Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Forested Plant Associations of The Oregon East Cascades
Forested Plant Associations of The Oregon East Cascades
Department of
Agriculture
By
Michael Simpson
Artwork shown at the beginning of each series comes from the United States Department of
Agriculture Forest Service Collection, Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation, Carnegie
Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA.
The cover photo of Mt. Jefferson at the head of the Metolius River was taken by John
Hutmacher.
Persons of any race, color, national origin, sex, age, religion, or with any handicapping
condition are welcome to use and enjoy all facilities, programs and services of the USDA.
Discrimination in any form is strictly against agency policy, and should be reported to the
Secretary of Agriculture, Washington, DC 2025.
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
Acknowledgements
A project of this magnitude cannot be accomplished by a single individual. Many
people facilitated the successful completion of this work. Special thanks for their
contributions:
Leo Yanez (SPSS regression analysis, database assistance, and visual basic
routines to incorporate Site index, Growth Basal Area, and Yield Capability
data)
Many people generously shared their raw plot data which vastly improved the final
classification. Jim Dorr, Cindy McCain and Pat Martinez in particular deserve
recognition for their assistance in data acquisition.
Andy Eglitis, Helen Maffei, and Kristen Chadwick contributed the Insect and
Disease effects and management implication sections for each series.
Tom DeMeo and Louisa Evers contributed fire regime and fire history
information and reviewed the fire sections incorporated into each series.
Larry Chitwood was very generous with his time and pointed me to many
useful geologic information sources. He added much to my understanding of
the recent volcanic and glacial history of Central Oregon. Larry influenced my
thinking on how geologic processes influence the vegetation that is expressed
today and on how dynamic the processes truly are in the local area.
This work builds largely on the sampling, concepts and foundations laid by
previous potential vegetation classifications completed in the 1960-1980’s in
Central Oregon. Without the pioneering efforts of Fred Hall, Lenny Volland, and
Bill Hopkins, this effort would not have been possible. In addition, the surrounding
classifications developed by Frank Marsh and Rich Helliwell (Warm Springs),
Chris Topik and Nancy Diaz (Mt. Hood), Miles Hemstrom and Sheila Logan
(Willamette), Cindy McCain and Nancy Diaz (Northwest Oregon Cascades)
and Tom Atzet, Diane White, Lisa McCrimmon, and Pat Martinez (Southwest
Oregon) were very influential and helped solidify concepts for many of the types
found in this product.
1—1
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
Table of Contents
Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-3
Physical Settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-5
Climate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-15
Methods. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-15
How to Use the Series Key. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-22
Key to Potential Vegetation Series . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-23
1—2
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
Introduction
In the early to mid 1990’s the Deschutes National Forest systematically
mapped plant associations across the Forest using the Plant Associations
of Central Oregon Pumice Zone classification (Volland 1985). During
this mapping process, several areas were identified that did not key
well using Volland’s classification. Specifically, the horn of the Metolius
and Mt. Jefferson Wilderness on Sisters District, the south end of
Bend District and the Willamette Pass/Odell Lake area of the Crescent
District had many areas which did not fit the keys. Most of the sites that
did not key well were “Mixed Conifer”, Shasta Red Fir, or Mountain
Hemlock series sites. Mixed Conifer sites were defined by Volland
(1985) as forests of Douglas-fir, Sugar Pine, Ponderosa Pine, Incense
Cedar and White Fir in various combinations.
The ecological inventory plots consist of a 1/10th acre circular plot with
canopy cover estimates for all plant species co-located with a complete
soil pedon description. The Current Vegetation Survey (CVS) plots
consist of 1 hectare circular plots with 5 nested ½ acre subplots (stake
positions). A complete description of the CVS plot design and data
collected at each plot is described in Field Procedures for the Current
Vegetation Survey (USDA 2002). This document is available at the
following website: http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/survey/document.htm.
The CVS plots were primarily used to supplement the tree productivity,
management implications including disease susceptibility, and type
distribution data. Unlike the Region 6 ecology plots and the ecological
inventory plots which are “subjectively sampled without preconceived
bias” (Mueller-Dombois and Ellenburg 1974), the CVS plots are
sampled on a systematic grid 1.7 miles apart on all USFS lands outside
designated wilderness, and on a 3.4 mile grid inside wilderness areas.
1—4
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
Physical Setting
The Oregon East Cascades analysis area is made up of portions of 3
physiographic provinces: Sierra-Cascade Mountains, Columbia-Snake
Plateau, and Basin & Range. Physiographic provinces are broad-
scale subdivisions based on terrain texture, rock type, and geologic
structure and history. Each of these provinces are divided into smaller
classification units called sections.
1—5
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
1—6
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
portion of the province. They extend over a distance of 650 miles from
Lassen Peak (northern California) to Meager Mountain (southwestern
British Columbia).
These sites are warmer and usually drier due to the lack of water holding
capacity than the areas immediately around them. The expressed
vegetation reflects these warmer and drier conditions. Depending
1—7
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
1—8
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
Tephra (air-fall ash and pumice) from more explosive volcanic events
coats large areas of the Oregon East Cascades analysis area. The most
recent (within the last 7,000 years) ash/pumice deposits are displayed
in Figure 1-3. Only the tephra deposits that have been previously
mapped are displayed in Figure 1-3. Other deposits, less than 50,000
years old, are known from the area (Three Sisters, Newberry and
Shasta). However, their extents and depths have not been systematically
documented yet. Additional deposits correlated with the Rhyolite,
Dacite and Andesite flows in Table 1-2 are likely to be located in the
future.
Sites with greater than 2 feet of ash/pumice deposited over the original
soil surface may allow water to recede too far from the surface for many
herbaceous species to reach the water table with their root systems.
Woody species that can reach the available moisture are favored.
Herbaceous layers on deep pumice therefore appear much drier than
the mean precipitation would otherwise indicate.
On sites with less than 2 feet of ash, the herbaceous layer generally can
reach the water table and the effect is less visible. In fact, the ash in these
situations may act like a mulch and reduce evaporation losses which can
increase the effective moisture available to the understory.
1—9
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
1—10
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
1—11
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
1—12
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
The Basin and Range Province is bounded to the north by the lava
flows of the Columbia Plateau and extends south into Mexico between
the Sierra Nevada--Cascades Mountains and the Rockies. Relief from
basin floor to adjacent mountain tops ranges between 3000 to 4500
feet. The province is characterized by broad, level desert basins and
narrower, elongate, isolated, parallel mountain ranges trending north to
south. Many basins lack external drainage. These basins filled with lakes
during wetter (Pleistocene) climate cycles. This topography originated
1—13
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
The Great Basin Section occurs north of the Mojave Desert and is
delimited on the west by the Garlock Fault. Centered on Nevada,
it has topography typical of the Basin and Range Province: isolated
mountain chains oriented north to south, with broad, intermontane
basins. John C. Frémont gave the area the name “Great Basin.” Only the
northwestern most part of this section enters the area. The portions in
the Klamath River drainage (Williamson, Sycan, and Sprague Rivers),
have external drainage. The eastern parts of Oregon East Cascades
analysis area drain into enclosed basins, many which have remnants of
larger Pleistocene lakes. Summer Lake, Abert Lake, and Goose Lakes
are local examples of these remnant lakes. Vegetation in the lake basins
is typically dominated by non-forest communities. Soils associated with
the old lake beds may be saline and support shadscale and greasewood
plant communities.
Climate
The Cascade Mountains form an effective barrier to marine air masses
from the Pacific Ocean. The marine air masses mix with the continental
air masses over the Oregon East Cascade analysis area. Pacific air
masses moderate the temperatures (warmer in winter and cooler in
summer) of the more continental air masses east of the mountains. The
Columbia Gorge to the north and the Klamath River Canyon in the
south provide lower elevation pathways for the marine air to penetrate
to the eastside of the Cascade Mountains. The major mountain passes
also funnel marine influenced air through the Cascades and areas
adjacent to the passes have climates more typical of westside locations.
1—14
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
As the marine air rises over the Cascades, it releases much of its
moisture and the air becomes much drier. The eastside of the Oregon
Cascade Mountains have some of the steepest moisture gradients in
the world. Mean annual precipitation ranges from 120+” on the Three
Sisters, Mt. Jefferson, and Mt. Hood to less than 8” in the vicinity of
Redmond. Near the Three Sisters a 100-110” precipitation difference
occurs over less than 15 miles. Mean annual precipitation derived from
the Oregon Climate Service’s PRISM dataset is displayed in Figure 1-4.
Methods
The multiple datasets were combined into a single master database.
Species names were checked to ensure that taxonomy changes through
time were resolved and to ensure that the same species was not named
more than one name throughout the dataset. Taxonomy follows Flora of
the Pacific Northwest (Hitchcock and Cronquist 1973) unless specifically
noted. A list of latin names, common names, and crosswalk to PLANTS
database names is provided in Appendix A.
1—15
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
1—16
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
1—17
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
1—18
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
Plot location data was checked against original plot maps for the
Volland, Hopkins, and Hall datasets. All other datasets used the
locations provided with the datasets. A Geographic Information System
(GIS) layer was then created from the location data to analyze spatial
patterns.
1—19
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
1—20
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
Hall (1983) and Hopkins (1986) found that 2nd order polynomial and
exponential equations both described the BA/Acre – Diameter growth
relationship reasonably well. They chose the polynomial equation over
the exponential equation, because they felt it was easily transformed
to a linear form and statistical tests for significant differences between
species were simplified.
Hall (1989) recommended use of the GBA concept in stands that meet
the following criteria.
1. Predominantly even-aged.
2. Single species, two species, or at most three species dominated
stands (% BA of each species in the stand is greater than 20%).
3. Greater than 20 years old.
4. Dominant trees > 5” dbh.
5. Diameter growth is decreasing or stagnated (competition
effects are evident).
The first 2 criteria are difficult to meet within the East Cascades analysis
area especially in unmanaged stands. Since a rigorous application
of Hall’s criteria would disqualify a high percentage of the tree data
available, the first 2 criteria were relaxed and multi-species, multi-aged
stands were included in the analysis.
1—21
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
An exponential curve was fit for each tree species by plant association
group (PAG). Growth basal area (GBA) was calculated based on 1”
diameter growth per decade (10/20ths radial growth) and adjusted for
age using methods in Hall (1989). The GBA calculations utilized the
raw site tree data from the United States Forest Service Region 6 (R6)
ecology plot data set where it was available. Additional tree data from
CVS plots supplemented the R6 ecology dataset.
Diameter growth rates for CVS data are based on average diameter
change between measurements plus 1 standard deviation (s.d.) of
diameter change by species by stake position. The average diameter +
1 s.d. convention was used to reduce the impact of outliers in diameter
growth rates while still focusing on the better growth rates within the
stake position. Total BA was calculated independently at each stake
position based on the sum BA of all live or recently dead trees >3” of all
species on the stake position.
1—22
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
may have reduced the occurrence of the white fir/grand fir in the local
area. Regeneration of white fir/grand fir may be sparse, but if it is
present and not restricted to microsites you are probably standing in an
area where white fir-grand fir will return.
The series key that follows takes into account both understory
regeneration and the overstory tree canopy. For example, if the
overstory is Douglas-fir and white fir/grand fir, but the understory
regeneration is western hemlock, you should refer to the western
hemlock chapter.
