Print Report
A3758 Pinus contorta var. murrayana - Pinus contorta var. latifolia Swamp Forest Alliance
Type Concept Sentence: This riparian woodland alliance is characterized by Pinus contorta. Other conifers sometimes present may include Abies grandis, Abies lasiocarpa, Abies magnifica var. shastensis, Picea engelmannii, Pinus flexilis, or Tsuga mertensiana. This forest alliance occurs in upper montane riparian or wetland areas in the Rocky Mountains and Sierra Nevada. Sites are flat, wet, relatively cold floodplain and basin landforms. Stands occur in forested margins of meadows, lake or forest basins, and along valley bottoms. In all cases, the sites are flat to gently sloping.
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Sierra Lodgepole Pine - Tall Lodgepole Pine Swamp Forest Alliance
Colloquial Name: Sierra Lodgepole Pine - Tall Lodgepole Pine Swamp Forest
Hierarchy Level: Alliance
Type Concept: This riparian woodland alliance is characterized by Pinus contorta. Other conifers sometimes present may include Abies grandis, Abies lasiocarpa, Abies magnifica var. shastensis, Picea engelmannii, Pinus flexilis, or Tsuga mertensiana. The short-shrub layer may be present with Dasiphora fruticosa ssp. floribunda, Ledum glandulosum, Lonicera caerulea, Spiraea douglasii, Vaccinium cespitosum, and/or Vaccinium uliginosum. Herbaceous species are not abundant in shrubby stands. Associate species often present can include Carex angustata, Fragaria spp., Geum macrophyllum, Ligusticum grayi, Maianthemum stellatum, Thalictrum occidentale, and Trifolium longipes. Some stands have a lush herbaceous layer is dominated by tall graminoids such as Calamagrostis canadensis. This forest alliance occurs in upper montane riparian or wetland areas in the Rocky Mountains and Sierra Nevada. Sites are flat, wet, relatively cold floodplain and basin landforms. Stands occur in forested margins of meadows, lake or forest basins, and along valley bottoms. In all cases, the sites are flat to gently sloping.
Diagnostic Characteristics: The dominance of Pinus contorta in the moderately dense to dense tree canopy without significant regeneration of other tree species, and the extended flooding and high water tables during the growing season.
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: Pinus contorta is a poor competitor and occupies both extremes on the moisture gradient. This alliance covers the non-bog, swamp forests types dominated by Pinus contorta.
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: The overstory tree canopy is dominated by evergreen needle-leaved trees. A short-shrub layer or an herbaceous layer may be present.
Floristics: Pinus contorta is the only tree present in the reported stands, and is the only species represented in the regeneration layer. Other conifers sometimes present may include Abies grandis, Abies lasiocarpa, Abies magnifica var. shastensis, Picea engelmannii, Pinus flexilis, or Tsuga mertensiana. The shrub layer may include Arctostaphylos uva-ursi, Ribes spp., Rosa woodsii, Vaccinium boreale, and several species of Salix, including Salix boothii, Salix geyeriana, and Salix lemmonii. The short-shrub layer may be present with Dasiphora fruticosa ssp. floribunda (= Pentaphylloides floribunda), Ledum glandulosum, Lonicera caerulea, Spiraea douglasii, Vaccinium cespitosum, and/or Vaccinium uliginosum. The herbaceous layer can be forb- or graminoid-dominated. Graminoids include Calamagrostis canadensis, Carex angustata, Carex angustata, Carex aquatilis, Danthonia californica, Deschampsia cespitosa, Elymus glaucus, Juncus balticus, and Koeleria macrantha. Forb species include Achillea millefolium, Antennaria spp., Dodecatheon jeffreyi, Fragaria virginiana, Galium boreale, Geum macrophyllum, Maianthemum stellatum, Mimulus primuloides, Packera pseudaurea (= Senecio pseudaureus), Potentilla spp., Symphyotrichum spathulatum (= Aster occidentalis), Thalictrum occidentale, and Trifolium longipes.
Dynamics: No Data Available
Environmental Description: Sites include edges of meadows, streamside terraces, lakeshores, and flat to slightly concave drainages and basins. Valleys where it occurs are broad, low-gradient, and usually flat-bottomed. Soils are silts, sandy loams and silty clay loams. Wetter stands will have a significant organic component, sometime with a peat layer (Kovalchik 1987). The soil surface will often be slightly flooded at snowmelt, but by late summer the water table will drop to >1 m depth (Kovalchik 1987).
Geographic Range: This alliance occurs in the Sierra Nevada of California and Nevada, and the Rocky Mountains of eastern Oregon, Idaho, Alberta, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, and Utah.
Nations: CA,US
States/Provinces: AB, CA, CO, ID, MT, NV, OR, UT, WY
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.899810
Confidence Level: Low
Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: GNR
Greasons: No Data Available
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: >< Picea engelmannii Forested Wetlands (Chappell et al. 1997)
>< Aspen: 217 (Eyre 1980)
>< Lodgepole Pine: 218 (Eyre 1980)
>< Aspen: 217 (Eyre 1980)
>< Lodgepole Pine: 218 (Eyre 1980)
- Chappell, C., R. Crawford, J. Kagan, and P. J. Doran. 1997. A vegetation, land use, and habitat classification system for the terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems of Oregon and Washington. Unpublished report prepared for Wildlife habitat and species associations within Oregon and Washington landscapes: Building a common understanding for management. Prepared by Washington and Oregon Natural Heritage Programs, Olympia, WA, and Portland, OR. 177 pp.
- Crowe, E. A., and R. R. Clausnitzer. 1997. Mid-montane wetland plant associations of the Malheur, Umatilla, and Wallowa-Whitman national forests. Technical Paper R6-NR-ECOL-TP-22-97. USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Region, Portland, OR.
- 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, M. Hall, G. Kittel, S. Menard, C. Nordman, M. Pyne, M. Reid, M. Russo, K. Schulz, L. Sneddon, K. Snow, and J. Teague. 2013-2019b. Screening alliances for induction into the U.S. National Vegetation Classification: Part 1 - Alliance concept review. NatureServe, Arlington, VA.
- Hopkins, W. E. 1979a. Plant associations of the Fremont National Forest. Technical Report R6-ECOL-79-004. USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Region, Portland.
- Kovalchik, B. L. 1987. Riparian zone associations - Deschutes, Ochoco, Fremont, and Winema national forests. Technical Paper 279-87. USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Region, Portland, OR. 171 pp.
- Volland, L. A. 1976. Plant communities of the central Oregon pumice zone. USDA Forest Service R-6 Area Guide 4-2. Pacific Northwest Region, Portland, OR. 113 pp.