of community types, successional sequences and landscapes of the Copper River Delta, Alaska. General Technical Report PNW-GTR-469. USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station, Portland, OR. March 2000. 244 pp.
- 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.
- Pawuk, W. H., and E. J. Kissinger. 1989. Preliminary forest plant associations of the Stikine Area, Tongass National Forest. Technical Publication R10-TP-72. USDA Forest Service, Alaska Region, Juneau, AK. 126 pp.
- Shephard, M. E. 1995. Plant community ecology and classification of the Yakutat Foreland, Alaska. R10-TP-56. USDA Forest Service, Alaska Region. 213 pp. plus appendices.
- Western Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Boulder, CO.