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CEGL001404 Phyllodoce empetriformis Parkland Alpine Dwarf-shrubland
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Pink Mountain-heath Parkland Alpine Dwarf-shrubland
Colloquial Name: No Data Available
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: This shrubland association is currently only described from Oregon. It is reported from Washington and may also occur in California and British Columbia. Additional global information will be added as it becomes available. This dwarf-shrubland is abundant in subalpine and alpine settings in the eastern Cascade Range at elevations ranging from 1740 m to more than 2135 m (5700-7000 feet). Sampled plots were located in the Three Sisters and Mount Jefferson Wilderness Areas (Deschutes National Forest) and in Wallowa Mountains. It has also been seen at high elevations throughout the Wallowas and in the Elkhorn and Strawberry mountains. The association is probably found at other locations in the Cascade Range such as Crater Lake National Park, Mount Thielson (Winema National Forest), and Mount Washington (Deschutes National Forest). Sites are well-drained streambanks and floodplains or moderate to steeply-sloping, moist, rocky sites below snowbanks and springs. Soils are well-drained alluvium. The surface soils on streambanks and floodplains are coarse textured, well-drained, and often have a high percentage of gravels and cobbles deposited by periodic floods. Meadows have finer-textured, well-drained, loamy sands. This association is dominated by woody vegetation, especially Phyllodoce empetriformis. Dwarfed Tsuga mertensiana or shrubs such as Vaccinium deliciosum, Pyrola sp., or Cassiope mertensiana are often common. Dwarfed willows such as Salix eastwoodiae, Salix commutata, and Salix boothii are often codominant with Phyllodoce empetriformis. Common forbs and graminoids include Carex nigricans, Juncus drummondii, Oreostemma alpigenum var. alpigenum, Ligusticum grayi, and Potentilla flabellifolia.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: This description is taken directly from Kovalchik''s (1987) Red mountain-heath Association.
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: No Data Available
Dynamics: In the Cascades, this association has the potential for massive invasion by Tsuga mertensiana. Several sampled plots had abundant invasion by Tsuga mertensiana in the past 50 years. Usually the trees are dwarfed, less than 3 m (10 feet) tall, and 20-50 year sold. It appears that Tsuga mertensiana requires a fresh deposition of coarse alluvium as a seedbed which must be timed with successful seed producing years followed by summers of above normal precipitation and temperature (Henderson 1973). Franklin et al. (1971) suggest that warmer and drier climatic trends in the past 100 years could be responsible for the invasion. Due to the dynamic nature of this association, it is difficult to speculate on its ecological status. Periodic high runoff inundates streambanks, the upper ends of meadows, and floodplains with deposits of coarse alluvium, creating sites for Phyllodoce empetriformis. In the absence of high runoff, soil surfaces gradually become dominated by fine sediments and the site changes towards Carex nigricans or Carex scopulorum associations.
Environmental Description: No Data Available
Geographic Range: This association is found in Oregon and Washington and possibly in California and British Columbia.
Nations: CA?,US
States/Provinces: BC?, CA?, OR, WA
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.687278
Confidence Level: Low - Poorly Documented
Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: G5
Greasons: No Data Available
| Type | Name | Database Code | Classification Code |
|---|---|---|---|
| Class | 4 Polar & High Montane Scrub, Grassland & Barrens Class | C04 | 4 |
| Subclass | 4.B Temperate to Polar Alpine & Tundra Vegetation Subclass | S12 | 4.B |
| Formation | 4.B.1 Temperate & Boreal Alpine Tundra Formation | F037 | 4.B.1 |
| Division | 4.B.1.Nb Western North American Alpine Tundra Division | D043 | 4.B.1.Nb |
| Macrogroup | 4.B.1.Nb.3 Vancouverian Alpine Tundra Macrogroup | M101 | 4.B.1.Nb.3 |
| Group | 4.B.1.Nb.3.a Black Crowberry - Pink Mountain-heath - Western Moss-heather Alpine-Subalpine Dwarf-shrubland & Heath Group | G317 | 4.B.1.Nb.3.a |
| Alliance | A3331 Pink Mountain-heath - Western Moss-heather - Cascade Bilberry Alpine Dwarf-shrubland Alliance | A3331 | 4.B.1.Nb.3.a |
| Association | CEGL001404 Pink Mountain-heath Parkland Alpine Dwarf-shrubland | CEGL001404 | 4.B.1.Nb.3.a |
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: = Phyllodoce empetriformis / Juncus drummondii Association (Crowe et al. 2004)
= Phyllodoce empetriformis (Kovalchik 1987) [(p.134)]
= Phyllodoce empetriformis Community Type (Douglas and Bliss 1977)
= Phyllodoce empetriformis Parkland Dwarf-shrubland (Cole 1982)
= Phyllodoce empetriformis (Kovalchik 1987) [(p.134)]
= Phyllodoce empetriformis Community Type (Douglas and Bliss 1977)
= Phyllodoce empetriformis Parkland Dwarf-shrubland (Cole 1982)
- 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.
- Cole, D. N. 1982. Vegetation of two drainages in Eagle Cap Wilderness, Wallowa Mountains, Oregon. Research Paper INT-288. USDA Forest Service, Intermountain Forest and Range Experiment Station, Ogden, UT. 26 pp.
- Crowe, E. A., B. L. Kovalchik, and M. J. Kerr. 2004. Riparian and wetland vegetation of central and eastern Oregon. Oregon Natural Heritage Information Center, Institute for Natural Resources, Oregon State University, Portland. 473 pp. [http://oregonstate.edu/ornhic/ publications.html]
- Douglas, G. W., and L. C. Bliss. 1977. Alpine and high subalpine plant communities of the North Cascades Range, Washington and British Columbia. Ecological Monographs 47:113-150.
- Franklin, J. F., W. H. Moir, G. W. Douglas, and C. Wiburg. 1971. Invasion of subalpine meadows by trees in the Cascade Range, Washington and Oregon. Arctic and Alpine Research 3:215-224.
- Henderson, J. A. 1973. Composition, distribution and succession of subalpine meadows in Mount Rainier National Park, Washington. Unpublished dissertation, Oregon State University, Corvallis. 150 pp.
- Kagan, J. S., J. A. Christy, M. P. Murray, and J. A. Titus. 2004. Classification of native vegetation of Oregon. January 2004. Oregon Natural Heritage Information Center, Portland. 52 pp.
- Kovalchik, B. L. 1987. Riparian zone associations - Deschutes, Ochoco, Fremont, and Winema national forests. Technical Paper 279-87. USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Region, Portland, OR. 171 pp.
- 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.