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G216 Pinus ponderosa Northwestern Great Plains Forest & Woodland Group
Type Concept Sentence: This Pinus ponderosa forest and woodland group occurs throughout the Great Plains Division along areas that border the Rocky Mountain Division and into the central Great Plains and range from very sparse patches of trees on drier sites, to nearly closed-canopy forest stands on north slopes or in draws where available soil moisture is higher. Deciduous trees are an important component in the western Dakotas.
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Ponderosa Pine Northwestern Great Plains Forest & Woodland Group
Colloquial Name: Black Hills-Northwestern Great Plains Ponderosa Pine Forest & Woodland
Hierarchy Level: Group
Type Concept: This group occurs throughout the Great Plains Division along areas that border the Rocky Mountain Division and into the central Great Plains. These are physiognomically variable woodlands, ranging from very sparse patches of trees on drier, rock outcrop sites to nearly closed-canopy forest stands on north slopes or in draws where available soil moisture is higher. This group is primarily dominated by Pinus ponderosa but may include a sparse to relatively dense subcanopy of Juniperus scopulorum with just a few scattered trees. Deciduous trees are an important component in some areas (western Dakotas, Black Hills) and are sometimes codominant with the pines, including Acer negundo, Betula papyrifera, Fraxinus pennsylvanica, Populus tremuloides, Quercus macrocarpa, and Ulmus americana. Important or common shrub species with ponderosa pine can include Arctostaphylos uva-ursi, Amelanchier alnifolia, Juniperus communis, Juniperus horizontalis, Mahonia repens, Physocarpus monogynus, Prunus virginiana, Rhus trilobata, Symphoricarpos spp., and Yucca glauca. The herbaceous understory can range from sparse to a dense layer with species typifying the surrounding prairie group, with mixedgrass species common, such as Andropogon gerardii, Bouteloua curtipendula, Carex filifolia, Carex inops ssp. heliophila, Danthonia intermedia, Koeleria macrantha, Nassella viridula, Oryzopsis asperifolia, Pascopyrum smithii, Piptatheropsis micrantha, and Schizachyrium scoparium. This group occurs on gentle to steep slopes in the montane zone of the Black Hills and in surrounding areas along escarpments, buttes, canyons, rock outcrops or ravines and can grade into one of the Great Plains canyon groups or the surrounding mixedgrass prairie group. Soils typically range from well-drained loamy sands to sandy loams formed in colluvium of weathered sandstone, limestone, or scoria, rock outcrop or eolian sand. Timber cutting and other disturbances have degraded many examples of this group within the Great Plains; however, some good examples may occur along the Pine Ridge escarpment and Pine Ridge district of the Nebraska National Forest in Nebraska. The expansion of this group from the Black Hills montane zone into the central Great Plains may be due to fire suppression.
Diagnostic Characteristics: Pinus ponderosa-dominated forests, woodlands, or "savannas" found in the western Great Plains and the Black Hills region. Floristically can be similar to ponderosa pine woodlands found in the Rockies, but often have floristic affinities with the western Great Plains mixedgrass regions.
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: Ponderosa pine woodlands found in the Great Plains do show some floristic similarities to those found within the forested mountains of the Rockies, but have herbaceous floristics related to the Great Plains "mixedgrass and Rocky Mountains." This group also includes mesic draws and swales where ponderosa pine might be mixed with deciduous trees typifying the northern Great Plains regions. Physiognomically, this is a variable group, with everything from sparse woodlands on breaks and scoria bluffs to dense closed-canopy stands in the Black Hills included. Woodlands dominated by Pseudotsuga menziesii found in breaks along rivers and on escarpments in central and eastern Montana and Wyoming are not included in this group, they are placed with ~Middle Rocky Mountain Montane Douglas-fir Forest & Woodland Group (G215)$$ or ~Central Rocky Mountain Douglas-fir - Pine Forest Group (G210)$$.
The transition from this group (G216) to ~Southern Rocky Mountain Ponderosa Pine Forest & Woodland Group (G228)$$ is now defined to occur in the montane zones and Laramie Range (USFS section M331I) and to the west and south of these mountains. The southern Rocky Mountain group will also occur in other isolated mountain ranges of southern Wyoming. The Bighorns (USFS section M331B); all Montana ponderosa pine woodlands are placed into ~Central Rocky Mountain Ponderosa Pine Open Woodland Group (G213)$$ or this group as appropriate. The southern extent of this Great Plains group is hard to determine, but farther south in Colorado, there is more Juniperus, Pinus edulis, and Quercus gambelii. This group certainly occurs in New Mexico, but stands at the Black Mesa in western Oklahoma and in southeastern Colorado may also be viewed as having the southwestern affinities.
In the Pine Ridge escarpments of Nebraska, pine communities can range from open canopies with grassy understories to more closed canopies. Included within these areas are also several rocky outcrops, which are included in this group for now.