1—23
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
1—24
Mountain Hemlock Series
2—2
Mountain Hemlock Series
2—3
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
2—4
Mountain Hemlock Series
Fifteen associations are defined for the TSME Series on the east slope
of the Cascades in Oregon. The plant associations within the TSME
Series have been further grouped into plant association groups (PAGs)
which reflect temperature-precipitation zones (Figure 2-2). The TSME
Wet PAG consists of TSME/ASCA3, TSME/CLUN, TSME/ACTR and
TSME/LIBO2. The TSME Parklands PAG consists of TSME/LUHI and
TSME/PHEM-VADE. The TSME Moist PAG consists of TSME/BENE,
TSME/VAME, TSME/VAME/XETE, TSME/CACH, TSME/XETE, and
TSME/CHUM. The TSME Dry PAG consists of TSME/VASC, TSME/
ARNE, and TSME/CAIN4. Species diversity and site productivity
decline as the plant associations change from warm to cold and wet to
dry within the series.
2—5
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
100.0
PHEM-VADE
90.0
80.0
Mean Annual Precipitation (in)
VAME/XETE
XETE
70.0 ACTR
VAME
BENE LUHI
ASCA3 VASC
60.0 TSME Parklands
LIBO2 CLUN CHUM ARNE TSME Wet
CAIN4 TSME Moist
50.0 TSME Dry
CACH
40.0
30.0
20.0
10.0
44.0 43.0 42.0 41.0 40.0 39.0 38.0 37.0
Mean Annual Temperature (F)
2—6
Mountain Hemlock Series
Fire— Tree ages are generally old; 30-40% of sampled stands have
trees >200 years old, suggesting that fire frequency is generally low.
Wind and snow loads may be more important disturbance agents than
fire. Ridgetop and upper-slope locations favor lightning strikes, but
a combination of late melting snowpacks and the high likelihood of
moisture from storms means conditions are rarely dry enough to favor
extensive fires. Fire occurrence depends largely on regional drought.
2—7
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
years. Sites in the TSME Wet PAG may have return intervals well over
200 years. Long return intervals and the typically patchy nature of the
fires correspond to a Fire Regime IV (infrequent, stand replacement
fire) in the TSME Moist and TSME Dry PAGs or Fire Regime V (very
infrequent, stand replacement) in the TSME Wet PAG.
2—8
Mountain Hemlock Series
2—9
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
Bark beetles are most important in lodgepole pine, but slightly less
dramatic than in lower-elevation stands of that species. When lodgepole
pine stands reach about 100 years of age, they become particularly
vulnerable to infestation by the mountain pine beetle. Outbreaks
can last for several years and most of the larger trees in the stand are
typically killed.
White pine blister rust in western white pine and whitebark pine is the
most detrimental disease to retaining these five-needle pines in the
stand. It is a major killer of regenerating five-needle pines and makes
reestablishment of wild populations on high-hazard sites difficult. White
pine blister rust can significantly weaken larger, older trees, making
them vulnerable to bark beetle attack and reproductively extinct.
Blister rust combined with mountain pine beetle significantly alters
stand structure and composition on sites where five-needle pines have
major ecological roles and are detrimental to retaining whitebark pine
on these sites. White pine blister rust is found on all plant associations
throughout the TSME series, although, infection levels maybe higher
and retaining five needle pines on parklands and wet sites may be
unfeasible.
Rust red stringy rot is common in true fir and hemlock stands, typically
suppressed in the understory for long periods of time before eventually
releasing. Rust red stringy rot manifests itself when the trees are older
and is considered to be the most significant heart rot organism. Losses
of 25-50% or more of the gross volume have been recorded. The disease
frequently causes stem breakage.
2—10
Mountain Hemlock Series
2—12
Mountain Hemlock Series
2—13
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
2—14
Mountain Hemlock Series
2—15
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
2—16
Mountain Hemlock Series
2—17
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
2—18
Mountain Hemlock Series
2—19
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
2—20
Mountain Hemlock Series
2—21
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
2—22
Mountain Hemlock Series
2—23
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
2—24
Mountain Hemlock Series
2—25
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
2—26
Mountain Hemlock Series
2—27
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
2—28
Mountain Hemlock Series
2—29
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
2—30
Mountain Hemlock Series
Data for this plant association is not available at this time. Productivity
for this type will be similar to TSME/PHEM-VADE as described in
NWO by McCain and Diaz (2002).
2—31
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
2—32
Mountain Hemlock Series
2—33
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
2—34
Mountain Hemlock Series
2—35
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
2—36
Mountain Hemlock Series
2—37
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
2—38
Mountain Hemlock Series
2—39
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
2—40
Mountain Hemlock Series
2—41
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
2—42
Mountain Hemlock Series
The TSME/VAME plant association is closely related to, but drier and
cooler and less diverse than, the TSME/XETE and TSME/VAME/XETE
associations.
2—43
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
2—44
Mountain Hemlock Series
2—45
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
2—46
Mountain Hemlock Series
2—47
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
2—48
Mountain Hemlock Series
2—49
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
2—50
Mountain Hemlock Series
2—51
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
2—52
Mountain Hemlock Series
2—53
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
2—54
Mountain Hemlock Series
2—55
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
2—56
Mountain Hemlock Series
2—57
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
2—58
Mountain Hemlock Series
2—59
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
2—60
Mountain Hemlock Series
2—61
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
2—62
Mountain Hemlock Series
2—63
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
2—64
Mountain Hemlock Series
2—65
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
2—66
Mountain Hemlock Series
2—67
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
2—68
Mountain Hemlock Series
2—69
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
2—70
Mountain Hemlock Series
2—71
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
2—72
Silver Fir Series
Table of Contents
SILVER FIR SERIES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Distribution and Environment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Vegetation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Fire. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Productivity and Management. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Wildlife Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Relationships to Other Classifications. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Key to Plant Associations of the Silver Fir Series. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
ABAM/LYAM. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
ABAM/ASCA3. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
ABAM/CLUN. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
ABAM/ACTR. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
ABAM/LIBO2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
ABAM/VAME/XETE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
ABAM/VAME. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
ABAM/VASC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
3—1
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
3—2
Silver Fir Series
Pacific silver fir is more abundant and widespread on suitable sites west
of the Cascade Crest than it is on the eastern slopes. Mountain hemlock
is an accidental species in the series. The Pacific Silver Fir Series
includes all forest stands potentially dominated at climax by silver fir,
unless mountain hemlock has the potential to have over 10% cover. In
the Oregon Cascades, mountain hemlock and Pacific silver fir broadly
overlap in their ecological distribution as far south as the Rogue-
Umpqua divide on the west slope and Little Deschutes Canyon on the
east slope, so distinguishing between the two Series can be difficult. If
mountain hemlock can maintain at least 10% cover in later successional
stands, those sites are considered part of the Mountain Hemlock Series.
Pacific silver fir climax sites are more moderate than those in the
Mountain Hemlock Series. Most sites are over 4000 feet, but stands of
Pacific silver fir may follow cold air down valley bottoms to as low as
2200 feet. The Series is normally bounded, on cooler sites with deeper
snowpacks, by the Mountain Hemlock Series. Warmer, less snowy sites
support the Western Hemlock Series or the White Fir-Grand Fir Series.
3—3
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
silver fir dominates the regeneration layers on these sites but is more
prone to diseases than western hemlock and Douglas-fir.
3—4
Silver Fir Series
Common tree species in the Pacific Silver Fir Series include western
hemlock, western red cedar, subalpine fir, Douglas-fir, western larch,
western white pine, noble fir, Shasta red fir, lodgepole pine, and
Engelmann spruce. The seral role of each species varies from association
to association. For example, western hemlock is more important on
warmer sites (ABAM/ASCA3 and ABAM/ACTR) and noble fir and
western larch are only components of some associations north of
Santiam Pass. On warm deforested sites, Pacific silver fir may require
establishment of a tree canopy by another species, such as western
hemlock, western white pine, white fir-grand fir or Douglas-fir, before it
can successfully establish. As forest canopies develop after disturbance,
the interior of the stands becomes cooler, and Pacific silver fir gains a
competitive advantage over the equally shade tolerant western hemlock.
The shrub and herb layers are floristically rich and varied, but heavily
shaded stands are characterized by very low understory plant cover
(depauperate). Very dense canopies, deep litter layers and low light
levels at the forest floor all appear to reduce the number and amounts
of shrubs and herbs. In very dense stands with very low cover of
understory species, inspection of adjacent, more open stands or use of
relative cover may be needed to identify the type.
The plant associations have been further grouped into plant association
groups (PAGs) which reflect effective temperature-precipitation zones.
ABAM Wetlands consists of ABAM/LYAM; ABAM Wet consists of
ABAM/ASCA3, ABAM/CLUN, ABAM/ACTR, and ABAM/LIBO2;
ABAM Moist consists of ABAM/VAME/XETE, ABAM/VAME, and
ABAM/VASC. Species diversity and site productivity decline as the
plant associations change from warm to cold and wet to moist within
the series.
3—5
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
The ABAM Moist PAG represents cold, dry environments within the
ABAM Series. Although mean annual precipitation is equal to or greater
than the ABAM Wet or ABAM Wetlands PAGs, effective moisture
is considerably less in these types due to excessive soil drainage.
Plant associations in this group are extremely species poor. The only
herbaceous species with high cover is XETE. These associations are
generally too cold for Douglas-fir and white fir-grand fir.
Fire— In spite of the cool, wet climate characteristic of the series, fire
has played a major role in the development of all sample stands. Tree
age samples indicate that fire return intervals are normally less than
200 years on all but the wettest sites (ABAM Wetlands). Simon (1991)
reported fire return intervals averaging <138 years for silver fir sites in
the Mt. Jefferson Wilderness. The increase in fire frequency within the
100.0
90.0
ACTR LIBO2
70.0
ASCA3
CLUN
60.0 ABAM Wetlands
ABAM Wet
50.0 ABAM Moist
40.0
30.0
20.0
10.0
46.0 45.0 44.0 43.0 42.0 41.0 40.0 39.0
Mean Annual Temperature (F)
3—6
Silver Fir Series
Sites are very productive. Cool average annual temperatures and heavy
snowpacks are the main limitations to tree growth. Site index values for
3—7
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
Pacific silver fir ranged from 60 to 113 (base 100). The most productive
sites appear to be ABAM/LYAM, ABAM/ASCA3, and ABAM/CLUN;
while the least productive are ABAM/VAME/XETE, ABAM/VAME, and
ABAM/VASC (Appendix C). Note that basal areas approach or exceed
400 sq. ft/acre on most sites. Douglas-fir is not well suited to the colder
associations such as ABAM/VASC, ABAM/VAME, and ABAM/VAME/
XETE. Although ponderosa pine occasionally occurs (<5% constancy)
on Pacific silver fir sites, the species is not suited to the environmental
conditions representative of the Pacific Silver Fir Series.
Shrub size and twig production often peak between 10 and 15 years
after disturbance. Shade from residual trees can inhibit shrubfield
development. Therefore, seed tree and shelterwood treatments should
have significantly less shrub development than clearcuts. Late summer
and fall broadcast burning in clearcuts leads to the greatest shrub
development, due to increased snowbrush ceanothus cover.
Ceanothus seeds have both seed coat scarification and cold-wet seed
stratification requirements for optimum germination. These are met by
most fall and late summer burns. Spring burns usually do not provide
the necessary cold-wet stratification, so Ceanothus germination is
greatly reduced. Spring burning favors species that sprout from root
crowns or buried roots like golden chinquipin.
Key Insects and Diseases: Silver fir beetle, Douglas-fir beetle, fir engraver,
laminated root rot, white pine blister rust, rust red stringy rot, Douglas-
fir and hemlock dwarf mistletoe.
3—8
Silver Fir Series
3—9
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
Important effects: The silver fir beetle has been known to reach outbreak
levels in the past in mature silver fir stands. The mountain pine beetle
could be an important mortality agent on lodgepole and western
white pines once these hosts are fairly large. Stands with a Douglas-
fir component could be affected by western spruce budworm, but
outbreaks would not likely originate in this series.
