Print Report
CEGL003358 Quercus garryana / Symphoricarpos albus / Carex inops ssp. inops Woodland
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Oregon White Oak / Common Snowberry / Long-stolon Sedge Woodland
Colloquial Name: No Data Available
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: This woodland association occurs in the Puget Lowland of western Washington and the Georgia Basin of southwestern British Columbia at low elevations. Sites occupied are relatively dry and range from deep, gravelly glacial outwash plains to soils that are shallow to bedrock. In pre-European settlement times, this association was probably strongly influenced by anthropogenic fires, and sites occupied today may have had a very different species composition in the past. Fires helped maintain the dominance of oak over conifers, but also probably kept the shrub layer from dominating the understory on the sites where the type now exists. This deciduous broad-leaved woodland or forest is dominated by Quercus garryana and frequently has significant amounts of the evergreen conifer Pseudotsuga menziesii (mean 8% cover when present) in the canopy or subcanopy. The understory is dominated by deciduous shrubs, mostly Symphoricarpos albus 0.5-1.0 m tall (mean 44% cover), with significant amounts of the taller Amelanchier alnifolia, Oemleria cerasiformis, or Holodiscus discolor often present. The graminoids Carex inops ssp. inops, Poa pratensis (exotic), Melica subulata, and Elymus glaucus are usually present in small to moderate amounts, with Carex more common in the south and Melica more common in the north. Other understory species often present include the short-shrubs Mahonia aquifolium and Rubus ursinus, and the forbs Galium aparine and Lathyrus nevadensis. Many other forbs occur less frequently. This association is distinguished from similar ones by >10% cover of Symphoricarpos albus, along with >1% cover of Elymus glaucus or Carex inops, combined cover of <1% for Polystichum munitum, Circaea alpina, Maianthemum stellatum, and Claytonia sibirica, and <25% cover of Pseudotsuga menziesii.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: British Columbia equivalent appears to be Quercus garryana - Erythronium association (Roemer 1972), also known as Quercus garryana / Holodiscus discolor (British Columbia CDC tracking list). It is possible that a more thorough examination of species composition data over the range of the type could result in splitting this association into more than one.
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: This deciduous broad-leaved woodland or forest is dominated by Quercus garryana and frequently has significant amounts of the evergreen conifer Pseudotsuga menziesii (mean 8% cover when present) in the canopy or subcanopy. The understory is dominated by deciduous shrubs, mostly Symphoricarpos albus 0.5-1.0 m tall (mean 44% cover), with significant amounts of the taller Amelanchier alnifolia, Oemleria cerasiformis, or Holodiscus discolor often present. The graminoids Carex inops ssp. inops, Poa pratensis (exotic), Melica subulata, and Elymus glaucus are usually present in small to moderate amounts, with Carex more common in the south and Melica more common in the north. Other understory species often present include the short-shrubs Mahonia aquifolium and Rubus ursinus, and the forbs Galium aparine and Lathyrus nevadensis. Many other forbs occur less frequently. This association is distinguished from similar ones by >10% cover of Symphoricarpos albus, along with >1% cover of Elymus glaucus or Carex inops, combined cover of <1% for Polystichum munitum, Circaea alpina, Maianthemum stellatum, and Claytonia sibirica, and <25% cover of Pseudotsuga menziesii.
Dynamics: No Data Available
Environmental Description: Sites occupied are relatively dry and range from deep, gravelly glacial outwash plains to soils that are shallow to bedrock. In pre-European settlement times, this association was probably strongly influenced by anthropogenic fires, and sites occupied today may have had a very different species composition in the past. Fires helped maintain the dominance of oak over conifers, but also probably kept the shrub layer from dominating the understory on the sites where the type now exists.
Geographic Range: This association occurs in the Gulf Islands and southeastern Vancouver Island, British Columbia, south in the Puget Lowland as far as Lewis County, Washington. It is concentrated primarily in the Gulf Islands, Vancouver Island, the San Juan Islands, and the southern Puget Sound area. It is very rare elsewhere.
Nations: CA?,US
States/Provinces: BC?, WA
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.688097
Confidence Level: Moderate
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.2 Cool Temperate Forest & Woodland Formation | F008 | 1.B.2 |
| Division | 1.B.2.Nd Vancouverian Forest & Woodland Division | D192 | 1.B.2.Nd |
| Macrogroup | 1.B.2.Nd.1 Southern Vancouverian Dry Foothill Forest & Woodland Macrogroup | M886 | 1.B.2.Nd.1 |
| Group | 1.B.2.Nd.1.b Oregon White Oak - Ponderosa Pine - Douglas-fir Forest & Woodland Group | G206 | 1.B.2.Nd.1.b |
| Alliance | A3328 Oregon White Oak - Douglas-fir / Pacific Poison-oak Forest & Woodland Alliance | A3328 | 1.B.2.Nd.1.b |
| Association | CEGL003358 Oregon White Oak / Common Snowberry / Long-stolon Sedge Woodland | CEGL003358 | 1.B.2.Nd.1.b |
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: ? Quercus garryana - Erythronium association (Roemer 1972)
= Quercus garryana / Symphoricarpos albus / Carex inops (Chappell and Crawford 1997)
= Quercus garryana / Symphoricarpos albus / Carex inops (Chappell 2006b) [21 plots]
= Quercus garryana / Symphoricarpos albus / Carex inops Woodland Association (Rocchio et al. 2012)
= Quercus garryana / Symphoricarpos albus / Carex inops (Chappell and Crawford 1997)
= Quercus garryana / Symphoricarpos albus / Carex inops (Chappell 2006b) [21 plots]
= Quercus garryana / Symphoricarpos albus / Carex inops Woodland Association (Rocchio et al. 2012)
- Chappell, C. B. 2006b. Upland plant associations of the Puget Trough ecoregion, Washington. Natural Heritage Report 2006-01. Washington Department of Natural Resources, Natural Heritage Program, Olympia, WA. [http://www.dnr.wa.gov/nhp/refdesk/communities/pdf/intro.pdf]
- Chappell, C. B., R. Bigley, R. Crawford, and D. F. Giglio. No date. Field guide to terrestrial plant associations of the Puget Lowland, Washington. Washington Natural Heritage Program, Washington Department of Natural Resources, Olympia, WA. [in preparation]
- Chappell, C. B., and R. C. Crawford. 1997. Native vegetation of the South Puget Sound prairie landscape. Pages 107-122 in: P. Dunn and K. Ewing, editors. Ecology and conservation of the South Puget Sound prairie landscape. The Nature Conservancy of Washington, Seattle. 289 pp.
- Rocchio, F. J., R. C. Crawford, and C. C. Thompson. 2012. San Juan Island National Historical Park vegetation classification and mapping project. Natural Resource Report NPS/NCCN/NRR--2012/603. National Park Service, Fort Collins, CO. 188 pp.
- Roemer, H. L. 1972. Forest vegetation and environments on the Saanich Peninsula, Vancouver Island. Ph.D. dissertation, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.
- 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.