The transition from this group (G216) to ~Southern Rocky Mountain Ponderosa Pine Forest & Woodland Group (G228)$$ is now defined to occur in the montane zones and Laramie Range (USFS section M331I) and to the west and south of these mountains. The southern Rocky Mountain group will also occur in other isolated mountain ranges of southern Wyoming. The Bighorns (USFS section M331B); all Montana ponderosa pine woodlands are placed into ~Central Rocky Mountain Ponderosa Pine Open Woodland Group (G213)$$ or this group as appropriate. The southern extent of this Great Plains group is hard to determine, but farther south in Colorado, there is more Juniperus, Pinus edulis, and Quercus gambelii. This group certainly occurs in New Mexico, but stands at the Black Mesa in western Oklahoma and in southeastern Colorado may also be viewed as having the southwestern affinities.
In the Pine Ridge escarpments of Nebraska, pine communities can range from open canopies with grassy understories to more closed canopies. Included within these areas are also several rocky outcrops, which are included in this group for now.
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: Conifer-dominated woodlands, forests, and sometimes savannas, with grassy or shrubby understories. Occasionally broad-leaved deciduous trees are intermixed with the conifers in mesic settings, or as seral components.
Floristics: This group is primarily dominated by Pinus ponderosa but may include a sparse to relatively dense subcanopy of Juniperus scopulorum, Thuja occidentalis, or Cercocarpus with just a few scattered trees. Deciduous trees are an important component in some areas (western Dakotas, Black Hills) and are sometimes codominant with the pines, including Acer negundo, Betula papyrifera, Fraxinus pennsylvanica, Populus tremuloides, Quercus macrocarpa, and Ulmus americana. The shrub layer may be sparse to dense. Important or common shrub species with ponderosa pine can include Arctostaphylos uva-ursi, Amelanchier alnifolia, Juniperus communis, Juniperus horizontalis, Mahonia repens, Physocarpus monogynus, Prunus virginiana, Rhus trilobata, Symphoricarpos spp., and Yucca glauca. The herbaceous understory is variable and can range from a sparse to dense layer with species typifying the surrounding prairie group, with mixedgrass species common, such as Andropogon gerardii, Bouteloua curtipendula, Carex filifolia, Carex inops ssp. heliophila, Danthonia intermedia, Koeleria macrantha, Nassella viridula, Oryzopsis asperifolia, Pascopyrum smithii, Piptatheropsis micrantha (= Piptatherum micranthum), and Schizachyrium scoparium. Higher-elevation stands often have herbaceous species more typical of the Rocky Mountains such as Achillea millefolium, Antennaria rosea, Balsamorhiza sagittata, Cerastium arvense, Danthonia intermedia, Fragaria spp., Galium boreale, Lathyrus ochroleucus, and Pulsatilla patens.
Dynamics: Marriot and Faber-Langendoen (2000) report different fire regimes for ponderosa pine communities in the Black Hills, with their "Dry Group" more typically having frequent surface fires and the "Mesic Group" having infrequent catastrophic fires (every 100-200 years). The Dry Group of associations includes lower elevation foothill savanna associations, and the mesic group somewhat higher elevation, north-slope, swale associations. K. Kindscher (pers. comm. 2007) believes that almost all of the stands in Nebraska were there at the time of settlement and are not a result of pine expansion due to fire suppression; in addition, at least some have disappeared, such as the one in southern Nebraska (Franklin County). It is possible, however, that some areas of this group have expanded in size due to fire suppression, but this needs substantiation.
Environmental Description: These are ponderosa pine occurrences found typically in the matrix of Great Plains grassland systems. They are often surrounded by mixedgrass or tallgrass prairie, in places where available soil moisture is higher or soils are more coarse and rocky. In some cases, these woodlands or savannas may occur where fire suppression has allowed trees to become established (in areas where deciduous trees are more abundant (Girard et al. 1987)). These are typically not in the same setting as Rocky Mountain ponderosa pine, where ponderosa pine forms woodlands at lower treeline and grades into mixed montane conifer systems at higher elevations. These are physiognomically variable woodlands, ranging from very sparse patches of trees on drier sites, to nearly closed-canopy forest stands on north slopes or in draws where available soil moisture is higher. This group occurs primarily on gentle to steep slopes along escarpments, buttes, canyons, rock outcrops or ravines and can grade into one of the Great Plains canyon groups or the surrounding mixedgrass prairie group. Soils typically range from well-drained loamy sands to sandy loams formed in colluvium, weathered sandstone, limestone, scoria or eolian sand.
Geographic Range: This group occurs throughout the Great Plains Division along areas that border the Rocky Mountain Division and into the central Great Plains.
Nations: US
States/Provinces: CO, KS?, MT, ND, NE, NM, OK?, SD, WY
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.836663
Confidence Level: Moderate
Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: GNR
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.Nb Rocky Mountain Forest & Woodland Division | D194 | 1.B.2.Nb |
| Macrogroup | 1.B.2.Nb.2 Ponderosa Pine - Douglas-fir - Limber Pine Central Rocky Mountain Dry Forest Macrogroup | M501 | 1.B.2.Nb.2 |
| Group | 1.B.2.Nb.2.e Ponderosa Pine Northwestern Great Plains Forest & Woodland Group | G216 | 1.B.2.Nb.2.e |
| Alliance | A3464 Ponderosa Pine Dry-Mesic Black Hills Forest & Woodland Alliance | A3464 | 1.B.2.Nb.2.e |
| Alliance | A3465 Ponderosa Pine Mesic Black Hills Forest Alliance | A3465 | 1.B.2.Nb.2.e |
| Alliance | A3466 Ponderosa Pine Northwest Great Plains Open Woodland Alliance | A3466 | 1.B.2.Nb.2.e |
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: No Data Available
- Bock, J. H., and C. E. Bock. 1984. Effect of fires on woody vegetation in the pine-grassland ecotone of the southern Black Hills. The American Midland Naturalist 112(1):35-42.
- Cogan, D., H. Marriott, J. Von Loh, and M. J. Pucherelli. 1999. USGS-NPS Vegetation Mapping Program, Wind Cave National Park, South Dakota. Technical Memorandum No. 8260-98-08. USDI Bureau of Reclamation Technical Services Center, Denver, CO. 225 pp.
- Eyre, F. H., editor. 1980. Forest cover types of the United States and Canada. Society of American Foresters, Washington, DC. 148 pp.
- Faber-Langendoen, D., J. Drake, S. Gawler, M. Hall, C. Josse, G. Kittel, S. Menard, C. Nordman, M. Pyne, M. Reid, L. Sneddon, K. Schulz, J. Teague, M. Russo, K. Snow, and P. Comer, editors. 2010-2019a. Divisions, Macrogroups and Groups for the Revised U.S. National Vegetation Classification. NatureServe, Arlington, VA. plus appendices. [in preparation]
- Girard, M. M. 1985. Native woodland ecology and habitat type classification of southwestern North Dakota. Ph.D. thesis, North Dakota State University, Fargo.
- Girard, M. M., H. Goetz, and A. J. Bjugstad. 1987. Factors influencing woodlands of southwestern North Dakota. Prairie Naturalist 19(3):189-198.
- Girard, M. M., H. Goetz, and A. J. Bjugstad. 1989. Native woodland habitat types of southwestern North Dakota. Research Paper RM-281. USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station, Fort Collins, CO. 36 pp.
- Hansen, P. L., and G. R. Hoffman. 1988. The vegetation of the Grand River/Cedar River, Sioux, and Ashland districts of the Custer National Forest: A habitat type classification. General Technical Report RM-157. USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station, Fort Collins, CO. 68 pp.
- Hoffman, G. R., and R. R. Alexander. 1987. Forest vegetation of the Black Hills National Forest of South Dakota and Wyoming: A habitat type classification. Research Paper RM-276. USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station, Fort Collins, CO. 48 pp.
- Kindscher, Kelly. Personal communication. Ecologist/Associate Scientist. Kansas Biological Survey, Lawrence, KS.
- Marriott, H. J. 1985. Flora of the northwestern Black Hills, Crook and Weston counties, Wyoming. Unpublished M.S. thesis, Department of Botany, University of Wyoming, Laramie.
- Marriott, H. J., D. Faber-Langendoen, A. McAdams, D. Stutzman, and B. Burkhart. 1999. The Black Hills Community Inventory: Final report. The Nature Conservancy, Midwest Conservation Science Center, Minneapolis, MN.
- Marriott, H. J., and D. Faber-Langendoen. 2000. The Black Hills community inventory. Volume 2: Plant community descriptions. The Nature Conservancy, Midwest Conservation Science Center and Association for Biodiversity Information, Minneapolis, MN. 326 pp.
- McIntosh, A. J. 1931. A botanical survey of the Black Hills of South Dakota. The Black Hills Engineer 19:159-276.
- Salas, D. E., and M. J. Pucherelli. 1998a. USGS-NPS vegetation mapping, Devil''s Tower National Monument, Wyoming. USDI Bureau of Reclamation, Technical Memorandum No. 8260-98-08. Denver, CO.
- Salas, D. E., and M. J. Pucherelli. 1998b. USGS-NPS vegetation mapping, Jewel Cave National Monument, South Dakota. USDI Bureau of Reclamation, Technical Memorandum No. 8260-98-06. Denver, CO.
- Salas, D. E., and M. J. Pucherelli. 1998c. USGS-NPS vegetation mapping Mount Rushmore National Memorial, South Dakota. USDI Bureau of Reclamation. Denver, CO.
- Thilenius, J. F. 1972. Classification of the deer habitat in the ponderosa pine forest of the Black Hills, South Dakota. Research Paper RM-91. USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station, Fort Collins, CO. 28 pp.