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CEGL000607 Populus tremuloides / Spiraea betulifolia Forest
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Quaking Aspen / Shinyleaf Meadowsweet Forest
Colloquial Name: No Data Available
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: This aspen forest type is found on gently sloping or rolling topography, at higher elevations in the Central Core, Limestone Plateau, Minnekahta Foothills and Bear Lodge Mountains of the Black Hills in the United States. It has also been found in western Montana in Glacier National Park. In the Black Hills, aspen stands are best developed and extend to lower elevations (1586-1740 m) in the northern part of the range, including the Bear Lodge Mountains. In northwestern Montana, this type was found at 1537 m (5040 feet) on a moderately steep, south-facing talus slope composed of limestone and dolomite rocks. This type can have a moderately closed to closed canopy. Populus tremuloides is the dominant tree. Picea glauca, Pinus contorta, or Pinus ponderosa may occur in this community as emergent trees. Understory composition was found to be quite variable in stands surveyed. Shrub cover typically is heavy and diverse, with Spiraea betulifolia and Mahonia repens often codominant. Other shrubs frequently present include Amelanchier alnifolia, Arctostaphylos uva-ursi, Prunus virginiana, Rosa woodsii, Shepherdia canadensis, and Symphoricarpos albus. The herbaceous stratum also is diverse, and forb cover often is greater than graminoid cover. Symphyotrichum laeve, Lathyrus ochroleucus, and Monarda fistulosa are among the more abundant species. The one stand sampled in Glacier National Park had no herbaceous species present.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: This type should be compared with Populus tremuloides / Spiraea betulifolia - Calamagrostis rubescens community type of Mueggler and Campbell (1982) and the Populus tremuloides / Spiraea betulifolia type of Youngblood and Mueggler (1981). This community is equivalent to the Populus tremuloides / Spiraea lucida / Lathyrus ochroleucus association of Severson and Thilenius (1976). No equivalent habitat type was described by Hoffman and Alexander (1987). Mueggler (1988) included all three of these aspen community types in his Populus tremuloides / Amelanchier alnifolia - Symphoricarpos albus / Calamagrostis rubescens community type, which has been adopted into the USNVC as ~Populus tremuloides / Amelanchier alnifolia - Symphoricarpos oreophilus / Calamagrostis rubescens Forest (CEGL000567)$$. It could be that ~Populus tremuloides / Spiraea betulifolia Forest (CEGL000607)$$ should be merged, following Mueggler''s (1988) treatment, into this broader USNVC association.
Classification of aspen communities in the Black Hills remains incomplete and problematic. Aspen stands in the area are highly variable in composition (Severson and Thilenius 1976, Marriott et al. 1999), consistent with the concept of aspen as an early successional dominant species. ~Populus tremuloides / Pteridium aquilinum Forest (CEGL000597)$$ and ~Populus tremuloides / Corylus cornuta Forest (CEGL000583)$$ are relatively consistent and distinctive. This type is more variable and is not clearly circumscribed. Severson and Thilenius (1976) recognized nine aspen associations, some based on data from single stands. For the Black Hills Community Inventory, at least four of these associations were included in this type, the Populus tremuloides / Spiraea betulifolia Forest (Marriott et al. 1999, Marriott and Faber-Langendoen 2000).
There remain aspen stands in the Black Hills that do not fit into any of these associations. For example, at higher elevations on the Limestone Plateau, aspen stands are common between Black Hills Montane Grasslands in broad drainage bottoms and conifer stands on slopes above. Little survey of these stands has been done, and they remain unclassified to association. Aspen also can contribute significant cover in stands of white spruce (Picea glauca) and ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa), representing successional stages from aspen to spruce and pine forest types. In the Black Hills Community Inventory, such stands were treated as inclusions in the surrounding coniferous forest type (Marriott and Faber-Langendoen 2000).
