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CEGL000763 Pinus attenuata / Arctostaphylos nevadensis Woodland
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Knobcone Pine / Pinemat Manzanita Woodland
Colloquial Name: No Data Available
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: This association is an open, valley bottom or low elevation woodland found on serpentine soils in southwestern Oregon and reported from adjacent northwestern California. These woodlands are generally found on flat, stony, serpentine valley bottoms or terraces. Pinus attenuata dominates the tree canopy, although Pseudotsuga menziesii and Pinus jeffreyi are usually present. Chamaecyparis lawsoniana and Pinus monticola can occasionally be found. Pinus attenuata and the other associated trees provide an open canopy ranging between 10 and 50% cover, so some stands are more savanna-like, while others grade into forests. This vegetation generally has a dense, diverse, evergreen sclerophyllous shrub layer. Arctostaphylos nevadensis, Arctostaphylos x cinerea, Arctostaphylos columbiana and numerous Arctostaphylos hybrids characterize the shrub layer, but Garrya buxifolia, Frangula californica ssp. californica, Ceanothus velutinus, and Quercus vacciniifolia all may be codominant. Openings are dominated by diverse serpentine forbs (common genera include Eriogonum, Arabis, Monardella, Penstemon, and Gilia), and grasses such as Achnatherum lemmonii, Festuca idahoensis ssp. roemeri, Festuca californica, Melica geyeri, and Danthonia californica. These openings are not uncommon, but are rarely frequent enough to make it possible to get through these woodlands on foot. These woodlands are generally successional, and become Pseudotsuga menziesii forests if the sites go many years without fire. Because fire suppression, development, and logging are extremely widespread in these valley bottom stands, there are few undisturbed stands and it is difficult to determine what a natural woodland would look like.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: This is the only Pinus attenuata community in the National Vegetation Classification from Oregon. The Oregon Natural Heritage Program includes another type, Pinus attenuata / Arctostaphylos canescens in the Oregon classification. This type is only known from Rough and Ready Flat, on a unique Pleistocene, serpentine plain. Since they have been so poorly studied or sampled, there are likely more types to be described. In California, Pinus attenuata / Arctostaphylos columbiana, Pinus attenuata / Arctostaphylos patula, and Pinus attenuata / Quercus vacciniifolia associations have all been described. Given the limited plot data, it is difficult to be certain how different these stands are.
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: Pinus attenuata dominates the tree canopy, although Pseudotsuga menziesii and Pinus jeffreyi are usually present. Chamaecyparis lawsoniana and Pinus monticola can occasionally be found. Pinus attenuata and the other associated trees provide an open canopy ranging between 10 and 50% cover, so some stands are more savanna-like, while others grade into forests. This vegetation generally has a dense, diverse, evergreen sclerophyllous shrub layer. Arctostaphylos nevadensis, Arctostaphylos x cinerea, Arctostaphylos columbiana, and numerous Arctostaphylos hybrids characterize the shrub layer, but Garrya buxifolia, Frangula californica ssp. californica (= Rhamnus californica), Ceanothus velutinus, and Quercus vacciniifolia may all be codominant. Openings are dominated by diverse serpentine forbs (common genera include Eriogonum, Arabis, Monardella, Penstemon, and Gilia), and grasses such as Achnatherum lemmonii (= Stipa lemmonii), Festuca idahoensis ssp. roemeri (= Festuca roemeri), Festuca californica, Melica geyeri, and Danthonia californica.
Dynamics: These openings are not uncommon, but are rarely frequent enough to make it possible to get through these woodlands on foot. These woodlands are generally successional and become Pseudotsuga menziesii forests if the sites go many years without fire. Because fire suppression, development, and logging are extremely widespread in these valley bottom stands, there are few undisturbed stands and it is difficult to determine what a natural woodland would look like.
Environmental Description: This association is an open, valley bottom or low-elevation woodland found on serpentine soils in southwestern Oregon and reported from adjacent northwestern California. These woodlands are generally found on flat, stony, serpentine valley bottoms or terraces.
Geographic Range: This association is found from extreme southwestern Oregon (quite near the California border) south into northern California.
Nations: US
States/Provinces: CA, OR
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.688328
Confidence Level: Low - Poorly Documented
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.1 Warm Temperate Forest & Woodland Formation | F018 | 1.B.1 |
| Division | 1.B.1.Nc Californian Forest & Woodland Division | D007 | 1.B.1.Nc |
| Macrogroup | 1.B.1.Nc.1 California Live Oak - California Laurel - Western Cypress species Forest & Woodland Macrogroup | M009 | 1.B.1.Nc.1 |
| Group | 1.B.1.Nc.1.b Western Cypress species - Pine species Forest & Woodland Group | G198 | 1.B.1.Nc.1.b |
| Alliance | A3356 Knobcone Pine - Coulter Pine - California Foothill Pine Woodland Alliance | A3356 | 1.B.1.Nc.1.b |
| Association | CEGL000763 Knobcone Pine / Pinemat Manzanita Woodland | CEGL000763 | 1.B.1.Nc.1.b |
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: > Pinus attenuata/Lithocarpus densiflorus var. echinoides association (Stumpf et al. 2017)
- 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.
- Hopkins, W. E. 1979a. Plant associations of the Fremont National Forest. Technical Report R6-ECOL-79-004. USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Region, Portland.
- 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.
- Kagan, J. S., and D. Borgais. 1994. Personal inventory of Pinus attenuata stands in the Illinois Valley, Oregon.
- Sawyer, J. O., and T. Keeler-Wolf. 1995. A manual of California vegetation. California Native Plant Society, Sacramento. 471 pp.
- Stumpf, K. A., Cogan Technology, and Kier Associates. 2017. Vegetation mapping and classification project: Redwood National and State Parks, California. Natural Resource Report NPS/REDW/NRR--2017/1431. National Park Service, Fort Collins, CO. 270 pp.
- Western Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Boulder, CO.