Root disease was recorded on 23% of the CVS plots in ABAM series
with 15%, 28%, and 21% for the ABAM moist, ABAM wet, and ABAM
wetlands PAGS respectively. Laminated root rot is the most damaging
agent in these systems and occurs throughout the associations of the
pacific silver fir series. Laminated root rot can prevent Douglas-fir,
western hemlock, and true fir species in reaching full maturity in areas
with root disease. Western white pine, western larch (north of Santiam
pass), and lodgepole pine are the most resistant species and should
be favored in laminated root rot openings. On the western slope of
the Cascades, Douglas-fir bark beetles under endemic populations
are almost exclusively found in root disease infected Douglas-fir.
Armillaria root disease becomes common and laminated root rot
much less common in ABAM/CLUN on the Sisters RD. The drier plant
associations have a high occurrence of Armillaria root disease that
essentially replaces laminated root rot in some areas. Annosus is a major
butt decay organism of older true fir and hemlock that have reached
their pathological rotation.
White pine blister rust frequency was noted on 18% of CVS plots with 5
needle pines in the ABAM series. This is lower than expected frequency
and may be due to reduced amounts of host (white pines) following
the initial wave of infection in the early to mid 1900’s. However,
environmental conditions in the series are conducive for infection
especially for younger trees. Use of disease resistant stock and lower
crown pruning are important management strategies to keep western
white pine present in many of these stands and should be selectively
used based on site risk rating systems.
Dwarf mistletoe was present on 28% of the CVS plots within the ABAM
Series. Douglas-fir is commonly infected by dwarf mistletoe on the
eastern slope of the Cascade crest and is not common west of the crest.
Douglas-fir dwarf mistletoe creates large brooms that provide important
nesting and hiding habitat for some birds and small mammals.
However, it can prevent smaller trees from attaining large tree stature.
Thinning fully stocked infected stands releases latent infections,
3—10
Silver Fir Series
Indian paint fungus occurs across the entire moisture gradient in true
fir and hemlock. It is the primary stem decay organism of these species
and is common in older stands, especially in trees that were long-
suppressed and/or wounded.
3—11
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
3—12
Silver Fir Series
3—13
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
3—14
Silver Fir Series
3—15
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
3—16
Silver Fir Series
3—17
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
3—18
Silver Fir Series
3—19
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
3—20
Silver Fir Series
3—21
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
3—22
Silver Fir Series
3—23
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
3—24
Silver Fir Series
3—25
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
3—26
Silver Fir Series
3—27
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
3—28
Silver Fir Series
3—29
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
3—30
Silver Fir Series
3—31
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
3—32
Silver Fir Series
3—33
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
3—34
Silver Fir Series
3—35
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
3—36
Silver Fir Series
3—37
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
3—38
Silver Fir Series
3—39
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
3—40
Silver Fir Series
3—41
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
3—42
Silver Fir Series
3—43
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
3—44
Western Hemlock Series
4—2
Western Hemlock Series
Elevations range from just under 2000’ to over 5000’, although over
80% of all stands fall below 4000’. Western hemlock can be found at
elevations approaching 6000’, though it is not the climax dominant
tree on those sites. Soils tend to be deep, of mixed material, and often
with volcanic ash in the surface horizons. On colder sites, the series
is normally bounded by the Pacific Silver Fir Series, and on warmer,
slightly drier sites, by the Grand Fir Series. Western red cedar and
western hemlock are co-dominant on very wet sites. Western red cedar
tolerates warm temperatures and both wetter and drier conditions
better than western hemlock (Minore 1979). Including wet Western
red cedar sites in the Western Hemlock Series follows the convention
of Daubenmire and Daubenmire (1968) and Lillybridge et al. (1995).
Western red cedar does not usually form upland climax stands on the
east slopes of the Cascade Range, as it often does in the northern Rocky
Mountains.
4—3
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
4—4
Western Hemlock Series
The THPL Wet PAG represents warm, dry environments within the
TSHE Series. Sites on the east side of the Cascade Crest north of
McKenzie Pass, apparently beyond the warmer ecological limits of
western hemlock that support western red cedar, are grouped into
this PAG. The data, however, are inadequate to describe a stand-alone
Western Red Cedar Series at this time. Consequently, in areas where
4—5
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
western red cedar is present and western hemlock is absent, the sites are
placed within the Western Hemlock Series.
70.0
LYAM ASCA3
60.0 LIBO2
ACTR
Mean Annual Precipitation (in)
CLUN
50.0 CLUN
LIBO2
40.0
TSHE Wetlands
TSHE Wet
THPL Wet
30.0
20.0
10.0
0.0
47.0 46.0 45.0 44.0 43.0
Mean Annual Temperature (F)
4—6
Western Hemlock Series
Shrub size and twig production often peak between 10 and 15 years
following disturbance. Shade from residual trees can inhibit shrub field
development. Therefore, seed tree and shelterwood treatments should
have significantly less shrub development than clearcuts. Late summer
and fall broadcast burning in clearcuts leads to the greatest shrub
development due to increased snowbrush ceanothus cover.
Ceanothus seeds have both seed coat scarification and cold-wet seed
stratification requirements for optimum germination. These are met by
most fall and late summer burns. Spring burns usually do not provide
the necessary cold-wet stratification, so Ceanothus germination is
greatly reduced. Spring burning favors species that sprout from root
crowns or buried roots like golden chinquapin (see Appendix D).
Fire— Less than 15% of the 138 plots with tree age data collected
exceeded 200 years in age. Most stands were between 100 and 200 years
old, suggesting a typical fire interval for the series of perhaps 100-200
years. Associations in the dry end of the type with ladder fuels would
tend to burn more often and with higher intensity. Agee (1994) suggests
that low to moderate severity fire may occur every 50 to 100 years, while
the stand-replacement interval might be 150 to 500 years. However,
Agee’s dataset has few samples from Oregon east of the Cascade Crest
and return intervals for this series remain poorly understood on the east
slope in Oregon.
Western hemlock stands east of the Cascade crest are often intermixed
with Pacific silver fir or white fir/grand fir stands. When in a silver fir
setting they will be associated with its long fire return interval (Fire
4—7
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
Regime IV and V). When in the drier setting of white fir/grand fir,
they will feature a mixed severity and frequency of return (Fire Regime
III), as in Agee 1994. Halverson et al. (1986) did not mention fire as
a consideration in their classification of western hemlock on the Mt.
Hood National Forest, including areas east of the Cascade crest.
4—8
Western Hemlock Series
4—9
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
values (Table 3-1). However, most seral tree species exhibit better
growth than western hemlock on Western Hemlock Series sites. This is
true in most series: the climax dominant tree does not grow as rapidly
as some seral tree species. Intense frost is not typically a problem in
this series because sites where western hemlock is climax are inherently
mild. On the other hand, cutting practices can create frost pockets in
some situations if cold air drainage is impeded. Regeneration harvests
in the TSHE/LYAM, and to a lesser extent in the TSHE/ASCA3
associations, can raise the water table, possibly creating a swamp.
Key Insects and Diseases: Douglas-fir beetle, fir engraver, laminated root
rot, annosus, and Armillaria root diseases, white pine blister rust, rust
red stringy rot, western larch dwarf mistletoe.
Rust red stringy rot is considered to be the most significant heart rot
of true firs and hemlocks. It frequently causes stem breakage and leads
to large amounts of volume loss. Douglas-fir dwarf mistletoe is only
present on the eastern slope of the Cascades.
The fir engraver maybe found on true fir hosts when they are weakened
by root disease. Douglas-fir can be infested by the Douglas-fir beetle
after wind events or other disturbances. The western hemlock looper
4—10
Western Hemlock Series
4—11
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
4—12
Western Hemlock Series
4—13
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
4—14
Western Hemlock Series
4—15
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
4—16
Western Hemlock Series
4—17
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
4—18
Western Hemlock Series
4—19
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
4—20
Western Hemlock Series
4—21
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
4—22
Western Hemlock Series
4—23
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
4—24
Western Hemlock Series
4—25
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
4—26
Western Hemlock Series
4—27
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
4—28
Western Hemlock Series
4—29
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
4—30
Western Hemlock Series
4—31
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
4—32
Western Hemlock Series
4—33
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
Vegetation—
4—34
Western Hemlock Series
4—35
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
4—36
Western Hemlock Series
4—37
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
4—38
Western Hemlock Series
4—39
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
4—40
White Fir – Grand Fir Series
5—2
White Fir – Grand Fir Series
This distribution suggests that the White Fir-Grand Fir Series has
an affinity for modified maritime climates and does not tolerate dry,
extended cold temperatures well, though it tolerates drier conditions
than do western hemlock or western red cedar, which share a similar
5—3
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
5—4
White Fir – Grand Fir Series
Those series most commonly confused with the White Fir-Grand Fir
Series in early to mid-seral stands are the Douglas-fir, Shasta Red Fir,
Silver Fir, and Western Hemlock Series. These species typically bound
the grand fir zone and consequently can cause identification difficulties
in the transition areas. It is not uncommon to debate the “true” series
on some sites. Undergrowth in mature forest stands varies from a dense
shrub layer difficult to penetrate, to grass and sedge-dominated swards.
No undergrowth species occur across all types in the series and none
are confined to this series. Understory species are typically restricted
in their distribution within the series to 1 or 2 PAGs. Important factors
governing species patterns include water availability, temperature,
parent material, and past disturbances, including grazing, logging, and
fire.
5—5
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
cooler series such as Western Hemlock, Pacific Silver Fir, Subalpine Fir
or Mountain Hemlock Series.
5—6
White Fir – Grand Fir Series
60.0
ACTR ASCA3
50.0
CLUN
Mean Annual Precipitation (in)
TRLA2 LIBO2
40.0 SMST
CHUM
HODI CARU ARNE ABCO-ABGR Wet
CACH
SYMO
30.0 ABCO-ABGR Moist
CAIN4
WYMO ARPA ABCO-ABGR Dry
SYAL
CEPR
20.0
10.0
0.0
47.0 46.0 45.0 44.0 43.0 42.0 41.0 40.0
Mean Annual Temperature (F)
5—7
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
lodgepole pine as the dominant early seral conifer and may support
Shasta red fir south of Lookout Mountain on the Deschutes National
Forest.
Fire— The white fir-grand fir series occupies a relatively wide elevation
band, encompassing two fire regimes. This series covers extensive
areas east of the Cascade crest. Agee (1994) considered this zone to
occupy an intermediate landscape position between lower elevation and
subalpine forests.
5—8
White Fir – Grand Fir Series
The wet end of the series (ABCO-ABGR Wet PAG) falls more obviously
into fire regime III with still longer fire return intervals and a greater
incidence of stand-replacing patches. Collectively, the transitional
nature of white fir-grand fir series resulted in a very complex mosaic
of species, patch sizes, stand structures, and stand ages and a naturally
fragmented landscape.
Fire exclusion has significantly altered stand dynamics in the dry and
moist groups of this series. The proportional representation of white fir
and grand fir has increased dramatically along with surface fuel loadings
and ladder fuel extent. Removal of the small and medium sized fires
with their stand-replacing patches and high proportion of edge has
increased landscape homogeneity and increased the probability of very
large fires with a reduced post-fire mosaic of unburned, lightly burned
and moderately burned patches. Understory vegetation has likely been
altered as well, although, this aspect of the forest is not well studied or
understood at the landscape scale.
5—9
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
productivity in this PAG is the lowest within the series. Ponderosa pine
and lodgepole pine (cooler sites only) are the best species to feature in
managed stands.
