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M034 Picea engelmannii - Populus angustifolia / Cornus sericea Riparian & Swamp Forest Macrogroup
Type Concept Sentence: This macrogroup consists of montane riparian and swamp forests and woodlands dominated by cottonwood trees, conifer trees, or a mix with such species as Acer negundo, Alnus rhombifolia, Picea engelmannii, Picea pungens, Pinus contorta, Pinus ponderosa, Populus angustifolia, and Populus balsamifera. It occurs throughout the Great Basin and Rocky Mountains.
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Engelmann Spruce - Narrowleaf Cottonwood / Red-osier Dogwood Riparian & Swamp Forest Macrogroup
Colloquial Name: Rocky Mountain-Great Basin Montane Riparian & Swamp Forest
Hierarchy Level: Macrogroup
Type Concept: This macrogroup consists of riparian and permanently saturated forests and woodlands dominated by cottonwood trees conifer trees or a mix. Species typically seen are Abies grandis, Abies lasiocarpa, Acer negundo, Alnus rhombifolia, Fraxinus latifolia, Juglans major, Juniperus scopulorum, Larix occidentalis, Picea engelmannii, Picea pungens, Pinus contorta, Pinus ponderosa, Populus angustifolia, Populus balsamifera. Many other tree species may dominate. Stands usually have complex structure of tree shrub and herbaceous layers. Shrubs species include dryland to wetland obligate species and range from Artemisia spp. to Salix spp., and include Alnus spp., Betula occidentalis, and Cornus sericea. Herbaceous layers can be dominated by forbs, graminoids or be sparsely vegetated, depending on the amount of shading and soil moisture and disturbance history. Dominant herbaceous species include Asarum caudatum, Athyrium filix-femina, Calamagrostis canadensis, Carex obnupta, Clintonia uniflora, Distichlis spicata, Equisetum spp., Gymnocarpium dryopteris, Leymus triticoides, Maianthemum stellatum, Senecio triangularis, and Thalictrum fendleri. Introduced forage species such as Agrostis stolonifera, Poa pratensis, Phleum pratense, and Bromus inermis can be abundant. This macrogroup occupies interior mountains and valleys at elevations east of the Cascade Range and Sierra Nevada below alpine along streambanks, hillside seeps and floodplain soils that are seasonally wet via high water tables or surface flooding. This macrogroup occurs throughout the Great Basin and Rocky Mountains, from high mountains in New Mexico north into Alberta and British Columbia and from Colorado west to Idaho, Washington, Nevada and Oregon.
Diagnostic Characteristics: This macrogroup includes plant communities contiguous to and affected by surface and subsurface hydrologic features of perennial or intermittent lotic and lentic waterbodies and springs/seeps. Facultative or wetland tree species are characteristic and include the cottonwoods, conifers and aspen woodlands that line streams or seeps. These are communities tolerant of periodic flooding and high water tables.
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: Open to closed-canopy tall woodlands, often linear plant communities with complex horizontal structure, mostly cold-deciduous trees, but can be conifer-dominated or a mix.
Floristics: Dominant trees include deciduous broad-leaved trees Acer negundo, Alnus rhombifolia, Betula papyrifera, Populus angustifolia, Populus balsamifera ssp. trichocarpa, and Populus tremuloides. Coniferous species include Abies concolor, Abies grandis, Abies lasiocarpa, Larix occidentalis, Juglans major, Juniperus scopulorum, Pinus ponderosa (occasionally), Picea engelmannii, Picea pungens, Picea glauca, Pinus contorta, Pseudotsuga menziesii, Thuja plicata, or Tsuga heterophylla. Exotic trees Elaeagnus angustifolia and Tamarix spp. are common in some stands. Understory shrubs include Acer glabrum, Alnus incana, Amelanchier alnifolia, Artemisia tridentata, Artemisia cana, Betula occidentalis, Brickellia grandiflora, Cornus sericea, Crataegus douglasii, Crataegus rivularis, Ericameria nauseosa, Oplopanax horridus, Philadelphus lewisii, Physocarpus capitatus, Prunus virginiana, Quercus gambelii, Rhamnus alnifolia, Rhododendron occidentale, Rhus trilobata, Ribes spp., Rosa nutkana, Rosa woodsii, Salix drummondiana, Salix geyeriana, Salix exigua, Salix lucida, Salix lasiolepis, Sambucus nigra ssp. caerulea (= Sambucus caerulea), Shepherdia argentea, Symphoricarpos spp., and others.
