Title: Vegetation of Oregon and Washington
Identifier: CAT92272720 (find matches)
Year: 1969 (1960s)
Authors: Franklin, Jerry F. cn; Dyrness, C. T
Subjects: Botany Oregon Ecology; Botany Washington (State) Ecology
Publisher: Portland, Or. : Pacific Northwest Forest and Range Experiment Station, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture
Contributing Library: U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Library
Digitizing Sponsor: U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Library

View Book Page: Book Viewer
About This Book: Catalog Entry
View All Images: All Images From Book
Click here to view book online to see this illustration in context in a browseable online version of this book.

Text Appearing Before Image:
'
Text Appearing After Image:
Figure 140. —Pinus albicaulis is a major timberline tree species in drier mountain areas; re- production of the species is largely de- pendent upon the hoarding habits of a large jay, Nucifraga columbiana, which give rise to groups of seedlings and sap- lings (Sunrise Ridge, Mount Rainier National Park, Washington). Meadow Communities The variety and richness of the meadow flora and communities make the subalpine parkland attractive to scientists and laymen alike. Many of the species (and communities in the broad sense) are circumpolar. The mo- saic of meadow communities is an intricate and often sharp response to local variations in substrate, moisture conditions, and duration of winter snowpack. Even within the Pacific Northwest, the dominant meadow communities in the park- land mosaic and lower alpine vary from area to area just as the tree species do. Many com- munities occur throughout and retain their same basic character over a wide geographic range, but their importance in the mosaic changes. We will consider first the meadow communities found in a cooler and moister maritime region, the western slopes of Wash- ington, and then outline some different mead- ow types characteristic of southern Oregon and of the interior mountain ranges. WESTERN WASHINGTON The meadow communities found in the subalpine parkland of western Washington are not well known. Kuramoto's (1968) study has been the only serious effort. Much of the ex- tensive work carried out by Krajina and his students (Krajina 1965; Brooke 1965; Peter- son 1965; Archer 1963) in adjacent British Columbia is relevant, however. The following sketch is based on these sources, personal ex- perience (Franklin and Trappe 1963), and un- published data provided by Mr. George Doug- las, University of Washington. For fuller ac- counts we recommend Brooke (1965), Kura- moto (1968), and Archer (1963). Phyllodoce empetriformis-Cassiope mertensiana Communities Ericaceous communities dominated by Phyllodoce empetriformis and Cassiope mer- tensiana are widespread in the Cascade Range and Olympic Mountains. Vaccinium delicio- sum is a typical associate at lower elevations and may form communities in which it is the sole dominant (fig. 142). Other typical associ- ates are Luetkea pectinata, Polygonum bistor- toides, Deschampsia atropurpurea, Hieracium gracile, Castilleja parviflora, Erigeron peregrin- us, Polytrichum piliferum and Rhacomitrium sudeticum. Alpine Podzols (0-A2-B2-C hori- zon sequence) or alpine rankers (O-A-C hori- zon sequence) are typically associated with Phyllodoce-Cassiope communities. Valeriana sitchensis Communities One of the lushest subalpine communities occurs on well-watered, but well-drained lower and middle slopes (fig. 143). This tall (about 1 m.), forby community is dominated by Valeriana sitchensis and a rich assemblage of associated plants such as Veratrum viride, Polygonum bistortoides, Arnica latifolia, Lu- pinus latifolius, Carex spectabilis, Anemone occidentalism and Potentilla flabellifolia. 166

Note About Images