Classification of aspen communities in the Black Hills remains incomplete and problematic. Aspen stands in the area are highly variable in composition (Severson and Thilenius 1976, Marriott et al. 1999), consistent with the concept of aspen as an early successional dominant species. ~Populus tremuloides / Pteridium aquilinum Forest (CEGL000597)$$ and ~Populus tremuloides / Corylus cornuta Forest (CEGL000583)$$ are relatively consistent and distinctive. This type is more variable and is not clearly circumscribed. Severson and Thilenius (1976) recognized nine aspen associations, some based on data from single stands. For the Black Hills Community Inventory, at least four of these associations were included in this type, the Populus tremuloides / Spiraea betulifolia Forest (Marriott et al. 1999, Marriott and Faber-Langendoen 2000).
There remain aspen stands in the Black Hills that do not fit into any of these associations. For example, at higher elevations on the Limestone Plateau, aspen stands are common between Black Hills Montane Grasslands in broad drainage bottoms and conifer stands on slopes above. Little survey of these stands has been done, and they remain unclassified to association. Aspen also can contribute significant cover in stands of white spruce (Picea glauca) and ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa), representing successional stages from aspen to spruce and pine forest types. In the Black Hills Community Inventory, such stands were treated as inclusions in the surrounding coniferous forest type (Marriott and Faber-Langendoen 2000).
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: The vegetation can have a moderately closed to closed canopy (Severson and Thilenius 1976, Hoffman and Alexander 1987, BHCI 1999). Populus tremuloides is the dominant tree. Picea glauca, Pinus contorta, or Pinus ponderosa may occur in this community as emergent trees. Understory composition was found to be quite variable in stands surveyed. Shrub cover typically is heavy and diverse, with Spiraea betulifolia and Mahonia repens often codominant. Other shrubs frequently present include Amelanchier alnifolia, Arctostaphylos uva-ursi, Prunus virginiana, Rosa woodsii, Shepherdia canadensis, and Symphoricarpos albus. The herbaceous stratum also is diverse, and forb cover often is greater than graminoid cover. Symphyotrichum laeve (= Aster laevis), Lathyrus ochroleucus, and Monarda fistulosa are among the more abundant species (Marriott and Faber-Langendoen 2000).
Dynamics: No Data Available
Environmental Description: This community has been found on flat to moderately sloping topography (Severson and Thilenius 1976, Hoffman and Alexander 1987, BHCI 1999) in the Black Hills, and on moderately steep south-facing talus in northwestern Montana.. Documented sites range in elevation from 1530 to 1740 m (5020-5700 feet). This community is most extensive in the wetter, cooler northern Black Hills, including the Bear Lodge Mountains. It has been found in areas underlain by a variety of bedrock, including Tertiary intrusive rocks, limestone and sandstone (Marriott and Faber-Langendoen 2000). In Montana it was found on limestone and dolomite talus slopes, with a well-drained, poorly developed loam soil.
Geographic Range: This aspen forest type is found on gently sloping or rolling topography, at higher elevations in the Black Hills of the United States. It was also found in northwestern Montana in Glacier National Park, on the east side of the Continental Divide.
Nations: US
States/Provinces: ID, MT, SD, WY
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.686162
Confidence Level: Low
Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: G4Q
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.d Quaking Aspen Rocky Mountain Forest & Woodland Group | G222 | 1.B.2.Nb.5.d |
| Alliance | A2036 Quaking Aspen Rocky Mountain Forest & Woodland Alliance | A2036 | 1.B.2.Nb.5.d |
| Association | CEGL000607 Quaking Aspen / Shinyleaf Meadowsweet Forest | CEGL000607 | 1.B.2.Nb.5.d |
Concept Lineage: Type was based on insufficient information.