Because white fir-grand fir stands are often departed from historic
proportions on the landscape due to fire exclusion, and many of
these areas are in the wildland-urban interface, they are often good
candidates for thinning. The dense understories and ladder fuels
typical in this series require thinning and clearing of slash before using
prescribed burning. Thinning from below, free thinning, and reserve
tree shelterwoods methods are the most useful for reducing crown fires
(Oester et al. 2002). Selection thinning and approaches that maintain
multiple canopy layers usually will not reduce the risk of crown fires
(Graham et al. 1999). Prescribed burning can be thought of as a
maintenance treatment applied on a routine basis, once proper stand
density has been achieved.
5—10
White Fir – Grand Fir Series
result of lack of natural fire) provide habitat suitable to meet the owl’s
requirements. Stands within the series also tend to be relatively warm
and therefore important fawning and forage areas in the spring for
large ungulates. Areas with high shrub cover are useful for deer and elk,
providing both forage and cover.
Mature and late seral stands are not normally well suited to domestic
livestock grazing, due to low amounts of palatable forage produced in
mature stands. Only ABCO-ABGR/CARU and ABCO-ABGR/SYAL
associations provide enough forage in late seral stages. However, early
5—11
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
5—12
White Fir – Grand Fir Series
Dwarf mistletoe was present on 35% of the CVS plots in the ABCO-
ABGR series. Dwarf mistletoe is most damaging on Douglas-fir,
western larch, and ponderosa pine. Growth loss is high when trees are
severely infected and can often lead to mortality. Impacts are greatest in
single-species host stands and in stands with infected overstories above
susceptible understories (Goheen and Willhite 2006). Young stands that
are heavily infected will not develop into large tree dominated forests.
5—13
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
5—14
White Fir – Grand Fir Series
5—15
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
5—16
White Fir – Grand Fir Series
5—17
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
5—18
White Fir – Grand Fir Series
5—19
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
5—20
White Fir – Grand Fir Series
5—21
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
5—22
White Fir – Grand Fir Series
5—23
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
5—24
White Fir – Grand Fir Series
5—25
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
5—26
White Fir – Grand Fir Series
5—27
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
5—28
White Fir – Grand Fir Series
5—29
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
5—30
White Fir – Grand Fir Series
5—31
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
5—32
White Fir – Grand Fir Series
5—33
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
5—34
White Fir – Grand Fir Series
5—35
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
5—36
White Fir – Grand Fir Series
5—37
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
5—38
White Fir – Grand Fir Series
5—39
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
5—40
White Fir – Grand Fir Series
5—41
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
5—42
White Fir – Grand Fir Series
5—43
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
5—44
White Fir – Grand Fir Series
5—45
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
5—46
White Fir – Grand Fir Series
5—47
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
5—48
White Fir – Grand Fir Series
5—49
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
5—50
White Fir – Grand Fir Series
5—51
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
5—52
White Fir – Grand Fir Series
5—53
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
5—54
White Fir – Grand Fir Series
5—55
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
5—56
White Fir – Grand Fir Series
5—57
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
5—58
White Fir – Grand Fir Series
5—59
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
5—60
White Fir – Grand Fir Series
5—61
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
5—62
White Fir – Grand Fir Series
5—63
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
5—64
White Fir – Grand Fir Series
5—65
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
Vegetation— White fir and to a lesser extent ponderosa pine are the
primary overstory dominants in mid to late seral stands. Stands are
rarely dominated by a single tree species. Lodgepole pine can dominate
sites after stand replacement fire. Pinemat manzanita dominates
a species-poor understory. Snowbrush ceanothus and greenleaf
manzanita increase after disturbance. The herbaceous layer is species
poor and typically has low cover.
5—66
White Fir – Grand Fir Series
5—67
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
5—68
White Fir – Grand Fir Series
5—69
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
5—70
White Fir – Grand Fir Series
5—71
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
5—72
White Fir – Grand Fir Series
5—73
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
5—74
White Fir – Grand Fir Series
5—75
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
5—76
White Fir – Grand Fir Series
5—77
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
5—78
White Fir – Grand Fir Series
5—79
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
5—80
White Fir – Grand Fir Series
5—81
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
5—82
White Fir – Grand Fir Series
5—83
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
5—84
White Fir – Grand Fir Series
5—85
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
5—86
White Fir – Grand Fir Series
5—87
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
5—88
Shasta Red Fir Series
6—1
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
6—2
Shasta Red Fir Series
6—3
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
6—4
Shasta Red Fir Series
Four associations are defined for the ABMAS Series on the east side
of the Cascades in Oregon. These plant associations have been further
grouped into two plant association groups (PAGs) which reflect effective
moisture zones and are correlated with productivity. Mean precipitation
does not vary greatly between the ABMAS Moist and ABMAS Dry
PAGs (figure 6-2). However excessive soil drainage within the ABMAS
Dry associations effectively make moisture more limiting.
60.0
CHUM
50.0
Mean Annual Precipitation (in)
ARNE
CAPE5
40.0
CACH
ABMAS Moist
30.0
ABMAS Dry
20.0
10.0
0.0
44.0 43.0 42.0 41.0 40.0
Mean Annual Temperature (F)
6—5
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
Fire— Agee (1993) described Shasta red fir fire regimes as moderate
severity, with fire frequencies and intensities intermediate to those of
other Pacific Northwest forests. Shlisky (2003) considered red fir as
having a mixed severity fire regime (Fire Regime IIIb), with a fire return
interval of 40-60 years. Agee and Chappell (1991) and McNeil and
Zobel (1980) found mean fire return intervals of 39 – 42 years in Crater
Lake National Park. However, fire free intervals varied widely (15-157
years). Similar return intervals have been reported from California.
Taylor and Halpern (1991) found 40-42 year fire free intervals (range
5-65 years) on 2 plots in mixed Shasta red fir white fir stands at Swain
Mountain Experimental Forest near Mt. Lassen and Pitcher (1987)
found a 65 year fire free interval (range 5-126 years) in pure California
red fir forests in Sequoia National Park.
Key Insects and Diseases: Mountain pine beetle, fir engraver, Armillaria
root disease, annosus root disease, white pine blister rust, western and
lodgepole pine dwarf mistletoes.
6—6
Shasta Red Fir Series
6—7
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
6—8
Shasta Red Fir Series
6—9
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
6—10
Shasta Red Fir Series
6—11
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
6—12
Shasta Red Fir Series
6—13
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
6—14
Shasta Red Fir Series
6—15
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
Vegetation— Shasta red fir and lodgepole pine are the primary
overstory dominants in mid to late seral stands. Lodgepole pine can
dominate sites after stand replacement fire. Ponderosa pine may
occasionally be an important seral overstory component. Understory
vegetation is species poor. Depauperate understories are common under
stands of ABMAS with high canopy closure. Prince’s pine (CHUM)
is always present usually with low cover (<5%). Long-stolon sedge
(CAIN4) and western needlegrass (STOC) may have significant cover.
Disturbance is likely to favor CAIN4, STOC, as well as the manzanitas
(ARNE and ARPA).
6—16
Shasta Red Fir Series
6—17
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
6—18
Shasta Red Fir Series
6—19
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
6—20
Shasta Red Fir Series
6—21
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
6—22
Shasta Red Fir Series
6—23
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
6—24
Shasta Red Fir Series
6—25
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
6—26
Douglas-fir Series
Douglas-Fir Series
DOUGLAS-FIR SERIES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Distribution and Environment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Vegetation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Fire. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Productivity and Management. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Wildlife Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Relationships to Other Classifications. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Key to Plant Associations of the Douglas-fir Series. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
PSME/TRLA2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
PSME/CACH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
PSME/SYMO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
PSME/CHUM. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
PSME/HODI. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
PSME/SYAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
PSME/CEPR. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
PSME/CAGE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
PSME/ARPA. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
PSME/PUTR. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
7—1
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
Douglas-fir Series
PSME
Pseudotsuga menziesii
Douglas-fir
Total Plots 256
7—2
Douglas-fir Series
7—3
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
The PSME Series plant associations have been further grouped into
plant association groups (PAGs) which reflect effective temperature-
precipitation zones. The PSME Moist PAG consists of PSME/TRLA2,
PSME/CACH, PSME/SYMO, PSME/CHUM, and PSME/HODI. The
PSME Dry PAG consists of PSME/SYAL, PSME/CEPR, PSME/CAGE,
PSME/ARPA, and PSME/PUTR. Species diversity declines as the plant
associations change from moist to dry and from cool to warm.
7—4
Douglas-fir Series
Disturbance favors ponderosa pine and white oak in the tree layer.
Understory cover is slightly lower than PSME Moist plant associations.
Shrub cover averages 14% and herbaceous cover averages 11% in mid
to late seral conditions. As in the PSME Moist associations, disturbance
of the overstory will dramatically increase the total cover of the
understory. Common shrubs in mid to late seral stands include AMAL,
BEAQ, PUTR, and SYAL. Herbaceous species common to mid to late
seral conditions include BASA, OSCH, FEID and FEOC. Understory
species favored by disturbance are ARPA, CEVE, and PUTR in the
shrub layer and BASA and various lupines in the herbaceous layer.
Fire— Both Douglas-fir moist and dry PAGs comprise a fire regime
that historically was frequent low intensity. The Douglas-fir moist PAG
corresponds to the Douglas-fir Interior Pacific Northwest (or “DFIR1”)
FRCC description document (Pohl 2003), with an estimated historic
fire return interval of 10-20 years. The dry Douglas-fir PAG corresponds
to the FRCC description document for Ponderosa Pine-Douglas-fir
(Inland Northwest), or “PPDF1” (Havlina 2003), with an estimated
historic fire return interval of less than 25 years. Agee (1994) described
these forests as a Douglas-fir zone within a mixed-conifer group. Both
35.0
30.0
CHUM
HODI SYMO
Mean Annual Precipitation (In)
TRLA2 CACH
25.0
SYAL CEPR
ARPA
20.0
PSME Moist
CAGE PUTR
PSME Dry
15.0
10.0
5.0
0.0
48.0 47.0 46.0 45.0
Mean Annual Temperature (F)
7—5
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
he and Havlina (2003) stress this type often occurs in a matrix with
grand fir. The latter follows more of a mixed severity regime (Fire
Regime III). From a landscape perspective, therefore, Douglas-fir PAGs
often fall within a complex setting of fire regimes. Douglas-fir is well
adapted to fire (Agee 1994), and attains fire resistance around age 40
(Havlina 2003).
7—6
Douglas-fir Series
Many herbs and shrubs in the Series are rhizomatous and respond
quickly to disturbances. This is a vegetative reproduction strategy
that gives species such as pinegrass, elk sedge, mahala mat, creeping
snowberry, and common snowberry a competitive advantage over
species that rely entirely on seeds, especially early in succession.
7—7
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
with each outbreak lasting only three years, while budworm cycles are
unpredictable in both occurrence and duration. The Douglas-fir tussock
moth tends to have its most dramatic effects in low to mid-elevation
late seral stands that were traditionally fire-climax ponderosa pine
(Hessburg et al. 1994). Budworm outbreaks can persist for many years
as host trees are repeatedly defoliated year after year. Complex forests
with several ages of trees and a high percentage of host component
are most heavily damaged by the budworm. Common effects from the
spruce budworm include tree mortality in smaller host trees and top-
kill in larger trees.
