Understanding and managing the dry conifer forests of Northeastern California [Chapter 2.1]

Abstract

The volcanic soils of the Southern Cascades and the Modoc Plateau support a diverse assemblage of conifer species. On the western slopes of the Southern Cascades, Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii), ponderosa (Pinus ponderosa) and lodgepole (Pinus contorta) pines, and white (Abies concolor) and Shasta red firs (Abies magnifica) are common, whereas ponderosa and Jeffrey (Pinus jeffreyi) pines inhabit the drier east slopes. Eastern slopes and valleys commonly contain big sagebrush (Artemisia species) and western juniper (Juniperus occidentalis) habitats. The Great Basin, with its high desert plant assemblages of sagebrush- and shrub-steppe and piñon-juniper woodlands extends onto the Modoc Plateau in Northeastern California, where the piñon pine (as Pinus monophylla) component is rarely represented. These communities are shaped by patterns of fire frequency and intensity, successional dynamics and community structure, and soil type and quality (Gonzales and Hoshi 2015). As discussed in Chapter 1.1 (Dumroese, this synthesis, The Northeastern California Plateaus Bioregion Science Synthesis: Background, Rationale, and Scope), forest staffs and the public commented that portions of the forest and woodland ecosystems of the Lassen and Modoc National Forests (hereafter, the Lassen and Modoc) required attention beyond what was provided by two other syntheses that included these forests: the Science Synthesis to Support Socioecological Resilience in the Sierra Nevada and Southern Cascade Range (hereafter, Sierra Nevada Science Synthesis) published by Long et al. (2014) and the Synthesis of Science to Inform Land Management Within the Northwest Forest Plan Area (hereafter, Northwest Forest Plan Science Synthesis) published by Spies et al. (2018). These two valuable syntheses serve both to geographically frame the region that will be discussed in this Northeastern California Plateaus Bioregion Science Synthesis (hereafter, Plateaus Science Synthesis) and provide an excellent template for this author to adapt to the needs of the Lassen and Modoc.

Parent Publication

• Northeastern California plateaus bioregion science synthesis

Citation

Moser, W. Keith. 2020. Understanding and managing the dry conifer forests of Northeastern California [Chapter 2.1]. In: Dumroese, R. K.; Moser, W. K., eds. Northeastern California plateaus bioregion science synthesis. Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-409. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. p. 14-44.