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CEGL000507 Abies amabilis - Tsuga mertensiana / Oplopanax horridus Swamp Forest
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Pacific Silver Fir - Mountain Hemlock / Devil''s-club Swamp Forest
Colloquial Name: No Data Available
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: This association occurs in the northwestern Cascade Range of Washington and probably in the Coastal Mountains of British Columbia. This is a needle-leaved evergreen conifer forest, or less commonly, woodland. Tsuga mertensiana and Abies amabilis dominate the canopy. Tsuga heterophylla is usually prominent also, and Callitropsis nootkatensis occasional. The understory typically has a moderately dense layer of deciduous broad-leaved shrubs about 0.5-2.0 m tall dominated by Vaccinium ovalifolium (most abundant shrub), Oplopanax horridus, and Rubus spectabilis. Menziesia ferruginea is usually present also. A relatively lush, diverse forb-dominated herbaceous layer typically has Rubus pedatus, Streptopus lanceolatus var. curvipes, Athyrium filix-femina, Clintonia uniflora, Gymnocarpium dryopteris, and Tiarella trifoliata. In Washington, it occurs at elevations of 780-1300 m, on lower slopes either adjacent to small streams or on sites with subirrigated soils where the rooting zone is kept very moist to saturated year-round by water moving downslope above an impermeable layer. Snowpacks are moderately deep, averaging 2.5 m. This association is distinguished from similar associations by at least 10% cover of Tsuga mertensiana and 5% cover of Oplopanax horridus, and little to no Caltha leptosepala ssp. howellii, Lysichiton americanus, or Nephrophyllidium crista-galli.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: There is some uncertainty as to whether this association occurs in British Columbia. In terms of composition, the Amabilis fir - Mountain hemlock - Oak fern association site series 03 in MHmm1 (Green and Klinka 1994) is very similar to ~Abies amabilis - Tsuga mertensiana / Oplopanax horridus Swamp Forest (CEGL000507)$$. However, this British Columbia association is described from fresh (mesic), nutrient-rich sites, as opposed to very moist sites as in Washington.
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: This is a needle-leaved evergreen conifer forest, or less commonly, woodland. Tsuga mertensiana and Abies amabilis dominate the canopy. Tsuga heterophylla is usually prominent also, and Callitropsis nootkatensis (= Chamaecyparis nootkatensis) occasional. The understory typically has a moderately dense layer of deciduous broad-leaved shrubs about 0.5-2.0 m tall dominated by Vaccinium ovalifolium (most abundant shrub), Oplopanax horridus, and Rubus spectabilis. Menziesia ferruginea is usually present also. A relatively lush, diverse forb-dominated herbaceous layer typically has Rubus pedatus, Streptopus lanceolatus var. curvipes (= Streptopus roseus), Athyrium filix-femina, Clintonia uniflora, Gymnocarpium dryopteris, and Tiarella trifoliata.
Dynamics: No Data Available
Environmental Description: In Washington, it occurs at elevations of 780-1300 m, on lower slopes either adjacent to small streams or on sites with subirrigated soils where the rooting zone is kept very moist to saturated year-round by water moving downslope above an impermeable layer. Snowpacks are moderately deep, averaging 2.5 m.
Geographic Range: This association is a regional endemic in the northwestern Cascade Range of Washington and probably in the Coastal Mountains of British Columbia.
Nations: US
States/Provinces: OR, WA
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.684732
Confidence Level: Low
Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: G3G4
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.b Mountain Hemlock - Fir species / Willow species Montane Riparian Woodland Group | G507 | 1.B.3.Ng.1.b |
| Alliance | A3766 Mountain Hemlock - Pacific Silver Fir Swamp Woodland Alliance | A3766 | 1.B.3.Ng.1.b |
| Association | CEGL000507 Pacific Silver Fir - Mountain Hemlock / Devil''s-club Swamp Forest | CEGL000507 | 1.B.3.Ng.1.b |
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: = Abies amabilis-Tsuga mertensiana/Oplopanax horridus (Meidinger et al. 2005) [PNWCOAST_018]
= Abies amabilis-Tsuga mertensiana/Oplopanax horridus Forest (Crawford et al. 2009)
= Tsuga mertensiana / Oplopanax horridum - Vaccinium alaskaense (Henderson et al. 1992) [(p.154)]
= Abies amabilis-Tsuga mertensiana/Oplopanax horridus Forest (Crawford et al. 2009)
= Tsuga mertensiana / Oplopanax horridum - Vaccinium alaskaense (Henderson et al. 1992) [(p.154)]
- 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.
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- Western Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Boulder, CO.