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CEGL000671 Populus balsamifera ssp. trichocarpa / Cicuta douglasii Riparian Forest
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Black Cottonwood / Western Water-hemlock Riparian Forest
Colloquial Name: No Data Available
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: This riparian forest of the Columbia Basin grows on stream terraces between 400-750 m of elevation. Winters are cool and receive the bulk of the area''s 50 cm of annual precipitation. Summers are warm to hot with very little precipitation. The occurrences are generally patchy along streams, but in some locations line the floodplain. The canopy is locally dominated by Populus balsamifera ssp. trichocarpa, while Alnus rhombifolia can codominate in places where the valleys are broad enough for more extensive floodplains. Cicuta douglasii is the dominant forb in the understory. No other information is available on the species composition of this type.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
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: This is a broad-leaved deciduous riparian forest, dominated by the tall tree Populus balsamifera ssp. trichocarpa (= Populus trichocarpa). Alnus rhombifolia, another broad-leaved deciduous tree, occasionally codominates where valleys are broad enough for more extensive floodplains. A shrub layer is not present, and the herbaceous layer is strongly dominated by the tall perennial forb Cicuta douglasii, with few other herbaceous species occurring. Daubenmire (1970) described this riparian association, but did not provide stand tables, so no further information is available.
Dynamics: Annual flooding may be an important factor. Seasonal (spring?) flooding, which creates depositional features in the floodplain, is probably necessary for successful reproduction of Populus balsamifera ssp. trichocarpa.
Environmental Description: This association is found in the Columbia Basin, a downwarped, basalt-floored region. Loess is thick in some portions of the region, and alluvial deposits of variable parent materials are patchy along streams and rivers. Thick mantles of sands from periodically glacially-dammed lakes cover some portions of the region. In other areas, valleys and canyons (coulees) have been deeply scoured into the basalt by glacial flooding.
The climate of the region is characterized by a mix of continental and maritime influences. It is in the rainshadow of the Cascades, with annual precipitation between 23 and 50 cm (9-20 inches). Between 55 and 75% of the precipitation falls during October through March as snow, and summers are typically dry. Summer temperatures can be hot and winters are typically cold.
This association occurs on floodplains of higher order streams in the drier parts of the Palouse prairie (the Festuca - Agropyron zone of Daubenmire (1970)). The occurrences are generally patchy along streams, but in some locations line the floodplain. Little other information is available, but soils are probably derived from alluvial deposits, with coarse textures and cobbles and/or gravels throughout. Floodplains where this type occurs are probably subject to periodic flooding during spring snowmelt in higher regions. This seasonal flooding, which creates depositional features in the floodplain, is probably necessary for successful reproduction of Populus balsamifera ssp. trichocarpa.
The climate of the region is characterized by a mix of continental and maritime influences. It is in the rainshadow of the Cascades, with annual precipitation between 23 and 50 cm (9-20 inches). Between 55 and 75% of the precipitation falls during October through March as snow, and summers are typically dry. Summer temperatures can be hot and winters are typically cold.
This association occurs on floodplains of higher order streams in the drier parts of the Palouse prairie (the Festuca - Agropyron zone of Daubenmire (1970)). The occurrences are generally patchy along streams, but in some locations line the floodplain. Little other information is available, but soils are probably derived from alluvial deposits, with coarse textures and cobbles and/or gravels throughout. Floodplains where this type occurs are probably subject to periodic flooding during spring snowmelt in higher regions. This seasonal flooding, which creates depositional features in the floodplain, is probably necessary for successful reproduction of Populus balsamifera ssp. trichocarpa.
Geographic Range: Restricted to the east-central Columbia Basin of Washington and adjacent Idaho and Oregon, although it may be extirpated in Oregon. Daubenmire (1970) said the association lines the Palouse between Colfax and the Whitman-Adams countyline and along the Lapwai Creek between Spalding and Culdesac, Idaho.
Nations: US
States/Provinces: ID, OR?, WA
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.685184
Confidence Level: Moderate
Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: G1
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.Nc Rocky Mountain-Great Basin Montane Flooded & Swamp Forest Division | D195 | 1.B.3.Nc |
| Macrogroup | 1.B.3.Nc.1 Engelmann Spruce - Narrowleaf Cottonwood / Red-osier Dogwood Riparian & Swamp Forest Macrogroup | M034 | 1.B.3.Nc.1 |
| Group | 1.B.3.Nc.1.c Northern Rocky Mountain Lowland-Foothill Riparian Forest Group | G796 | 1.B.3.Nc.1.c |
| Alliance | A0311 Black Cottonwood Northern Rocky Mountain Riparian Forest Alliance | A0311 | 1.B.3.Nc.1.c |
| Association | CEGL000671 Black Cottonwood / Western Water-hemlock Riparian Forest | CEGL000671 | 1.B.3.Nc.1.c |
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: = Populus trichocarpa / Cicuta douglasii Association (Daubenmire 1970) [(p.60)]
- 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.
- Daubenmire, R. F. 1970. Steppe vegetation of Washington. Washington State University Agricultural Experiment Station Technical Bulletin No. 62. 131 pp.
- Evans, S. 1989a. Riparian survey of Washington''s Columbia Basin. Unpublished report prepared for The Nature Conservancy Washington Natural Heritage Program, Olympia, Washington.
- IDCDC [Idaho Conservation Data Center]. 2005. Wetland and riparian plant associations in Idaho. Idaho Conservation Data Center, Idaho Department of Fish and Game, Boise. [http://fishandgame.idaho.gov/tech/CDC/ecology/wetland_riparian_assoc.cfm] (accessed 14 June 2005).
- 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.