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CEGL002638 Pinus ponderosa / Alnus incana Riparian Woodland
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Ponderosa Pine / Gray Alder Riparian Woodland
Colloquial Name: No Data Available
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: This coniferous riparian woodland is found along foothill and lower montane canyon bottoms of the southern Rocky Mountains along the Colorado Front Range and may occur in similar habitats in New Mexico and Arizona. Stands occur along rivers and streams on southern aspects that would be too dry for Pinus ponderosa, except for the stream moisture. Sites are flooded for brief periods during the growing season, and the shrubs and trees have access to the water table. Substrates are well-drained, coarse alluvium. Large, mature Pinus ponderosa trees provide an open overstory canopy with a narrow band of Alnus incana ssp. tenuifolia overhanging the generally narrow and steep stream channel. Older Pinus ponderosa trees are usually rooted in well-drained locations at the top of the streambank or farther from the edge of the channel. Betula occidentalis is usually present, as are Prunus virginiana, Salix bebbiana, and Salix ligulifolia. Toxicodendron rydbergii may also be present. The herbaceous undergrowth is usually sparse because of the droughty soils. Diagnostic of this riparian woodland association is the dominance of Pinus ponderosa in the tree layer with a shrub layer dominated by Alnus incana and other mesic shrubs.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: The association is known only from one plot, but has been reported from other tributaries of the South Platte River in Colorado and may occur in Arizona and New Mexico as well. Although Pinus ponderosa is not an obligate riparian species, in the foothill reaches of the Cache la Poudre River in northern Colorado, it grows along streambanks and islands on coarse, well-drained alluvial soils. In these areas, southern aspects are too dry for conifers, and northern aspects are dominated by thick stands of Pinus ponderosa and Pseudotsuga menziesii.
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: Large, mature Pinus ponderosa trees provide an open overstory canopy (25-70% cover) with a narrow band of Alnus incana ssp. tenuifolia (10-30% cover) overhanging the generally narrow and steep stream channel. Older Pinus ponderosa trees are usually rooted in well-drained locations at the top of the streambank or farther from the edge of the channel. Betula occidentalis is usually present (5-35% cover), as are Prunus virginiana, Salix bebbiana, and Salix ligulifolia (= Salix eriocephala var. ligulifolia). Toxicodendron rydbergii may also be present. The herbaceous undergrowth is usually sparse because of the droughty soils. Diagnostic of this riparian woodland association is the dominance of Pinus ponderosa in the tree layer with a shrub layer dominated by Alnus incana and other mesic shrubs.
Dynamics: No Data Available
Environmental Description: This coniferous riparian woodland is found along foothill and lower montane canyon bottoms of the southern Rocky Mountains along the Colorado Front Range and may occur in similar habitats in New Mexico and Arizona. Stands occur along rivers and streams on southern aspects that would be too dry for Pinus ponderosa, except for the stream moisture. Sites are flooded for brief periods during the growing season, and the shrubs and trees have access to the water table. Substrates are well-drained, coarse alluvium.
Geographic Range: Currently known only from the Colorado Front Range, though it is expected to occur in New Mexico and Arizona.
Nations: US
States/Provinces: AZ?, CO, NM?
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.686681
Confidence Level: Low
Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: G2
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.a Engelmann Spruce - Blue Spruce - Narrowleaf Cottonwood Riparian & Swamp Forest Group | G506 | 1.B.3.Nc.1.a |
| Alliance | A3797 Ponderosa Pine - Rocky Mountain Juniper - White Fir Riparian Woodland Alliance | A3797 | 1.B.3.Nc.1.a |
| Association | CEGL002638 Ponderosa Pine / Gray Alder Riparian Woodland | CEGL002638 | 1.B.3.Nc.1.a |
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: = Pinus ponderosa / Alnus incana Woodland (Kittel et al. 1994)
= Pinus ponderosa / Alnus incana Woodland (Kittel et al. 1997a)
= Pinus ponderosa / Alnus incana Woodland (Kittel et al. 1999a)
= Pinus ponderosa / Alnus incana Woodland (Kittel et al. 1997a)
= Pinus ponderosa / Alnus incana Woodland (Kittel et al. 1999a)
- 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/]
- Kittel, G., E. Van Wie, M. Damm, R. Rondeau, S. Kettler, and J. Sanderson. 1999a. A classification of the riparian plant associations of the Rio Grande and Closed Basin watersheds, Colorado. Unpublished report prepared by the Colorado Natural Heritage Program, Colorado State University, Fort Collins.
- Kittel, G., E. Van Wie, and M. Damm. 1997a. A classification of the riparian vegetation of the South Platte Basin (and part of Republican River Basin), Colorado. Submitted to Colorado Department of Natural Resources and the Environmental Protection Agency, Region VIII. Prepared by Colorado Natural Heritage Program, Colorado State University, Fort Collins.
- Kittel, G., R. Rondeau, N. Lederer, and D. Randolph. 1994. A classification of the riparian vegetation of the White and Colorado River basins, Colorado. Final report submitted to Colorado Department of Natural Resources and the Environmental Protection Agency. Colorado Natural Heritage Program, Boulder. 166 pp.
- Western Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Boulder, CO.