United States Department of Agriculture Plant Association and - Forest Service ggystPacific Management Guide ?6-Ecol-130a-1983 for the Pacific Silver Fir Zone Gifford Pinchot National Forest Plant Association and Management Guide for the Pacific Silver .Fir’Zone Gifford Pinchot National Forest By Dale G. Brockway, Forest Ecologist Christopher Topik, Assistant Forest Ecologist Miles A. Hemstrom, Area Ecologist William H. Emmingham, Extension Silviculture Specialist, Oregon State University R6-Ecoi-130a-1983 June 1983 Table of Contents LISTOFFIGURES .......................................... i LISTOFTABLES .......................................... ii INTRODUCTION ............................................ 1 METHODS AND NOMENCLATURE ...................................... Methods Nomenclat;r;!::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::.:::::: PLANT ASSOCIATIONS ......................................... An Overview 5 Ecological Inieip;eiaiib' : : : : 1 1 : : : : : : 1 : : : : : 1 : : : : : : : : 1 1 : : : : : : Management Considerations ................................... 15 KEY TO PLANT ASSOCIATIONS ..................................... UseoftheKey ......................................... f : TheKey .. .. 28 Species List and .................................Illustrations : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : 29 DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF ASSOCIATIONS ................................ Pacific Silver Fir/Salal Association .............................. Pacific Silver Fir/Dwarf Oregon Grape Association Pacific Silver Fir/Vanillaleaf-Queencup Beadlily Asscci&.;on : : : : : : : : 1 : : : : : : : : : Pacific Silver Fir/Alaska Huckleberry Association Pacific Silver Fir/Alaska Huckleberry-Salal Association......................... : : : : 1 : : : : Pacific Silver Fir/Coolwort Foamflower Association ....................... Pacific Silver Fir/Devil's Club Association ........... Pacific Silver Fir/Cascades Azalea Association : : : 1 : : 1 : : : : : : : : : : : : : Pacific Silver Fir/Fool's Huckleberry Association : . Pacific Silver Fir/Big Huckleberry/Queencup Beadlily Associition : : 1 : : : : . : 1 1 : : : : Pacific Silver Fir/Big Huckleberry/Beargrass Association .................... Mountain Hemlock Associations Mountain Hemlock/Big Huckleberry As;ociit;oA . : : : 1 : : : : : 1 : : : : : : : : 1 : : : : : : Mountain Hemlock/Fool's Huckleberry Association........................... Mountain Hemlock/Cascades Azalea Association ;... : 1 : : : : : : : : LITERATURECITED ....................... .................. 72 APPENDIX I: Vegetation, Physiographic and Soil Characteristics of Each Association ........ 75 APPENDIX II: Empirical Height Growth Curves and Volume Estimates ................. 95 APPENDIX III: Curves for Site Index and Growth Basal Area ..................... 105 APPENDIX IV: Regional Characteristics of Each Association ..................... 113 List of Figures Figure w 1 Pacific silver fir and mountain hemlock plot locations . ....... 4 2 Vegetation profile through the Columbia Gorge and Cascade Range . ....... 7 3 Annual precipitation for the Gifford Pinchot National Forest . ....... 8 4 Environmental relationships among the series and associations of the Gifford Pinchot National Forest . 10 5 Relative environmental distribution of several shrubs on the Gifford Pinchot National Forest . ....... 11 6 Forest floor dry weight with increasing elevation . ....... 17 7 Percent of total soil organic matter and nitrogen contained in the forest floor with increasing elevation . ....... 17 8 Frost prone areas of the upper elevations in the Cascade Range . ....... 19 9 Comparison of three production indices among upper elevaticn associations . ....... 24 10 Height growth comparison among important timber species in high, moderate and low production upper elevation associations . 25 11 Important timber and indicator plants commonly found in the upper elevations of the Gifford Pinchot National Forest . 31 List of Tables Table 1 Names, abbreviations and ecoclass codes of the upper elevation associations of the Gifford Pinchot National Forest . 5 2 Acreage breakdown of forest series on the Gifford Pinchot National Forest . 6 3 Mean air and soil temperatures for selected plant comnunities in the Pacific silver fir series . ..................... 9 4 Distribution of tree species by association . ..................... 12 5 Environmental characteristics of the upper elevation associations of the Gifford Pinchot National Forest . 14 6 Management characteristics of the upper elevation associations of the Gifford Pinchot National Forest . 15 Relationship of site nutrient loss and burn intensity . 18 Regeneration characteristics of upper elevation conifer species . 21 Productivity summary for upper elevation associations of the Gifford Pinchot National Forest . '. 22 10 List of TRI abbreviations, scientific and common names of plants used in the key and association descriptions . 29 11 Productivity of the Pacific silver fir/salal association . 56 12 Productivity of the Pacific silver fir/dwarf Oregon grape association ........... .57 13 Productivity of the Pacific silver fir/vanillaleaf-queencup beadlily association ..... 58 14 Productivity of the Pacific silver fir/Alaska huckleberry association ........... 59 15 Productivity of the Pacific silver fir/Alaska huckleberry-salal association ........ 60 16 Productivity of the Pacific silver fir/coolwort foamflower association .......... 61 17 Productivity of the Pacific silver fir/devil's club association .............. 62 18 Productivity of the Pacific silver fir/Cascades azalea association ............ 64 19 Productivity of the Pacific silver fir/fool's huckleberry association ........... 65 20 Productivity of the Pacific silver fir/big huckleberry/queencup beadlily association ... 66 21 Productivity of-the Pacific silver fir/big huckleberry/beargrass association ....... 67 22 Productivity of the mountain hemlock/big huckleberry association ............. 6E! 23 Productivity of the mountain hemlock/fool's huckleberry association ............ 69 24 Productivity of the mountain hemlock/Cascades azalea association ............. 70 25 Plant cover of the Pacific silver fir/salal, Pacific silver fir/dwarf Oregon grape and Pacific silver fir/vanillaleaf-queencup beadlily associations ....... 76 26 Plant cover of the Pacific silver fir/Alaska huckleberry associations ........... 78 27 Plant cover of the Pacific silver fir/devil's club and Pacific silver fir/coolwort foamflower associations ............................... 80 ii Table m 28 Plant cover of the Pacific silver fir/fool's huckleberry and Pacific silver fir/ Cascades azalea associations . 82 29 Plant cover of the Pacific silver fir/big huckleberry associations . 84 30 Plant cover of the mountain hemlock associations. 86 31 Physiographic and soil characteristics of the Pacific silver fir/salal, Pacific silver fir/dwarf Oregon grape and Pacific silver fir/vanillaleaf-queencup beadlily associations . 88 32 Physiographic and soil characteristics of the Pacific silver fir/Alaska huckleberry associations . 89 33 Physiographic and soil characteristics of the Pacific silver fir/devil's club and Pacific silver fir/coolwort foamflower associations . 90 34 Physiographic and soil characteristics of the Pacific silver fir/fool's huckleberry and Pacific silver fir/Cascades azalea associations . 91 35 Physiographic and soil characteristics of the Pacific silver fir/big huckleberry associations..................................... 92 36 Physiographic and soil characteristics of the mountain hemlock associations . 93 iii Introduction The study of plant communities provides useful identification and develop management options. information about the environment in which they For convenient field use, the major aspects of occur. Cormwnities are a product of long term this guide have been condensed into pocket sized interaction between factors in the physical format (Brockway et al. 1983). Additional environment and the organisms present. copies of these publications are available Environmental factors such as temperature, through the Forest Supervisor's Office in moisture, light and nutrients act as selective Vancouver, Washington. influences on'plant populations, favoring species best adapted to a particular type of The plant associations described in this guide site. While random chance and genetic are important tools for the land manager. They adaptation within species are also important in provide a basis for coannunicating research the development of community composition and information and management experience and for structure, research by Waring (1969) and Zobel choosing among management alternatives. These et al. (1976) has documented the relationship associations are useful as activity planning and between plant cotnnunities and the complex of land allocation decision tools because knowledge environmental factors which influence them. of the important environmental factors influencing various types of sites aids in Although discontinuities may be found (Whittaker prediction of long term trends on undisturbed 1962), generally the composition of vegetation areas as well as responses following management varies continuously over the landscape (Ramensky operations. 1924, Gleason 1926, McIntosh 1967). As a management convenience, vegetation can be aggregated into discrete units (associations) based on dominant overstory, understory and indicator species which characterize environmental conditions on similar sites. This concept is similar to that of habitat tyPe