7—8
Douglas-fir Series
7—9
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
7—10
Douglas-fir Series
7—11
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
7—12
Douglas-fir Series
7—13
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
7—14
Douglas-fir Series
7—15
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
7—16
Douglas-fir Series
7—17
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
7—18
Douglas-fir Series
7—19
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
7—20
Douglas-fir Series
7—21
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
7—22
Douglas-fir Series
7—23
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
7—24
Douglas-fir Series
7—25
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
7—26
Douglas-fir Series
7—27
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
7—28
Douglas-fir Series
7—29
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
7—30
Douglas-fir Series
7—31
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
7—32
Douglas-fir Series
Plant Assoc Avg SI SI St.Dev # Plots Avg GBA GBA St Dev # Plots Ft3
PIPO-PSME/SYMPH (Mutton)
PIPO 74 14 168 65 6 65
PSME 81 18 182 71 5 75
PSME/SYAL/AGSP (Wenatchee)
PIPO 85 6 23 151 26 59
PSME 104 5 19 123 19 59
PSME/SYAL (Blue and Ochoco Mtns)
PIPO 83 6 23 119 23 23 43
PSME 89 5 22 138 22 22 56
7—33
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
7—34
Douglas-fir Series
7—35
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
7—36
Douglas-fir Series
7—37
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
7—38
Douglas-fir Series
7—39
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
7—40
Douglas-fir Series
Plant Assoc # Plots Avg SI SI StDev Avg GBA GBA St Dev Ft3
PSME/CAGE (Blue and Ochoco Mtns)
PIPO 6 68 6 83 17 23
PSME 4 71 10 123 52 23
PSME/CAGE (Mt. Hood)
PIPO 6 74 196 66
PSME 4 82 160 60
7—41
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
7—42
Douglas-fir Series
7—43
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
7—44
Douglas-fir Series
7—45
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
7—46
Douglas-fir Series
7—47
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
7—48
Douglas-fir Series
7—49
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
7—50
Ponderosa Pine Series
8—3
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
The PIPO Series plant associations have been further grouped into four
plant association groups (PAGs) which reflect effective temperature-
precipitation zones. The PIPO Moist PAG consists of PIPO/SPDO,
PIPO-POTR, PIPO/SYMO, PIPO/ARUV, and PIPO/CHUM. The
PIPO Dry PAG consists of PIPO/SYAL, PIPO/CEPR, PIPO/WYMO,
PIPO/CELE, PIPO/CAIN4, PIPO/ARPA, PIPO/PUTR, PIPO/PUTR/
FEID, and PIPO/ARTR. The PIPO-CADE3 Dry PAG consists of
PIPO-CADE3/SYAL, PIPO-CADE3/CEPR, PIPO-CADE3/ARPA,
and PIPO-CADE3/PUTR. The PIPO-QUGA Dry PAG consists of two
associations, PIPO-QUGA/SYAL and PIPO-QUGA/PUTR. Species
diversity declines as the plant associations change from moist to dry and
from cool to warm within a PAG.
8—4
Ponderosa Pine Series
from Mt. Mazama, the ecotones between the PIPO Moist associations
and PIPO Dry associations may be very abrupt. The rest of the PIPO
Moist PAG associations (PIPO/SYMO and PIPO/CHUM) are usually
transitional to the ABCO-ABGR Series. These associations occupy
similar moisture-temperature regimes to PSME/SYMO and PSME/
CHUM plant associations, but occur within the Mazama ash/pumice
deposits where the Douglas-fir Series is missing.
Tree layers in the PIPO Moist PAG plant associations have average total
tree cover of 40-50%. This occurs in various mixtures of ponderosa and
lodgepole pines. Typical composition of the tree layer is 54% ponderosa
pine and 46% lodgepole pine. Aspen may be a locally important
component of PIPO/SPDO or PIPO-POTR tree layers. Where it occurs,
aspen averages 30-35% cover. Mid to late seral stands have an average
of about 20% shrub cover and 10-15% cover of herbaceous species
(mostly graminoids). The shrub layers are less diverse (3-5 species per
plot) than PSME Moist or ABCO-ABGR Moist sites. The most common
shrub species are bitterbrush (PUTR), bearberry (ARUV), greenleaf
manzanita (ARPA), wax currant (RICE), and prince’s pine (CHUM).
35.0
30.0
CHUM
Mean Annual Precipitation (In)
SYMO
SYAL POTR
25.0
WYMO CAIN4
SYAL ARUV
CEPR SPDO STOC
CEPR SYAL FEID ARPA PUTR
20.0
CELE PIPO-CADE3 Dry
PUTR PUTR ARTR PIPO-QUGA Dry
ARPA PUTR/FEID PIPO Moist
15.0 PIPO DRY
10.0
5.0
0.0
48.0 47.0 46.0 45.0 44.0 43.0 42.0 41.0
8—5
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
The PIPO Dry PAG plant associations have average total tree cover of
30-35%. Composition of the tree layers varies depending on whether
the site is on deep Mazama deposits or on residual soils. On Mazama
deposits, the average composition is close to 50% ponderosa pine and
50% lodgepole pine. On residual soils, or ash/pumice deposits that are
less than 2 feet deep, average composition of ponderosa pine is usually
70-100% in mid to late seral conditions. Western juniper can occupy up
to 30% of the tree layer and lodgepole (rarely) can occupy up to 25%.
Total shrub cover averages between 10-20%. The most common species
are PUTR, ARPA, CEVE, ARTR, CELE, and RICE. Herbaceous cover
averages about 10%. Forbs only contribute about 1% cover in mid to
late seral conditions; the rest of the herbaceous cover is contributed by
graminoids.
8—6
Ponderosa Pine Series
Ponderosa pine series sites are important wildlife areas. They supply
forage and browse for deer and elk during spring and early summer,
and at lower elevations provide important winter range. Snags and logs
provide valuable habitat and perches, and are especially critical because
tree density is low and therefore snag and log recruitment will also be
slow or episodic.
8—7
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
Key Insects and Diseases: Western pine beetle, mountain pine beetle,
pine engraver, western dwarf mistletoe, Armillaria and annosus root
diseases.
8—8
Ponderosa Pine Series
growth stands, and pine engravers affect small pines around 4-5” in
diameter. Turpentine beetles are also common, especially if a pine has
been wounded to the point of exuding pitch. Trees are often killed in
groups, creating an opening in the stand. In second growth stands,
mountain pine is said to thin stands “from above” on poor sites and thin
“from below” on the best sites (Sartwell 1971). The effects of the bark
beetles become greater as stand densities increase and as sites become
drier. On the driest sites in the series, care must be taken when slash is
created because pine engravers can utilize this material and then infest
standing trees. There are numerous defoliating insects, but none are
particularly important from a management standpoint. The largest and
most impressive is the pandora moth which can periodically defoliate
pines over vast areas on all sites, but trees usually recover unless they are
very old with poor vigor.
Western dwarf mistletoe occurs in 32% of the PIPO dry and PIPO
moist PAGs and was not documented in the PIPO-QUGA dry and
PIPO-QUGA moist PAGS. It commonly causes reduced tree vigor and
eventually mortality when infection becomes severe. Dwarf mistletoe
changes tree and stand structure, prevents large tree development, and
increases fuel loadings. The level of infection on the landscape has likely
increased in abundance due to fire suppression.
8—9
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
8—10
Ponderosa Pine Series
8—11
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
8—12
Ponderosa Pine Series
8—13
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
8—14
Ponderosa Pine Series
8—15
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
8—16
Ponderosa Pine Series
8—17
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
8—18
Ponderosa Pine Series
8—19
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
8—20
Ponderosa Pine Series
8—21
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
8—22
Ponderosa Pine Series
8—23
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
8—24
Ponderosa Pine Series
8—25
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
8—26
Ponderosa Pine Series
8—27
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
8—28
Ponderosa Pine Series
8—29
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
8—30
Ponderosa Pine Series
8—31
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
8—32
Ponderosa Pine Series
8—33
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
8—34
Ponderosa Pine Series
8—35
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
8—36
Ponderosa Pine Series
8—37
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
8—38
Ponderosa Pine Series
8—39
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
8—40
Ponderosa Pine Series
8—41
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
8—42
Ponderosa Pine Series
8—43
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
8—44
Ponderosa Pine Series
8—45
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
8—46
Ponderosa Pine Series
8—47
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
8—48
Ponderosa Pine Series
8—49
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
8—50
Ponderosa Pine Series
8—51
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
8—52
Ponderosa Pine Series
8—53
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
8—54
Ponderosa Pine Series
8—55
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
8—56
Ponderosa Pine Series
8—57
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
8—58
Ponderosa Pine Series
8—59
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
8—60
Ponderosa Pine Series
8—61
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
8—62
Ponderosa Pine Series
8—63
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
8—64
Ponderosa Pine Series
8—65
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
8—66
Ponderosa Pine Series
8—67
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
8—68
Ponderosa Pine Series
8—69
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
8—70
Ponderosa Pine Series
8—71
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
8—72
Ponderosa Pine Series
8—73
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
8—74
Ponderosa Pine Series
8—75
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
8—76
Ponderosa Pine Series
8—77
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
8—78
Ponderosa Pine Series
8—79
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
Soils are typically highly mixed pumice with buried soils. Surface
textures are sandy loam to loam. Plots north and south of the Mazama
plume may have loam to clay loam surface textures. Subsurface layers
have higher percentages of coarse fragments than similar PIPO/PUTR
associations.
8—80
Ponderosa Pine Series
8—81
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
8—82
Ponderosa Pine Series
PIPO/PUTR plant associations have also been described for the Blue
and Ochoco Mountains (Johnson and Clausnitzer 1992), Warm Springs
Indian Reservation (Marsh et al. 1987), central Idaho (Steele et al.
1981), and western Montana (Pfister et al. 1977). PIPO/PUTR/FEID
associations have more affinities to these types than the PIPO/PUTR
type defined here.
8—83
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
8—84
Ponderosa Pine Series
8—85
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
8—86
Ponderosa Pine Series
PIPO/PUTR plant associations have also been described for the Blue
and Ochoco Mountains (Johnson and Clausnitzer 1992), Warm Springs
Indian Reservation (Marsh et al. 1987), central Idaho (Steele et al. 1981),
and western Montana (Pfister et al. 1977). The Warm Springs plots
would key to PIPO/PUTR/FEID in this classification. The Blue and
Ochoco Mountain and the Idaho and Montana variants are also most
like the PIPO/PUTR/FEID association defined here.
8—87
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
8—88
Ponderosa Pine Series
8—89
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
8—90
Ponderosa Pine Series
8—91
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
8—92
Ponderosa Pine Series
8—93
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
8—94
Ponderosa Pine Series
8—95
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
8—96
Ponderosa Pine Series
8—97
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
8—98
Ponderosa Pine Series
8—99
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
8—100
Lodgepole Pine Series
Thirteen plant associations and two community types are defined for
the Lodgepole Pine Series in central Oregon. These plant associations
have been further grouped into three plant association groups (PAGs)
which reflect temperature-precipitation zones. PICO Riparian consists
of PICO/ELPA2, PICO/CAEU, PICO/VAOC2/CAEU, PICO/SPDO/
CAEU, PICO/VAOC2, PICO/SPDO, and PICO/ARUV. PICO Dry
9—2
Lodgepole Pine Series
9—3
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
50.0
40.0
ELPA2
Mean Annual Precipitation (In)
CAIN4
ARNE CAIN4
VAOC2 VAOC2/CAEU ARNE
30.0
SPDO/CAEU CAEU PIAL-PICO
STOC
SPDO PICO Riparian
PUTR/STOC PICO Dry
ARUV
20.0
FEID
PUTR/FEID
10.0
0.0
43.0 42.0 41.0 40.0 39.0
Mean Annual Temperature (F)
9—4
Lodgepole Pine Series
PIAL-PICO PAG plant associations have higher total cover of trees (35-
45%) than either of the other PICO PAGs. Whitebark and lodgepole
pines are always present. Understory vegetation is more depauperate
than PICO Dry associations. Shrub cover when it occurs at all only
averages 1-5% cover. Graminoids average 5-10% cover and forbs
typically average only 1-3% cover. Common understory species are:
pinemat manzanita, King’s sandwort, long-stolon sedge, Ross’s sedge,
Wheeler’s bluegrass, squirreltail, and western needlegrass.
