Print Report

A3835 Salix hookeriana - Salix sitchensis - Spiraea douglasii Wet Shrubland Alliance

Type Concept Sentence: Stands of this alliance are dominated by Salix hookeriana, Salix melanopsis, Salix sitchensis, Salix sessilifolia, and Spiraea douglasii. Communities within this cold-deciduous, seasonally flooded shrubland alliance occur from sea level on stabilized dunes and along riparian areas well into the Cascade Range up to 1040 m elevation. They are limited to the wetter areas where water stands to some extent during the year on deflation (wind erosion) plains and swales.

Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Dune Willow - Sitka Willow - Rose Spirea Wet Shrubland Alliance

Colloquial Name: Pacific Willow - Rose Spirea Wet Shrubland

Hierarchy Level:  Alliance

Type Concept: Stands of this alliance are dominated by Salix hookeriana, Salix melanopsis, Salix sitchensis, Salix sessilifolia, and Spiraea douglasii. Other codominant shrubs can include Alnus incana, Crataegus douglasii, Rubus ursinus, Rubus lasiococcus, Salix spp., Symphoricarpos albus, Vaccinium cespitosum, and Vaccinium uliginosum. The understory is sparse but can include Rubus ursinus, Baccharis pilularis, and Morella californica. Communities within this cold-deciduous, seasonally flooded shrubland alliance occur from sea level on stabilized dunes and along riparian areas well into the Cascade Range up to 1040 m elevation. They are limited to the wetter areas where water stands to some extent during the year on deflation (wind erosion) plains and swales. These associations are found in habitats that are seasonally flooded and saturated with freshwater flooded stream terraces and lakeshores in typically broad valleys. Information on soils was not available.

Diagnostic Characteristics: Wetland shrublands dominated by Salix hookeriana, Salix melanopsis, Salix sitchensis, Salix sessilifolia, and/or Spiraea douglasii.

Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available

Classification Comments: Spiraea douglasii occurs much farther north and inland.

Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: Cold-deciduous shrubland less than 5 m in height.

Floristics: Stands of this alliance are dominated by Salix hookeriana, Salix melanopsis, Salix sitchensis, Salix sessilifolia, and Spiraea douglasii. Other codominant shrubs can include Alnus incana, Crataegus douglasii, Rubus ursinus, Rubus lasiococcus, Salix spp., Symphoricarpos albus, Vaccinium cespitosum, and Vaccinium uliginosum. The understory is sparse but can include Rubus ursinus, Baccharis pilularis, and Morella californica (= Myrica californica).

Dynamics:  No Data Available
Environmental Description:  It is ofund on floodplains and stream margins and grows in areas that are seasonally inundated or saturated with freshwater. Precipitation throughout the range of this alliance is Mediterranean, with the bulk falling as rain between November and May. Annual precipitation totals are quite high, averaging about 100 cm. Stands of this alliance are found between sea level and 1040 m elevation.
Geographic Range: This alliance is found in Coast and Cascade ranges of California, Oregon, and Washington and Coastal Mountains of British Columbia.

