File:Birds of Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks (197-?) (19762612564).jpg

Title: Birds of Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks
Identifier: birdsofyellowsto00foll (find matches)
Year: (197-?) ((190s)
Authors: Follett, Dick; Yellowstone Library and Museum Association; United States. National Park Service
Subjects: Birds; Birds
Publisher: (Yellowstone National Park) : Yellowstone Library and Museum Association, in cooperation with National Park Service, U. S. Dept. of Interior
Contributing Library: Harold B. Lee Library
Digitizing Sponsor: Brigham Young University

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Lodgepole Pine/Spruce-Fir Complex
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Dense stands of lodgepole pine blanket more than sixty percent of the combined area of Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. In Yel- lowstone and in the northern portion of Grand Teton, lodgepole pine attains climax conditions in porous volcanic soils with low fertility. In the central and southern portions of Grand Teton, however, lodgepole pine grows primarily in the soils of glacial moraines. True climax is seldom reached in any of the forested communities of Yellowstone and Grand Teton, however, because of naturally recurring fire. The regenerative growth that follows a fire, as well as the standing snags left by a fire, provide nesting sites, cover, and food sources for a variety of birds. Successional rates are slow in the Yellowstone and Northern Grand Teton lodgepole pine complexes because of marginal moisture and low fertility. Whitebark pine is thinly scattered throughout the lodgepole pine complex in Yellowstone, but is confined to mountain canyons above 8,000 feet in Grand Teton. Pockets of spruce and fir are found along stream bottoms and pond margins. Forest floor vegetation is short and sparse, consisting primarily of elk sedge, pine grass, and grouse whortleberry. In contrast to the lodgepole pine complex, the soils of the spruce-fir complex are generally more moist and fertile. Engelmann spruce and sub- alpine fir are the dominant climax trees. However, lodgepole pine in various stages of succession covers a large portion of the complex. White- bark pine grows in large stands near timberline. The forest floor vegeta- tion of the spruce-fir complex is lush. Dominant plants include globe huckleberry, grouse whortleberry, arnica, aster, and fleabane. 7

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