Except for the PICO Riparian PAG sites, most PICO Series sites in the
analysis area are fine surface fuel limited. The limited surface fuels can
cause climax lodgepole pine sites to act as a natural fire barrier except
under extreme fire weather (Agee 1993). Herbaceous and shrub fuels
are often too scattered to effectively carry fire, and litter fuels in climax
lodgepole pine are sparse in older PICO Dry and PIAL-PICO Dry
stands. The most continuous fire vector is partially decayed down logs
in these depauperate conditions. Gara et al. (1985) describe the log to
log smoldering pattern from three separate fire events on the Silver Lake
District of the Fremont National Forest.
9—5
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
fire plots occurred in the PICO Dry plant association group. These
plots documented 15 previous fires. Return intervals for non-stand
replacement fires averaged 34 years on these plots and ranged from
18-98 years. The remaining 5 plots that documented multiple fires
occurred in the PICO Riparian plant association group. These 5
plots documented 7 previous fires. Return intervals for non-stand
replacement fires on PICO Riparian sites averaged 24 years and ranged
from 12-38 years. Volland’s plot data suggest a stand replacement
interval of 66-120 years in PICO Dry and 75-132 years in PICO
Riparian plant association groups.
Fire return intervals for all PICO series sites appear to vary based on the
composition of the surrounding forest types. Where they are adjacent to
ponderosa pine, white fir, Shasta red fir, or mountain hemlock the fire
frequency approaches the frequencies of the surrounding forest types.
Key Insects and Diseases: Mountain pine beetle, white pine blister rust,
lodgepole pine and whitebark pine dwarf mistletoe.
9—6
Lodgepole Pine Series
Important Effects: When lodgepole pine stands reach about 100 years of
age, they become particularly vulnerable to infestation by the mountain
pine beetle. Outbreaks can last for several years and most of the larger
trees in the stand are typically killed. Pandora moth feeds on lodgepole
pine as readily as on ponderosa pine and large-scale outbreaks occur
at irregular intervals throughout the host type. Infestation by Pandora
moth causes a reduction in growth but is otherwise not important.
Lodgepole pine dwarf mistletoe was the most damaging disease agent
across all PAGS in the PICO series with infection frequencies of 35%
of the CVS plots. The dry and moist PAGS had 31% infection, with
infection increasing to 41% in the PICO riparian PAG. Infection by
Arceuthobium americanum and associated brooming in lodgepole pine
alter the crown height, crown base height, and live crown ratio (Godfree
et al. 2002) this causes changes in stand structure. Root diseases can be
locally important disturbance agents in these systems and were more
prevalent in the dry PICO PAGS (10% of CVS plots had infection). Root
disease was not found in the PICO riparian PAG.
White bark pine is least threatened by white pine blister rust in the
PIAL-PICO series due to low humidity/moisture levels which cause
infection. Shoal and Aubry (2006) found that blister rust infection in
southern Oregon, especially on the Fremont, was low with infection
rates at 0% on most of their transects. However, infection rates were
higher on sites near the Cascades Crest where they averaged 24% on
Pelican Butte and Maiden Peak. Deployment of native stock of all five
needle pines may be possible due to low rust levels on most sites in
southern Oregon. On sites closer to the Cascade crest, such as those on
Maiden peak and Pelican Butte, the stands should be assessed for rust
hazard before native stock is deployed.
9—7
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
9—8
Lodgepole Pine Series
9—9
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
9—10
Lodgepole Pine Series
9—11
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
9—12
Lodgepole Pine Series
9—13
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
9—14
Lodgepole Pine Series
9—15
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
9—16
Lodgepole Pine Series
9—17
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
9—18
Lodgepole Pine Series
9—19
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
9—20
Lodgepole Pine Series
9—21
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
Soils are deep air-fall pumice alluvium. Water tables are at, or above,
the soil surface from April to August and recede to 1-2 feet below the
soil surface by September or October. Surface horizons have a grassy
organic horizon over mucky diatomaceous silt over coarse pumice
gravels (Dorr et al. 2005).
9—22
Lodgepole Pine Series
9—23
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
9—24
Lodgepole Pine Series
9—25
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
Soils are deep air-fall pumice alluvium. Water tables are at, or above,
the soil surface from April to August and recede to 2-5 feet below the
soil surface by September or October. Surface horizons have an organic
horizon 4-18” over diatomaceous silt over coarse pumice sands and
gravels (Dorr et al. 2005).
9—26
Lodgepole Pine Series
9—27
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
9—28
Lodgepole Pine Series
9—29
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
9—30
Lodgepole Pine Series
9—31
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
9—32
Lodgepole Pine Series
9—33
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
9—34
Lodgepole Pine Series
9—35
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
9—36
Lodgepole Pine Series
9—37
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
9—38
Lodgepole Pine Series
9—39
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
9—40
Lodgepole Pine Series
9—41
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
9—42
Lodgepole Pine Series
9—43
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
9—44
Lodgepole Pine Series
9—45
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
9—46
Lodgepole Pine Series
9—47
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
9—48
Lodgepole Pine Series
9—49
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
9—50
Lodgepole Pine Series
9—51
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
9—52
Lodgepole Pine Series
Sites with the >5% cover of mountain hemlock, Shasta red fir, white fir-
grand fir and ponderosa pine are not included here and are included in
the appropriate series based on which species is present. PICO/CAIN4
as described here includes most sites that were originally included in
the following associations described by Volland (1985) and Hopkins
(1979a):
1. CLS212 PICO/PUTR/CAIN4
2. CLG313 PICO/STOC-LUCA-LINU
3. CLG411 PICO/CAIN4-LUAR
4. CLG413 PICO/CAIN4-STOC BASINS
5. CLG415 PICO/SIHY-CAIN4
9—53
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
9—54
Lodgepole Pine Series
9—55
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
9—56
Lodgepole Pine Series
9—57
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
9—58
Lodgepole Pine Series
9—59
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
9—60
Lodgepole Pine Series
Sites with the >5% cover ponderosa pine are not included here and are
included in the Ponderosa Pine Series. PICO/PUTR/STOC as described
here includes most sites that were originally included in the following
associations described by Volland (1985):
9—61
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
9—62
Lodgepole Pine Series
9—63
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
9—64
Lodgepole Pine Series
9—65
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
9—66
Lodgepole Pine Series
9—67
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
9—68
Lodgepole Pine Series
9—69
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
9—70
Appendix A
A—1
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
A—2
Appendix A
A—3
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
A—4
Appendix A
A—5
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
A—6
Appendix B
Appendix B:
Species Comparison by Plant
Association
A species’ cover is the average cover of that species for only those plots
in which the species occurred. In other words, it is a relative average in
which zero values are not included.
B—1
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
C—1
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
vegetation. That is, they group vegetation based upon succession over
time without a disturbance agent such as fire being present. Typically,
classification of wildlife habitats is based upon vegetation present at the
site irregardless of the potential of the site to move toward a potential
community devoid of disturbance. Some habitats mentioned in
Johnson and O’Neil and Altman, could be successional stages of plant
communities that have not yet reached climax vegetation. For example,
a wildlife habitat that would be classified as a Lodgepole Pine Forest
and Woodlands habitat in Johnson and O’Neil (2001) may actually be
in the white fir/grand fir plant series and in the absence of a disturbance
such as mountain pine beetle or a fire, would become an Eastside Mixed
Conifer Forest over time.
Since that time, additional effort has been put into identifying species
that would indicate the effect of management actions upon wildlife
habitats. The following table is a mix of species that represent various
lists of important or indicator species that are generally in use by
wildlife professionals. These species are either listed under the
Endangered Species Act, Regional Forester’s Sensitive Species, Forest
Plan Management Indicator Species, or Survey and Manage species,
or are listed under species that are habitat specialists or exhibit a very
narrow ecological niche and should exhibit population changes very
quickly when habitat conditions change in their niche. For the series
described in this guide the following species are suggested for special
attention as indicators of management action/inaction for that series
(see Table C-1).
C—2
Appendix C
Species Plant Series Use of these Series seral Category of Special Structural or Special
Occupied Series stage Species Habitat Considerations
American ABAM, TSME, Breeding and Mid to Late Management Uses dense forests >30% cc
martin ABMAS, foraging Seral Indicator and down logs/slash; use of
TSHE, PSME, Species ponderosa and whitebark
ABGR/ABCO, pine require associations
PICO, PIAL with more preferred habitats
and PIPO (more mesic)
American ABAM, TSME, Breeding and All seral RF Sensitive Only breeds when suitable
peregrine ABMAS, foraging stages Species cliff structure is available.
falcon TSHE, PSME,
ABGR/ABCO,
PICO, PIAL
and PIPO
Black- ABAM, TSME, Breeding and All seral Survey and Reaches highest densities
backed ABMAS, foraging stages Manage in recently burned forests
wood- TSHE, PSME, or areas of bark beetle
pecker ABGR/ABCO, infestations
PICO, PIAL
and PIPO
Blue grouse ABAM, TSME, Breeding and All seral LCS Focal Very large, high elevation
ABMAS, foraging stages Species trees important as winter
TSHE, PSME, cover; feeds upon true
ABGR/ABCO, fir needles in the winter’
PICO, PIAL uses recently burned areas
and PIPO adjacent to unburned forests
for brooding and fall foraging
on soft mast
Brown ABAM, TSME, Breeding and All seral LCS Focal Snags necessary for breeding
creeper ABMAS, foraging stages Species and foraging
TSHE, PSME,
ABGR/ABCO,
PICO, PIAL
and PIPO
Buffle-head ABAM, TSME, Breeding and Mid to Late RF Sensitive Requires cavaties for nesting
ABMAS foraging Seral Species
California PIPO Breeding and Early to Late Economic Requires open tree stands
quail foraging Seral Species with highly developed
understories of shrubs and
grasses
California ABAM, TSME, Breeding and Mid to late RF Sensitive Avoids roads and human
wolverine ABMAS foraging seral Species activity, associates closely
with alpine meadows and
talus slopes
Canada lynx ABAM, TSME, Breeding and Early to late ESA Threat- For the Forests covered
ABMAS, foraging seral ened under this guide, the USFWS
TSHE, PSME, has determined that no
ABGR/ABCO, habitat exists in a quantity
PICO and continuity sufficient
to support viable lynx
populations
C—3
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
Species Plant Series Use of these Series seral Category of Special Structural or Special
Occupied Series stage Species Habitat Considerations
Chipping ABAM, TSME, Breeding and All seral Focal species Needs open forest with well
sparrow ABMAS, foraging stages developed understory for
TSHE, PSME, breeding
ABGR/ABCO,
PICO, PIAL
and PIPO
Clarks nut- ABAM, TSME, Breeding and All seral Focal species Only breeds in larger trees in
cracker ABMAS, foraging stages more dense forests
TSHE, PSME,
ABGR/ABCO,
PICO, PIAL
and PIPO
Coopers ABAM, TSME, Breeding and All seral Management Only breeds in larger trees in
hawk ABMAS, foraging stages Indicator more dense forests
TSHE, PSME, Species
ABGR/ABCO,
PICO, PIAL
and PIPO
Flammu- ABAM, TSME, Breeding and Late seral Survey and Nests in cavaties; will
lated owl ABMAS, foraging stages Manage only use stands with large
TSHE, PSME, Ponderosa pine component
ABGR/ABCO, for breeding
PICO, PIAL
and PIPO
Fringed ABAM, TSME, Breeding and Early to late Survey and More occurrence in the more
myotis ABMAS, foraging seral stages Manage mesic plant series listed
TSHE, PSME,
ABGR/ABCO,
PIAL and
PIPO
Golden ABAM, TSME, Breeding and All seral Management Only breeds on cliff faces and
eagle ABMAS, foraging stages Indicator in large trees in open forest
TSHE, PSME, Species stands
ABGR/ABCO,
PIAL and
PIPO
Great grey ABAM, TSME, Breeding and All seral Management Needs meadow openings and
owl ABMAS, foraging stages Indicator dense pole- sized tree stands
TSHE, PSME, Species, Survey for foraging
ABGR/ABCO, and Manage
PICO, PIAL
and PIPO
Harlequin None of the None None RF Sensitive Breeds adjacent to high
duck Plant Series in Species velocity streams. Nesting
this Guide habitat is riparian vegetation
C—4
Appendix C
Species Plant Series Use of these Series seral Category of Special Structural or Special
Occupied Series stage Species Habitat Considerations
Hermit ABAM, TSME, Breeding and Mid to Late Focal species Indicates multi-layed
thrush ABMAS, foraging Seral structurally diverse forests
TSHE, PSME,
ABGR/ABCO,
PIAL and
PIPO
Horned None of the None None RF Sensitive Breeds in emergent riparian
grebe Plant Series in Species vegetation in lakes
this Guide
Lewis ABAM, TSME, Breeding and Early Focal species Forages only in Silver and
wood- ABMAS, foraging Shasta Red Fir; in the other
pecker TSHE, PSME, Plant Series these birds will
ABGR/ABCO, forage and breed in very open
PIAL and stand conditions, primarily
PIPO after a medium or high
intensity fire
Long-eared ABAM, TSME, Breeding and All seral Survey and Uses caves, mines, hollow
myotis ABMAS, foraging stages Manage trees, loose bark or rock
TSHE, PSME, crevices
ABGR/ABCO,
PICO, PIAL
and PIPO
Long-legged ABAM, TSME, Breeding and All seral Survey and Uses caves or mines as
myotis ABMAS, foraging stages Manage hibernacula. Uses hollow
TSHE, PSME, trees, loose bark or rock
ABGR/ABCO, crevices for maternity
PICO, PIAL colonies
and PIPO
Mule deer ABAM, TSME, Breeding and All seral Management Edges between seral stages
ABMAS, foraging stages Indicator are optimum
TSHE, PSME, Species
ABGR/ABCO,
PIAL and
PIPO
Northern ABAM, TSME, Breeding All seral ESA Threat- Will use very large trees near
bald eagle ABMAS, stages ened water for nesting
TSHE, PSME,
ABGR/ABCO,
PIAL and
PIPO
Northern ABAM, TSME, Breeding and All seral Management Will use a variety of habitats
goshawk ABMAS, foraging stages Indicator for foraging. Needs late seral
TSHE, PSME, Species forests with high canopy
ABGR/ABCO, closure to establish breeding
PICO, PIAL territories
and PIPO
Northern ABAM, TSME, Breeding and Mid to Late ESA Threat- Will use smaller size stands
spotted owl ABMAS, foraging Seral ened if there is a residual old tree
TSHE, PSME, component
ABGR/ABCO,
C—5
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
Species Plant Series Use of these Series seral Category of Special Structural or Special
Occupied Series stage Species Habitat Considerations
Olive-sided ABAM, TSME, Breeding and All seral Focal species Dependant upon early seral
fly-catcher ABMAS, foraging stages edges adjacent to late seral
TSHE, PSME, stands
ABGR/ABCO,
PICO, PIAL
and PIPO
Pacific fisher ABAM, TSME, Breeding and Mid to Late ESA Threat- Only breeds in late seral
ABMAS, foraging Seral ened conditions in presence of
TSHE, PSME, snags and logs
ABGR/ABCO
Palid Bat PIPO Breeding and Late Seral Survey and Requires rock cliffs, caves or
foraging Manage mines for breeding. Strong
riparian associate for foraging
Pygmy PIPO Breeding and Late Seral Survey and Requires large tree (mature
nuthatch foraging Manage, Focal stand) structure
Species
Pygmy None of the None None RF Sensitive Sagebrush/sandy soils
rabbit Plant Series in Species
this Guide
Red-naped ABAM, TSME, Breeding and All seral Focal species Requires inclusion of
sap-sucker ABMAS, foraging stages hardwoods (primarily aspen)
TSHE, PSME, within these stands for
ABGR/ABCO, breeding; associated with
PICO, PIAL adjacent riparian habitats
and PIPO
Red-necked None of the None None RF Sensitive Breeds in emergent riparian
grebe Plant Series in Species vegetation in lakes
this Guide
Redtailed ABAM, TSME, Breeding and All seral Management In high density stands
hawk ABMAS, foraging stages Indicator will hunt in interspersed
TSHE, PSME, Species openings; requires large trees
ABGR/ABCO, for nesting platform
PIAL and
PIPO
Rocky ABAM, TSME, Breeding and All seral Management Edges between seral stages
Mountain ABMAS, foraging stages Indicator are optimum. Prefers low
elk TSHE, PSME, Species human presence
ABGR/ABCO,
PICO, PIAL
and PIPO
Sandhill None of the None None Focal species Uses riparian wetlands for
crane Plant Series in breeding
this Guide
Sharp- ABAM, TSME, Breeding and All seral Management Only breeds in high density
shinned ABMAS, foraging stages Indicator forests
hawk TSHE, PSME, Species
ABGR/ABCO,
PICO, PIAL
and PIPO
C—6
Appendix C
Species Plant Series Use of these Series seral Category of Special Structural or Special
Occupied Series stage Species Habitat Considerations
Silver- ABAM, TSME, Breeding and All seral Survey and Uses trees, bark crevices, and
haired Bat ABMAS, foraging stages Manage snags for summer roosts; if
TSHE, PSME, present in winter, may use
ABGR/ABCO, caves, mines, or rock crevices
PICO, PIAL for hibernacula
and PIPO
Three-toed ABAM, TSME, Breeding and All seral Management Uses all forest conditions
wood- ABMAS, foraging stages Indicator with the presence of suitable
pecker TSHE, PSME, Species nesting snags. Most closely
ABGR/ABCO, associated with lodgepole
PICO, PIAL pine forests. Populations
and PIPO become abundant after
recent burns or bark beetle
outbreaks
Tri-colored None of the None None RF Sensitive Wetland associated species
blackbird Plant Series in Species
this Guide
Western ABAM, TSME, Breeding and All seral Survey and Forages in all conditions;
Big-eared ABMAS, foraging stages Manage open water is desirable. Will
Bat TSHE, PSME, only breed in these plant
ABGR/ABCO, series if caves or mines are
PICO, PIAL present
and PIPO
White- PSME, ABGR/ Breeding and Early seral Focal Species, Requires a strong, mature
headed ABCO, PICO foraging in PSME & Survey and ponderosa pine component
wood- and PIPO ABCO, Late Manage
pecker seral in PIPO
& PICO
William- ABAM, TSME, Breeding and All seral Focal species Needs large snags for
son’s Sap- ABMAS, foraging stages breeding, forages in early
sucker TSHE, PSME, seral conditions
ABGR/ABCO,
PICO, PIAL
and PIPO
Yellow rail None of the None None RF Sensitive Wetland associated species
Plant Series in Species
this Guide
C—7
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
Pacific Silver Fir, Mountain Hemlock and Shasta Red Fir Series
Mixed Conifer Forest (Johnson and O’Neil)
Mixed Conifer Forest (Altman)
The Pacific Silver Fir, Mountain Hemlock and Shasta Red Fir Series
include the Montane Mixed Conifer Forest as described by Johnson and
O’Neil (2001) and the Mixed Conifer habitat as described by Altman
(2000). Wildlife habitats in these plant series occupy large areas of the
Deschutes and Winema Forests. This habitat is one of the least modified
vegetation types by human activity. Large areas of high elevation
hemlock and true fir forests in these series are within national parks
and wilderness areas. There has probably been little or no decline in the
extent of this type over time. Large areas of this habitat are relatively
undisturbed and include significant old-growth stands. Smaller areas
have been extensively affected by logging, especially dispersed patch
clear-cuts, developed into ski areas, and recently burned large and
intense wildfires. The habitat is stable in this area, but is probably still
declining in condition because of continued logging and wildfires.
None of the plant associations within the three vegetation series is listed
in the National Vegetation Classification as imperiled (Anderson et al.
1998).
1. Loss of older forests and large diameter trees and snags from timber
harvesting, particularly at the lowest elevations;
2. High risk of loss of remaining old forest stands from stand-
replacing fires due to high fuel loads in densely stocked
understories;
3. Invasion of exotic plants contributing to alteration of understory
conditions and increase in fuel loadings;
4. Fragmentation of most of the remaining tracts of old-growth forest
outside national parks and wilderness, which negatively impacts
species with large area requirements (large carnivores);
5. Areas that are among the most popular and intensively used
recreation sites in the west;
6. Restoration issues such as techniques (mowing, thinning, burning)
and timing (spring/summer versus fall) of understory removal or
prescribed burning;
7. BT spraying ramifications on lepidopterans and other non-target
avian species.
C—8
Appendix C
1. Retain all large diameter (>53 cm [20 in]) trees and snags.
2. Maintain existing areas of moderate to high quality mature/
old-growth conditions, and actively manage to promote their
sustainability.
3. Initiate actions to enhance size and connectivity of existing quality
mature/old-growth condition patches (i.e., reduce fragmentation).
4. Initiate actions to avoid or minimize further degradation of late
seral (shade-tolerant dominated) old-growth conditions (e.g.,
thinning, introduction of prescribed burning).
5. Initiate actions to improve quality of degraded mature/old-growth
conditions through appropriate management, particularly the use
of natural disturbance regimes such as fire in early seral dominated
large structure tree stands.
6. By 2025, initiate actions to establish/maintain 2 blocks of forest
greater than 5,000 acres (on the Deschutes and Winema Forests),
that are moving toward dominance by Pacific Silver Fir, Mountain
Hemlock and Shasta Red Fir Series, mature/old-growth conditions
(can include a mosaic of other conditions).
7. By 2025, initiate actions to establish/maintain greater than 25% of
5th field HUCs, where the Pacific Silver Fir, Mountain Hemlock
and Shasta Red Fir Series occur and are moving towards large
structure dominated conditions.
The Douglas Fir, White Fir–Grand Fir, and Western Hemlock Series
include the Eastside (Interior) Mixed Conifer Forest Mixed Conifer
Forest as described by Johnson and O’Neil (2001) and the Mixed
Conifer habitat as described by Altman (2000). These series also
C—9
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
occupy large areas on the east slope of the Cascade Mountains in the
Deschutes and Winema National Forests. Quigley and Arbelbide
(1997) concluded that Douglas-fir, white fir–grand fir, and Western
hemlock trees are found in a greater percentage of existing plant
communities now than before 1900, whereas the Western larch and
Western white pine trees are significantly less abundant. Twenty percent
of Pacific Northwest Douglas-fir, grand fir, western redcedar, western
hemlock, and western white pine plant communities listed in the
National Vegetation Classification are considered imperiled or critically
imperiled (Anderson et al. 1998). Roads, timber harvest, periodic
grazing, and altered fire regimes have compromised these forests. Even
though this habitat is more extensive than pre-1900, natural processes
and functions have been modified enough to alter its natural status as
functional habitat for many species.
Altman (2000) has listed some suggested strategies to meet the above
management objectives for these plant series. Please refer to that
document for specific recommendations pertaining to the Whitebark
Pine Series.
C—10
Appendix C
The Lodgepole Pine Series include the Lodgepole Pine Forest and
Woodlands as described by Johnson and O’Neil (2001) and the Old-
Growth Lodgepole Pine habitat as described by Altman (2000). Quigley
and Arbelbide (1997) concluded that the extent of the lodgepole pine
cover type in Oregon and Washington is the same as before 1900 and
in some regions may exceed its historical extent. Five percent of Pacific
Northwest lodgepole pine plant communities listed in the National
Vegetation Classification are considered imperiled (Anderson et al.
