Print Report

CEGL000640 Fraxinus latifolia / Carex obnupta Riparian Forest

Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available


Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Oregon Ash / Slough Sedge Riparian Forest

Colloquial Name: No Data Available

Hierarchy Level:  Association

Type Concept: This association is a riparian forest found in western Oregon and southwestern Washington. Fraxinus latifolia is the primary tree, with lesser amounts of Populus balsamifera ssp. trichocarpa, Frangula purshiana, Abies grandis, and Alnus rubra. The shrub layer is diverse but averages less than 10% cover, with occasionally high cover of Rubus ursinus, Symphoricarpos albus, Cornus sericea, or Acer circinatum. Carex obnupta dominates the herb layer with cover averaging 76%. Forty other herbaceous species are reported from sampled plots, but most have less than 15% cover. The presence of Veratrum viride and Rudbeckia occidentalis in a stand of Fraxinus is unusual because these species are more typically found at elevations above 610-915 m (2000-3000 feet).

Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available

Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available

Classification Comments: No Data Available

Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available

Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available

Floristics: No Data Available

Dynamics:  No Data Available

Environmental Description:  No Data Available

Geographic Range: This association is found in western Oregon and southwestern Washington (Christy 2004).

Nations: US

States/Provinces:  OR, WA




Confidence Level: Low

Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available

Grank: G4

Greasons: No Data Available


Concept Lineage: No Data Available

Predecessors: No Data Available

Obsolete Names: No Data Available

Obsolete Parents: No Data Available

Synonomy: = Fraxinus latifolia / Carex obnupta (McCain and Christy 2005) [18 plots]
= Fraxinus latifolia / Carex obnupta Association (Christy 2004)
= Fraxinus latifolia / Carex obnupta community type (Kunze 1994) [(p.33)]

Concept Author(s): J.A. Christy (2004)

Author of Description: J.A. Christy (2004)

Acknowledgements: No Data Available

Version Date: 06-10-06

  • 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 Unpublished report.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.
  • Christy, J. A. 2004. Native freshwater wetland plant associations of northwestern Oregon. Oregon Natural Heritage Information Center, Oregon State University, Portland, OR.
  • Frenkel, R. E., and E. F. Heinitz. 1987. Composition and structure of Oregon ash (Fraxinus latifolia) forest in William L. Finley National Wildlife Refuge, Oregon. Northwest Science 61:203-212.
  • Heinitz, E. F. 1982. Vegetation ecology of Fraxinus latifolia communities in William L. Finley National Wildlife Refuge, Oregon. M.S. thesis, Oregon State University, Corvallis. 40 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.
  • Kunze, L. M. 1994. Preliminary classification of native, low elevation, freshwater wetland vegetation in western Washington. Washington State Department of Natural Resources, Natural Heritage Program. 120 pp.
  • Marshall, J. 1985. Value assessment of Jackson-Frazier wetland, Benton County, Oregon: A case study. M.S. thesis, Oregon State University, Corvallis. 147 pp.
  • McCain, C., and J. A. Christy. 2005. Field guide to riparian plant communities in northwestern Oregon. Technical Paper R6-NR-ECOL-TP-01-05. USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Region, Portland. 357 pp.
  • Titus, J. H., J. A. Christy, D. Vander Schaaf, J. S. Kagan, and E. R. Alverson. 1996. Native wetland, riparian, and upland plant communities and their biota in the Willamette Valley, Oregon. Report to the Environmental Protection Agency, Region X, Seattle, WA. Willamette Basin Geographic Initiative. Oregon Natural Heritage Program, The Nature Conservancy, Portland, OR.
  • 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.