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: < Populus tremuloides / Amelanchier alnifolia - Symphoricarpos albus / Calamagrostis rubescens Community Type (Mueggler 1988)
= Populus tremuloides / Spiraea betulifolia - Calamagrostis rubescens Community Type (Mueggler and Campbell 1982)
? Populus tremuloides / Spiraea betulifolia Community Type (Youngblood and Mueggler 1981)
= Populus tremuloides / Spiraea betulifolia Forest (Faber-Langendoen 2001)
= Populus tremuloides / Spiraea betulifolia Forest (Marriott et al. 1999)
= Populus tremuloides / Spiraea lucida / Lathyrus ochroleucus association (Severson and Thilenius 1976)
= Populus tremuloides / Spiraea betulifolia - Calamagrostis rubescens Community Type (Mueggler and Campbell 1982)
? Populus tremuloides / Spiraea betulifolia Community Type (Youngblood and Mueggler 1981)
= Populus tremuloides / Spiraea betulifolia Forest (Faber-Langendoen 2001)
= Populus tremuloides / Spiraea betulifolia Forest (Marriott et al. 1999)
= Populus tremuloides / Spiraea lucida / Lathyrus ochroleucus association (Severson and Thilenius 1976)
- BHCI [Black Hills Community Inventory]. 1999. Unpublished element occurrence and plot data collected during the Black Hills Community Inventory. Available upon request from the South Dakota Natural Heritage Program, Pierre, and Wyoming Natural Diversity Database, Laramie.
- 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.
- Faber-Langendoen, D., editor. 2001. Plant communities of the Midwest: Classification in an ecological context. Association for Biodiversity Information, Arlington, VA. 61 pp. plus appendix (705 pp.).
- Girard, M. [1991]. ECODATA survey of riparian communities of Black Hills National Forest, 1986-1990. Unpublished files, field forms, notes, data analyses and type descriptions. Supervisor''s Office, Black Hills National Forest, Custer, SD.
- Hoffman, G. R., and R. R. Alexander. 1987. Forest vegetation of the Black Hills National Forest of South Dakota and Wyoming: A habitat type classification. Research Paper RM-276. USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station, Fort Collins, CO. 48 pp.
- Hop, K., M. Reid, J. Dieck, S. Lubinski, and S. Cooper. 2007. U.S. Geological Survey-National Park Service Vegetation Mapping Program: Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park. U.S. Geological Survey, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center, La Crosse, WI. 131 pp. plus Appendices A-L.
- MTNHP [Montana Natural Heritage Program]. No date. Unpublished data on file. Montana Natural Heritage Program, Helena, MT.
- Marriott, H. J., D. Faber-Langendoen, A. McAdams, D. Stutzman, and B. Burkhart. 1999. The Black Hills Community Inventory: Final report. The Nature Conservancy, Midwest Conservation Science Center, Minneapolis, MN.
- Marriott, H. J., and D. Faber-Langendoen. 2000. The Black Hills community inventory. Volume 2: Plant community descriptions. The Nature Conservancy, Midwest Conservation Science Center and Association for Biodiversity Information, Minneapolis, MN. 326 pp.
- Mueggler, W. F. 1988. Aspen community types of the Intermountain Region. General Technical Report INT-250. USDA Forest Service, Intermountain Research Station, Ogden, UT. 135 pp.
- Mueggler, W. F., and R. B. Campbell, Jr. 1982. Aspen community types on the Caribou and Targhee national forests in southeastern Idaho. Research Paper INT-294. USDA Forest Service, Intermountain Forest and Range Experiment Station, Ogden, UT. 32 pp.
- Reid, M. S., S. V. Cooper, and G. Kittel. 2004. Vegetation classification of Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park. Final report for USGS-NPS Vegetation Mapping Program, International Peace Park Mapping Project. NatureServe, Arlington VA.
- Severson, K. E., and J. F. Thilenius. 1976. Classification of quaking aspen stands in the Black Hills and Bear Lodge Mountains. Research Paper RM-166. USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station, Fort Collins, CO. 24 pp.
- Steinauer, G. A. 1981. A classification of the Cercocarpus montanus, Quercus macrocarpa, Populus tremuloides, and Picea glauca habitat types of the Black Hills National Forest. Unpublished thesis, University of South Dakota, Brookings. 95 pp.
- WNDD [Wyoming Natural Diversity Database]. No date. Unpublished data on file. Wyoming Natural Diversity Database, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY.
- Western Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Boulder, CO.
- Youngblood, A. P., and W. F. Mueggler. 1981. Aspen community types on the Bridger-Teton National Forest in western Wyoming. Research Paper INT-272. USDA Forest Service, Intermountain Forest and Range Experiment Station, Ogden, UT. 34 pp.