No information available at the present time.
This stand is an upper-middle-elevation example of this community and represents the dry end of the type. The more moist higher-elevation example of the type is represented by Reference Stand 4. The stand occurs at the western tip of a large homogeneous tract of the ABAM/TIUN habitat type.
The stand was oriented within the forest to show a transition from old-growth forest between 450 and 500 years old to very old forest greater than 500 years old. The age is reflected by stem maps which show a dominance by old Pseudotsuga menziesii and Tsuga heterophylla in the north- northwest corner gradually shifting to dominance by Abies amabilis and Tsuga heterophylla in the south-southwest corner. The overall dominant tree species at this time is Pseudotsuga menziesii.
The shrub layer is poorly developed with only a small amount of Acer circinatum in the tall shrubs and less than 8% cover of other shrubs in the low shrub stratum. Shrub layer density increases in the older portions of the reference stand where the tree canopy is more broken by the loss of large dominant Pseudotsuga menziesii and seral Pinus monticola.
The herb layer has greater than 50% cover total and is clearly dominated by Tiarella unifoliata, Cornus canadensis, and Linnaea borealis. Other important species include Clintonia uniflora, Viola sempervirens, Smilacina stellata, and Achlys triphylla. Twenty-six other herbs occur in small amounts to yield a high-diversity herb layer.
|