1998). At a finer scale, these forests have been fragmented by roads,
timber harvest, and influenced by periodic livestock grazing and altered
fire regimes.
C—11
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
The Ponderosa Pine Series include the Ponderosa Pine Forest and
Woodlands as described by Johnson and O’Neil (2001) and the
Ponderosa Pine habitat as described by Altman (2000). Quigley and
Arbelbide (1997) concluded that the Interior Ponderosa Pine cover
type is significantly less in extent than pre-1900. They included much
of this habitat in potential vegetation groups which were classified
as Douglas Fir and Grand Fir/White Fir in this guide. Quigley and
Arbelbide (1997) reached their conclusion based upon the departure
from natural succession and disturbance conditions in the fir series.
The greatest structural change in this habitat is the reduced extent of the
large tree, single-layer condition. This habitat is also degraded because
of increased exotic plants and decreased native bunchgrasses. One third
of ponderosa pine plant associations listed in the National Vegetation
Classification are considered imperiled or critically imperiled
(Anderson et al. 1998).
C—12
Appendix C
C—13
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
C—14
References
References
Agee, J.K. 1993. Fire Ecology of Pacific Northwest Forests. Island Press
Washington DC. 493 p.
Arno, S.F., and D.H. Davis. 1980. Fire history of western red cedar/
hemlock forest in northern Idaho. General Technical Report
RM-81. Fort Collins, CO; USDA Forest Service. Rocky Mountain
Forest and Range Experiment Station. p. 21-26.
Arno, S.F., and R.J. Hoff. 1989. Silvics of whitebark pine (Pinus
albicaulis). USDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. INT-253.
Ogden, UT. 11 p.
Atzet, T., D.E. White, L.A. McCrimmon, P.A. Martinez, P.R. Fong and
V.D. Randall. 1996. Field guide to the forested plant associations
of southwestern Oregon. Portland, OR. R6-NR-ECOL-TP-17-96.
USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Region, (available on the
internet at <www.fs.fed.us/r6/rogue-siskiyou/publications). 334 p.
Ref.—1
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
Bekker, M.F., and A.H. Taylor. 2001. Gradient analysis of fire regimes
in montane forests of the southern Cascade Range. Thousand
Lakes Wilderness, California, USA. Plant Ecology. 155:15-28.
Bork, J.L. 1985. Fire history in three vegetation types on the eastern
side of the Oregon Cacades. Ph.D. Dissertation Oregon State
University, Oregon.
Clausnitzer, R.R., and B.A. Zamora. 1987. Forest habitat types of the
Colville Indian Reservation. Publ. MISC0110. Pullman, WA:
Agriculture Research Center, Washington State University. 110 p.
Cooper, S.V., K.E. Neiman, R. Steele, and D.W. Roberts. 1987. Forest
habitat types of northern Idaho: a second approximation.
Gen. Tech. Rep. INT-236. Ogden, UT: USDA Forest Service,
Intermountain Research Station. 135 p.
Ref—2
References
Diaz, N.M., C.T. High, T.K. Mellen, D.E. Smith, and C. Topik. 1997.
Plant association and management guide for the mountain
hemlock zone. Gifford Pinchot and Mt. Hood National Forests.
R6-MTH-GP-TP-08-95. Portland, OR: USDA Forest Service,
Pacific Northwest Region. 141 p.
Ref.—3
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
Fischer, W.C., and A.F. Bradley. 1987. Fire ecology of western Montana
forest habitat types. Gen. Tech. Rep. INT-223. USDA Forest
Service, Intermountain Forest and Range Exp. Station, Ogden UT.
p. 96.
Franklin, J.F., W.H. Moir, M.A. Hemstrom, S.E. Greene, and B.G.
Smith. 1988. The forest communities of Mount Rainier National
Park. Scientific Monograph Series 19. Washington, DC: US
Department of the Interior, National Park Service. 194 p.
Gara, R.I., W.R. Littke, J.K. Agee, D.R. Geiszler, J.D. Stuart, and C.H.
Driver. 1985. Influence of Fires, Fungi, and Mountain Pine
Beetles on Development of a Lodgepole Pine Forest in South-
Central Oregon. In: Baumgartner, D.M et. al. (eds.), Lodgepole
Pine: The species and its management. Pullman, Washington
State University. pp. 153-62.
Godfree, R.C., R.O. Tinnin, and R.B. Forbes. 2002. The effects of dwarf
mistletoe, witches’ brooms, stand structure and site characteristics
on the crown architecture of lodgepole pine in Oregon. Canadian
Journal of Forest Research. 32(8):1360-1371.
Ref—4
References
Goheen, E.M., and E.A. Willhite. 2006. Field guide to the common
diseases and insect pests of Oregon and Washington conifers.
USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Region. R6-NR-FID-PR-
01-06.
Graham, R.T., A.E. Harvey, T.B. Jain and J.R. Tonn. 1999. The effects of
thinning and similar stand treatments on fire behavior in western
forests. Gen. Tech. Report PNW-GTR-463. Portland, OR. USDA
Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station. 27 p.
Hall, F.C. 1987. Growth Basal Area Handbook. USDA Forest Service
R6-ECOL-181b-1985. Pacific Northwest Region, Portland, OR.
Hall, F.C. 1989. The concept and application of growth basal area:
A forestland stockability index. R6 Ecol Tech Paper 007-88.
Portland, OR: USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Region.
86 p.
Hall, F.C. 1998. Pacific Northwest ecoclass codes for seral and potential
natural communities. Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-GTR-418. Portland,
OR: USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station.
290 p.
Ref.—5
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
Hessburg, P.F., J.K. Agee, and J.F. Franklin. 2005. Dry forests and
wildland fires of the inland northwest USA: contrasting the
landscape ecology of the pre-settlement and modern eras. Forest
Ecology and Management. 211:117-139.
Henderson, J.A., R.D. Lesher, D.H. Peter, and D.C. Shaw. 1992.
Field guide to the forested plant associations of the Mt. Baker-
Snoqualmie National Forest. R6 Ecol TP 028-91. Portland, OR:
USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Region. 196 p.
Henderson, J.A., D.H. Peter, R.D. Lesher, and DC Shaw. 1989. Forested
plant associations of the Olympic National Forest. R6 Ecol.
Tech. Pap. 001-88. Portland, OR: USDA Forest Service, Pacific
Northwest Region. 502 p.
Hessburg, P.F., R.G. Mitchell, and G.M. Filip. 1994. Historical and
current roles of insects and pathogens in eastern Oregon and
Washington forested landscapes. USDA Forest Service, Pacific
Northwest Research Station, General Technical Report PNW-
GTR-327. 72 p.
Ref—6
References
Laacke, R.J. 1990. Abies magnifica A. Murr. California Red Fir. P71-79.
In: Silvics of North America: Volume 1. Conifers. Tech. Coords.
R.M. Burns, and B.H. Honkala, Agriculture Handbook 654.
USDA Forest Service, Washington D. C. vol. 1, 675 p.
Lillybridge, T.R., B.L. Kovalchik, C.K. Williams, and B.G. Smith. 1995.
Field guide for forested plant associations of the Wenatchee
National Forest. Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-GTR-359. Portland, OR:
USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station, with
Pacific Northwest Region, Wenatchee N.F. 352 p.
Ref.—7
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
McCain, C., and N.M. Diaz. 2002. Field guide to the forested plant
associations of the Westside central Cascades of northwest
Oregon. Technical Paper R6-NR-ECOL-TP-02-02. Portland, OR:
USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Region. 403 p.
Oliver, W.W. and R.A. Ryker. 1990. Pinus ponderosa Dougl. Ex Laws
Ponderosa Pine. P413-424. In: Silvics of North America: Volume
1. Conifers. Tech. Coords. R.M.Burns, and B.H. Honkala.
Agriculture Handbook 654. USDA Forest Service, Washington D.
C. vol. 1. 675 p.
Ref—8
References
Pfister, R.D., B.L. Kovalchik, S.F. Arno, and R.C. Presby. 1977. Forest
habitat types of Montana. Gen. Tech. Rep. INT-34. Ogden,
UT: USDA Forest Service, Intermountain Forest and Range
Experiment Station. 174 p.
Sartwell, C., and R.E Stevens. 1975. Mountain pine beetle in ponderosa
pine: prospects for silvicultural control in second-growth stands.
Journal of Forestry. 73:136-140.
Ref.—9
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
Schmitt, C.L., D.J. Goheen, E.M. Goheen, and S.J. Frankel. 1984.
Effects of management activities and dominant species type
0n pest-caused mortality losses in true fir in the Fremont and
Ochoco National Forests. USDA Forest Service, Forest Pest
Management. Portland, OR. 34 p.
Simon, S.A. 1991. Fire history in the Jefferson Wilderness Area east of
the Cascade crest. Unpublished reference on file: USDA Forest
Service, Deschutes National Forest, Bend, OR. 129 p.
Steele, R., S.V. Cooper, D.M. Ondov, D.W. Roberts, and R.D. Pfister.
1983. Forest habitat types of eastern Idaho-western Wyoming.
Gen. Tech. Rep. INT-144. Odgen, UT: USDA Forest Service,
Intermountain Forest and Range Experiment Station. 122 p.
Steele, R., R.D. Pfister, R.A. Ryker, and J.A. Kittams. 1981. Forest
habitat types of central Idaho. Gen. Tech. Rep. INT-114. Ogden,
UT: USDA Forest Service, Intermountain Forest and Range
Experiment Station. 138 p. (+ map).
Ref—10
References
Sullivan, K.F., G.M. Filip, J.V. Arena, S.A. Fitzgerald, and S.D. Tesch.
2001. Incidence of infection and decay caused by Heterobasidion
annosum in managed noble fir on the Warm Springs Indian
Reservation, Oregon. Western Journal of Applied Forestry.
16:106-113.
Swetnam, T.W., B.E. Wickman, H.G. Paul, and C.H. Baisan. 1995.
Historical patterns of western spruce budworm and Douglas-fir
tussock moth outbreaks in the northern Blue Mountains, Oregon,
since A.D. 1700. Research Paper PNW-RP-484. Portland,
OR: USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Forest and Range
Experiment Station. 27 p.
Taylor, A.H., and M.N. Solem. 2001. Fire regimes and stand dynamics
in an upper montane forest landscape in the southern Cascades,
Caribou Wilderness, California. Journal of the Torrey Botanical
Club. 128:350-361.
Topik, C. 1989. Plant association and management guide for the grand
fir zone--Gifford Pinchot National Forest. R6 Ecol. Tech. Pap.
006-88. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest
Service, Pacific Northwest Region. 110 p.
Topik, C., N.M. Halverson, and D.G. Brockway. 1986. Plant association
and management guide for the western hemlock zone, Gifford
Pinchot National Forest. R6 Ecol 230-1986. Portland, OR: USDA
Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Region. 133 p.
Topik, C., N.M. Halverson, and T. High. 1988. Plant association and
management guide for the ponderosa pine, Douglas-fir, and grand
fir zones, Mt. Hood National Forest. R6 Ecol. Tech. Pap. 004-88.
Portland, OR: USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Region.
132 p.
Ref.—11
Forested Plant Associations of the Oregon East Cascades
Williams, C.K., B.F. Kelley, B.G. Smith and T.R. Lillybridge. 1995.
Forested plant associations of the Colville National Forest. Gen.
Tech. Rep. PNW-GTR-360. Portland, OR: USDA Forest Service,
Pacific Northwest Research Station. 370 p
Williams, C.K., T.R. Lillybridge, and B.G. Smith. 1990. Forested plant
associations of the Colville National Forest, Field Guide. Colville,
WA: USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Region, Colville
National Forest. 133p.
Ref—12