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CEGL000382 Picea glauca / Linnaea borealis Forest
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: White Spruce / Twinflower Forest
Colloquial Name: No Data Available
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: This white spruce community type is known only from the Black Hills in the United States. It is on northwest- to northeast-facing slopes with loamy soils. It has been found at elevations ranging from 1768-1958 m. The canopy is closed and dominated by Picea glauca. Populus tremuloides and Pinus ponderosa may also be present. There is a prominent shrub layer over a less dense herbaceous layer. Mosses and lichens are common. Linnaea borealis is the dominant understory species. Juniperus communis, Mahonia repens, Rosa acicularis, Shepherdia canadensis, and Symphoricarpos albus are common shrub associates. In the herbaceous layer Galium boreale, Hedysarum alpinum, Lathyrus ochroleucus, and Viola adunca are common.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: This type is only known from the Black Hills (Marriott and Faber-Langendoen 2000). The relationship of this type to more boreal types in western Canada (Alberta in particular) is unclear. In the Black Hills, this type overlaps floristically and spatially with ~Picea glauca / Vaccinium scoparium Forest (CEGL000383)$$, often occurring on lower and moister slopes below stands of that type.
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: The vegetation is a closed-canopy evergreen forest. The tree layer is dominated by Picea glauca. It is the only tree species with significant reproduction in this community. Other trees, such as Populus tremuloides and Pinus ponderosa, may remain from earlier successional phases (Hoffman and Alexander 1987). The shrub layer is prominent in this community. In five stands sampled by Hoffman and Alexander (1987), the shrub layer had an average cover of 37%. Herbaceous species covered 24% and mosses and lichens covered 17%. Linnaea borealis is the dominant understory species. Juniperus communis, Mahonia repens, Rosa acicularis, Shepherdia canadensis, and Symphoricarpos albus are common shrub associates. In the herbaceous layer Galium boreale, Hedysarum alpinum, Lathyrus ochroleucus, and Viola adunca are common.
Thilenius (1970) describes an occurrence of Pinus flexilis that is within ~Picea glauca / Linnaea borealis Forest (CEGL000382)$$. Pinus flexilis occurs near Cathedral Spires in the Black Hills on the upslope edge of the rest of the community.
Thilenius (1970) describes an occurrence of Pinus flexilis that is within ~Picea glauca / Linnaea borealis Forest (CEGL000382)$$. Pinus flexilis occurs near Cathedral Spires in the Black Hills on the upslope edge of the rest of the community.
Dynamics: No Data Available
Environmental Description: This community has been identified in the Cathedral Spires area of the Black Hills. Five stands that were sampled by Hoffman and Alexander (1987) were on northwest- to northeast-facing slopes ranging from 16-32%. Johnston (1987) reports that this type can occur on steeper slopes as well. The soils are loamy and acidic. This community has been found to occur from 1768 to 1958 m (Hoffman and Alexander 1987).
Geographic Range: This white spruce community type is known only from the Black Hills of South Dakota and Wyoming in the United States.
Nations: US
States/Provinces: SD, WY
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.687009
Confidence Level: Moderate
Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: G2G3
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.f White Spruce - Douglas-fir Central Rocky Mountain Forest Group | G345 | 1.B.2.Nb.5.f |
| Alliance | A3623 White Spruce Black Hills Forest Alliance | A3623 | 1.B.2.Nb.5.f |
| Association | CEGL000382 White Spruce / Twinflower Forest | CEGL000382 | 1.B.2.Nb.5.f |
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: = Picea glauca / Linnaea borealis Forest (Faber-Langendoen 2001)
? Picea glauca / Linnaea borealis Habitat Type (Hoffman and Alexander 1987)
? Picea glauca / Linnaea borealis Plant Association, except Vaccinium scoparium Phase (Johnston 1987)
? Picea glauca / Linnaea borealis Habitat Type (Hoffman and Alexander 1987)
? Picea glauca / Linnaea borealis Plant Association, except Vaccinium scoparium Phase (Johnston 1987)
- 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.
- 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.
- Johnston, B. C. 1987. Plant associations of Region Two: Potential plant communities of Wyoming, South Dakota, Nebraska, Colorado, and Kansas. R2-ECOL-87-2. USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Region. Lakewood, CO. 429 pp.
- 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.
- Midwestern Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Minneapolis, MN.
- SDNHP [South Dakota Natural Heritage Program]. 2018. Unpublished data. South Dakota Natural Heritage Program, Pierre, SD.
- 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.
- Thilenius, J. F. 1970. An isolated occurrence of limber pine (Pinus flexilis James) in the Black Hill of South Dakota. The American Midland Naturalist 84(2):411-417.
- WNDD [Wyoming Natural Diversity Database]. No date. Unpublished data on file. Wyoming Natural Diversity Database, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY.