Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Kinnikinnick / Rocky Mountain Goldenrod Dwarf-shrubland

Colloquial Name: No Data Available

Hierarchy Level:  Association

Type Concept: This is the most widespread Arctostaphylos uva-ursi community in Glacier National Park of Montana. This small-patch type has been documented from the highest subalpine elevations to the lower alpine, from 1700 to 2290 m (5575-7510 feet). It is often associated with dead and dying ridgetop Pinus albicaulis stands or krummholz patches of Abies lasiocarpa and Pinus flexilis. The general aspect is of talus cones and slopes of moderate to steep inclination (18-62%) carpeted with a dark-green heath-dominated mat. The predominantly westerly to southerly exposures coupled with prevailing westerlies (removing most snow cover) and rapidly drained soils produce a xeric microclimate. Parent material is colluvium derived primarily from red and green argillite and in a few cases quartzite and arenite. The slopes have been stabilized and the surfaces compacted with only a few boulders protruding and are generally smooth to gently undulating in relief.

Despite the xerophytic nature of the vegetation, it is quite profuse with vascular cover exceeding 80% in more than 75% of the plots. The dwarf-shrub layer is strongly dominant and includes the prostrate Arctostaphylos uva-ursi with cover ranging from slightly more than 10% to in excess of 75%; Dasiphora fruticosa ssp. floribunda and Juniperus communis are highly constant but have low cover. The graminoid component is minor with only Calamagrostis koelerioides, Festuca idahoensis, and Festuca campestris approaching 50% constancy and present in only trace amounts. The forb component is relatively diverse, but no one species is diagnostic of, or even exhibits, higher cover in this type; those with high constancy include Solidago multiradiata, Hedysarum sulphurescens, Minuartia obtusiloba, Potentilla diversifolia, Potentilla diversifolia, Campanula rotundifolia, Galium boreale, Cerastium arvense, Achillea millefolium, Pulsatilla patens ssp. multifida, Bupleurum americanum, Sedum lanceolatum, and Antennaria umbrinella. Lichen cover on exposed rocks is generally greater than that of surface bryophytes with both generally comprising less than 3% cover and not exceeding 15%.

Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available

Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available

Classification Comments: This fell-field vegetation type is comprised of a subsample of Damm''s (2001) association of approximately the same name, Solidagini multiradiatae - Arctostaphyletum uva-ursi. Those plots of his type that had Festuca idahoensis, Festuca campestris, or Pseudoroegneria spicata with at least 5% cover are treated as ~Arctostaphylos uva-ursi / Festuca campestris - Festuca idahoensis Dwarf-shrubland (CEGL005830)$$ and ~Arctostaphylos uva-ursi / Pseudoroegneria spicata Dwarf-shrubland (CEGL005831)$$, respectively, and those plots with Dryas octopetala as an important component (at least 5%) were recognized as ~Dryas octopetala - Carex rupestris Alpine Dwarf-shrub Meadow (CEGL001892)$$. It should be noted that the nominal species Solidago multiradiata is a broadly distributed species from montane grasslands on limestone to the highest alpine fell-fields and as such hardly constitutes a diagnostic species, much less a characteristic species.

Similar NVC Types: No Data Available

note: No Data Available