Herbaceous undergrowth layers can be dominated by graminoids or forbs and may be sparsely vegetated depending on the amount of overstory shading. Herbaceous species that can be dominate include forbs and ferns such as Asarum caudatum, Athyrium filix-femina, Callitriche heterophylla, Clintonia uniflora, Dryopteris spp., Gymnocarpium dryopteris, Heracleum maximum, Lysichiton americanus, Maianthemum stellatum, Mitella breweri, Mitella pentandra, Ranunculus alismifolius, Senecio bigelovii var. bigelovii, Senecio triangularis, Streptopus amplexifolius, Thalictrum fendleri, and Veratrum californicum; as well as graminoids and fern allies Alopecurus aequalis, Calamagrostis canadensis, Carex aquatilis var. aquatilis, Carex disperma, Carex obnupta, Carex pellita, Carex vesicaria, Distichlis spicata, Eleocharis palustris, Equisetum arvense, Equisetum arvense, Equisetum spp., Leymus triticoides, and Phalaris arundinacea. Introduced forage species such as Agrostis stolonifera, Bromus inermis, Phleum pratense, Poa pratensis, Trifolium pratense, and Trifolium repens can be abundant.
This floristic information is compiled from several sources that describe specific plant associations from eastern Washington and Oregon (Kovalchik 1987, 1993, Crowe and Clausnitzer 1997), Nevada (Manning and Padgett 1995), Colorado (Kittel et al. 1999b, Carsey et al. 2003b), Montana (Butler 1979, 1985, Malanson and Butler 1984, Hansen et al. 1989, Mincemoyer 2005,), British Columbia (NCC 2002, MacKenzie and Moran 2004), Alberta (NCC 2002), Utah (Padgett et al. 1989, Tuhy et al. 2002), New Mexico and Arizona (Szaro 1989, Muldavin et al. 2000a), and Wyoming (Walford 1996, Walford et al. 2001).
Herbaceous undergrowth layers can be dominated by graminoids or forbs and may be sparsely vegetated depending on the amount of overstory shading. Herbaceous species that can be dominate include forbs and ferns such as Asarum caudatum, Athyrium filix-femina, Callitriche heterophylla, Clintonia uniflora, Dryopteris spp., Gymnocarpium dryopteris, Heracleum maximum, Lysichiton americanus, Maianthemum stellatum, Mitella breweri, Mitella pentandra, Ranunculus alismifolius, Senecio bigelovii var. bigelovii, Senecio triangularis, Streptopus amplexifolius, Thalictrum fendleri, and Veratrum californicum; as well as graminoids and fern allies Alopecurus aequalis, Calamagrostis canadensis, Carex aquatilis var. aquatilis, Carex disperma, Carex obnupta, Carex pellita, Carex vesicaria, Distichlis spicata, Eleocharis palustris, Equisetum arvense, Equisetum arvense, Equisetum spp., Leymus triticoides, and Phalaris arundinacea. Introduced forage species such as Agrostis stolonifera, Bromus inermis, Phleum pratense, Poa pratensis, Trifolium pratense, and Trifolium repens can be abundant.
This floristic information is compiled from several sources that describe specific plant associations from eastern Washington and Oregon (Kovalchik 1987, 1993, Crowe and Clausnitzer 1997), Nevada (Manning and Padgett 1995), Colorado (Kittel et al. 1999b, Carsey et al. 2003b), Montana (Butler 1979, 1985, Malanson and Butler 1984, Hansen et al. 1989, Mincemoyer 2005,), British Columbia (NCC 2002, MacKenzie and Moran 2004), Alberta (NCC 2002), Utah (Padgett et al. 1989, Tuhy et al. 2002), New Mexico and Arizona (Szaro 1989, Muldavin et al. 2000a), and Wyoming (Walford 1996, Walford et al. 2001).
Dynamics: Cottonwood and other deciduous dominants of riparian forests and woodlands require flooding, scour and deposition for germination and maintenance. Historically trees were most often replaced by flooding from which most tree regeneration depends. Stands often germinate on open, wet point bars and other freshly deposited alluvial surfaces at some distance from parent trees. Over time healthy riparian corridor supports several stages of cottonwood communities, reaches with seedling, sapling and mature clumps of cottonwoods are a sign of healthy flooding regime (Kittel et al. 1999b). In winter, rafted ice and logs in flow pulses may cause considerable damage to tree boles. It has been documented that ice sheets formed in shallows around cottonwood seedlings lift and rip seedlings out of the ground with spring flows. Beavers crop younger cottonwood and willows and frequently dam side channels occurring in these stands. In steep-sided canyons, streams typically have perennial flow on mid to high gradients. Grazing and human-modifications to streamflow are major influences in altering structure, composition, and function of these communities.