Nations: CA,US

States/Provinces:  AK?, BC, CA, ID, MT, OR, WA


Confidence Level: Low

Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: GNR

Greasons: No Data Available
Type Name Database Code Classification Code
Class 2 Shrub & Herb Vegetation Class C02 2
Subclass 2.C Shrub & Herb Wetland Subclass S44 2.C
Formation 2.C.4 Temperate to Polar Freshwater Marsh, Wet Meadow & Shrubland Formation F013 2.C.4
Division 2.C.4.Nb Western North American Temperate Freshwater Marsh, Wet Meadow & Shrubland Division D031 2.C.4.Nb
Macrogroup 2.C.4.Nb.4 Vancouverian Lowland Marsh, Wet Meadow & Shrubland Macrogroup M073 2.C.4.Nb.4
Group 2.C.4.Nb.4.c Alder species - Willow species - Meadowsweet species Wet Shrubland Group G322 2.C.4.Nb.4.c
Alliance A3835 Dune Willow - Sitka Willow - Rose Spirea Wet Shrubland Alliance A3835 2.C.4.Nb.4.c
Association CEGL001129 Rose Spirea Wet Shrubland CEGL001129 2.C.4.Nb.4.c
Association CEGL001138 Dune Willow - California Wax-myrtle Wet Shrubland CEGL001138 2.C.4.Nb.4.c
Association CEGL002705 (Dusky willow, Sitka Willow) Cobble Bar Wet Shrubland CEGL002705 2.C.4.Nb.4.c
Association CEGL002896 Sitka Willow Wet Shrubland CEGL002896 2.C.4.Nb.4.c
Association CEGL003295 Geyer''s Willow - Dune Willow Wet Shrubland CEGL003295 2.C.4.Nb.4.c
Association CEGL003296 Sitka Willow / Field Horsetail - Arctic Sweet-colt''s-foot Wet Shrubland CEGL003296 2.C.4.Nb.4.c
Association CEGL003386 (Dune Willow, Sitka Willow) - Rose Spirea Wet Shrubland CEGL003386 2.C.4.Nb.4.c
Association CEGL003387 Dune Willow - (Sitka Willow) Wet Shrubland CEGL003387 2.C.4.Nb.4.c
Association CEGL003432 Dune Willow - (Oregon Crabapple) / Slough Sedge - American Skunk-cabbage Wet Shrubland CEGL003432 2.C.4.Nb.4.c
Association CEGL008699 Dusky Willow Wet Shrubland CEGL008699 2.C.4.Nb.4.c
Concept Lineage: No Data Available

Predecessors: No Data Available

Obsolete Names: No Data Available

Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: > Salix hookeriana (Coastal dune willow thickets) Alliance (Sawyer et al. 2009) [61.203.00]
> Salix sitchensis (Sitka willow thickets) Provisional Alliance (Sawyer et al. 2009) [61.206.00]
> Salix hookeriana Shrubland Alliance (CNPS 2017) [61.203.00]
> Salix sitchensis Provisional Shrubland Alliance (CNPS 2017) [61.206.00]
>< North Coast Riparian Scrub (#63100) (Holland 1986b)
Concept Author(s): G. Kittel, in Faber-Langendoen et al. (2013)

Author of Description: G. Kittel

Acknowledgements: No Data Available

Version Date: 01-08-14
  • CNPS [California Native Plant Society]. 2015-2017. A manual of California vegetation [online]. California Native Plant Society, Sacramento, CA. [http://vegetation.cnps.org/].
  • 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.
  • Hitchcock, C. L., A. Cronquist, M. Ownbey, and J. W. Thompson. 1964. Vascular plants of the Pacific Northwest. Part 2: Salicaeae to Saxifragaceae. University of Washington Press, Seattle. 597 pp.
  • Holland, R. F. 1986b. Preliminary descriptions of the terrestrial natural communities of California. Unpublished report prepared for the California Department of Fish and Game, Nongame-Heritage Program and Natural Diversity Database, Sacramento. 156 pp.
  • Sawyer, J. O., T. Keeler-Wolf, and J. Evens. 2009. A manual of California vegetation. Second edition. California Native Plant Society, Sacramento CA. 1300 pp.
  • Sawyer, J. O., and T. Keeler-Wolf. 1995. A manual of California vegetation. California Native Plant Society, Sacramento. 471 pp.
  • Wiedemann, A. M. 1966. Contributions to the plant ecology of the Oregon coastal sand dunes. Ph.D. dissertation, Oregon State University, Corvallis. 255 pp.
  • Wiedemann, A. M. 1984. The ecology of Pacific Northwest coastal sand dunes: A community profile. USDI Fish and Wildlife Service Report FWS/OBS-84/04. 130 pp.