Some Aspects of Succession in the Spruce-Fir Forest Zone of Northern Utah
Document Type
Article
Journal/Book Title/Conference
Great Basin Naturalist
Publication Date
1980
Volume
40
Issue
1
Abstract
A site in the Rocky Mountain subalpine forest zone with which a series of hypotheses concerning ecosystem succession was tested is characterized. Succession from herb-dominated meadows to climax forests of Engelmann spruce and subalpine fir can follow at least four identified pathways. After fire, spruce and fir may reinvade a site directly, follow invasion by aspen, or follow invasion by lodgepole pine, the pathway depending on a combination of physical and biotic factors. In other cases, succession begins with long-established meadows which do not owe their existence to fire. In this latter pathway, aspen invades meadows by suckering and changes the environment near the soil surface so as to facilitate establishment of the climax tree species. The biota and soils of four characteristic seral stages (meadow, aspen, fir, spruce-fir) in this latter pathway are described.
First Page
1
Last Page
26
Recommended Citation
Schimpf, D. J., J. A. Henderson, and J. A. MacMahon (1980). Some aspects of succession in the spruce-fir forest zone of northern Utah. Great Basin Naturalist, 40(1):1-26.
Comments
Originally published by Brigham Young University. Publisher's PDF available through remote link.