Environmental Description: This macrogroup contains riparian, seep and swampy areas mostly associated with streambanks and floodplains of permanent, intermittent and ephemeral streams. It is found between mountain ranges, on mountain hill slopes and well into the mountains to subalpine elevations, but below alpine. They occur in V-shaped, narrow valleys and canyons (where there is cold-air drainage), wide valley bottoms on large floodplains along broad, meandering rivers on alluvial soils. They also can occur on finer soils on pond or lake margins and seeps on gentle slopes. Swamps are poorly drained soils that are saturated year-round or may have seasonal flooding in the spring. Environmental information is compiled from several sources: for eastern Washington and Oregon (Kovalchik 1987, 1993, 2001, Crowe and Clausnitzer 1997), for Nevada (Manning and Padgett 1995), for Colorado (Baker 1988, 1989a, 1989b, 1990, Kittel et al. 1994, 1995, 1999a, 1999b), for Montana (Butler 1979, 1985, Malanson and Butler 1984, Hansen et al. 1989), for British Columbia (MacKenzie and Moran 2004), for Utah (Padgett et al. 1989, Tuhy et al. 2002), for New Mexico and Arizona (Szaro 1989, Muldavin et al. 2000a), and for Wyoming (Walford 1996, Walford et al. 2001).
Geographic Range: This macrogroup occurs in the northern and southern Rocky Mountains, northwestern Wyoming and central Montana, north into the Canadian Rockies of Alberta and British Columbia and west into Idaho, eastern Oregon and Washington, on the east slopes of the Cascades, in mountains surrounding the Columbia River Basin, along major tributaries and the main stem of the Columbia at relatively low elevations except west of the Cascades, on the Colorado Plateau, in the Great Basin basins and ranges as well as the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada, extending to the mountains of Arizona, New Mexico and into Mexico (Szaro 1989).
Nations: CA,MX,US
States/Provinces: AB, AZ, BC, CA, CO, ID, MT, NM, NV, OR, UT, WA, WY
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.860466
Confidence Level: High
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.3 Temperate Flooded & Swamp Forest Formation | F026 | 1.B.3 |
| Division | 1.B.3.Nc Rocky Mountain-Great Basin Montane Flooded & Swamp Forest Division | D195 | 1.B.3.Nc |
| Macrogroup | 1.B.3.Nc.1 Engelmann Spruce - Narrowleaf Cottonwood / Red-osier Dogwood Riparian & Swamp Forest Macrogroup | M034 | 1.B.3.Nc.1 |
| Group | 1.B.3.Nc.1.a Engelmann Spruce - Blue Spruce - Narrowleaf Cottonwood Riparian & Swamp Forest Group | G506 | 1.B.3.Nc.1.a |
| Group | 1.B.3.Nc.1.b Western Red-cedar - Engelmann Spruce / American Skunk-cabbage Swamp Forest Group | G505 | 1.B.3.Nc.1.b |
| Group | 1.B.3.Nc.1.c Northern Rocky Mountain Lowland-Foothill Riparian Forest Group | G796 | 1.B.3.Nc.1.c |
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: < AC Trembling Aspen Copse (Ecosystems Working Group 1998)
>< Black Cottonwood - Willow: 222 (Eyre 1980)
= Blue Spruce: 216 (Eyre 1980) [Blue spruce commonly occurs in riparian zones]
< CR Black Cottonwood Riparian Habitat Class (Ecosystems Working Group 1998)
< Cottonwood - Willow: 235 (Eyre 1980)
= ER Engelmann Spruce Riparian (Ecosystems Working Group 1998)
< Engelmann Spruce - Subalpine Fir: 206 (Eyre 1980) [Engelmann spruce occurs as a dominant in riparian zones. Swamps dominated by Engelmann spruce occur in G505.]
< Inland Freshwater Wooded Swamp (Shaw and Fredine 1971)
< Riparian (422) (Shiflet 1994)
< Riparian Woodland (203) (Shiflet 1994) [Group and SRM type overlap along eastern Sierran foothills region of California.]
? Swamp (Warner and Rubec 1997)
< Swamp (National Wetlands Working Group 1988)
< Swamp Wetland Class: Forested (MacKenzie and Moran 2004)
< Western Redcedar - Western Hemlock: 227 (Eyre 1980)
< Western Redcedar: 228 (Eyre 1980)
>< Black Cottonwood - Willow: 222 (Eyre 1980)
= Blue Spruce: 216 (Eyre 1980) [Blue spruce commonly occurs in riparian zones]
< CR Black Cottonwood Riparian Habitat Class (Ecosystems Working Group 1998)
< Cottonwood - Willow: 235 (Eyre 1980)
= ER Engelmann Spruce Riparian (Ecosystems Working Group 1998)
< Engelmann Spruce - Subalpine Fir: 206 (Eyre 1980) [Engelmann spruce occurs as a dominant in riparian zones. Swamps dominated by Engelmann spruce occur in G505.]
< Inland Freshwater Wooded Swamp (Shaw and Fredine 1971)
< Riparian (422) (Shiflet 1994)
< Riparian Woodland (203) (Shiflet 1994) [Group and SRM type overlap along eastern Sierran foothills region of California.]
? Swamp (Warner and Rubec 1997)
< Swamp (National Wetlands Working Group 1988)
< Swamp Wetland Class: Forested (MacKenzie and Moran 2004)
< Western Redcedar - Western Hemlock: 227 (Eyre 1980)
< Western Redcedar: 228 (Eyre 1980)
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