Final: Important Definitions & Other Info

Front 1

gap colonizer

Back 1

when large trees fall and open gap in canopy, these trees rapidly seed in and their seeds are germinated

ex. yellow birch

Front 2

nurse logs

Back 2

• fallen trees, stumps, even moss-covered boulders
• for some trees, provides seed bed for tiny seeds that allow their roots to establish
• results in straight rows of trees where seedlings grew on fallen trees..."trees on stilts"
  

ex. yellow birch, eastern hemlock

Front 3

what does "trees on stilts" refer to?

Back 3

from seedlings that germinated on logs or stumps that have since decayed (nurse logs)

Front 4

which 5 species define the "climax" of the NHF?

Back 4

1. sugar maple

2. American beech

3. eastern hemlock

4. yellow birch

5. American basswood

Front 5

cove

Back 5

area between ridges, usually with a stream at the bottom

(MMF)

Front 6

krummholz

Back 6

• "twisted tree"
• in IMF, PNF
• forest at the timberline with alpine above
• krumm = crooked, bent, or twisted in German; a type of stunted deformed vegetation found in subarctic or subalpine landscapes, shaped by exposure to strong, freezing wind

ex. bristlecone, Engelmann's spruce

Front 7

list the 2 subgenera of maples (Acer)

Back 7

1. hard maples
2. soft maples

Front 8

examples of hard maples

Back 8

sugar maple, chalk maple, Florida maple

Front 9

examples of soft maples

Back 9

red maple, silver maple, boxelder

Front 10

hard maples vs. soft maples

Back 10

Front 11

genus Tsuga

Back 11

the hemlocks

• members of Pinaceae
• 4 North American species (2 in east and 2 in west)
• eastern species under attack by hemlock woolly adelgid

Front 12

list the 3 distinguishing characteristics of genus Tsuga aka the hemlocks

Back 12

1. needles sit on woody cushion
2. stomata on back of needle
3. small petiole

Front 13

beech gaps

Back 13

in the mountains, repeated burning or harvesting has resulted in "beech gaps" of pure American beech derived from root suckers

Front 14

ring shake

Back 14

conditions in which wood separates from annual rings

ex. eastern hemlock

Front 15

pioneer species of the NHF

Back 15

one of the following species will usually dominate on site following disturbance until it is displaced by more shade-tolerant species

1. aspens (quaking aspen, bigtooth aspen)
2. paper birch
3. red pine
4. fire cherry
   

Front 16

seral

Back 16

• a seral community (or sere) is an intermediate stage between pioneer and climax communities
• more than one seral stage may occur until climax conditions are attained
  

Front 17

list the 2 subgenera of Pinus

Back 17

1. white (soft) pines: Haploxylon
2. yellow (hard) pines: Diploxylon

Front 18

example of white/soft/Haploxylon pine

Back 18

eastern white pine

Front 19

example of yellow/hard/Diploxylon pine

Back 19

loblolly pine

Front 20

subgenera of Pinus : difference in leaves

Back 20

Front 21

subgenera of Pinus : difference in cones

Back 21

Front 22

subgenera of Pinus : difference in wood

Back 22

Front 23

eastern white pine: can determine age of tree by...

Back 23

the one flush of growth per year (whorl of branches) compared to multiple flushes of yellow pines

Front 24

members of Salicaceae

Back 24

1. willows: genus Salix
2. true poplars: genus Populus, divided into 3 groups

Front 25

list the 3 groups within genus Populus aka the true poplars

Back 25

1. cottonwoods: mainly southern distribution (e.g. eastern cottonwood)

2. aspens: mainly northern distribution (e.g. quaking aspen)

3. balsam poplars: also mainly northern distribution

Front 26

flagging

Back 26

first symptom of Dutch elm disease in which the top shoots die; then the tree dies from the top down

ex. American elm

Front 27

shelterbelt species

Back 27

used as a windbreak

ex. boxelder, black cottonwood

Front 28

Progressive Tree Improvement Program

Back 28

genetic improvement program that used tree climbers to do breeding of coastal Douglas-firs

Front 29

list the 3 varieties of Pinus contorta

Back 29

1. shore pine
2. Rocky Mountain
3. Sierran

Front 30

list the 5 genera within the North American Fagaceae family

Back 30

1. Quercus
2. Fagus
3. Castanea
4. Chrysolepis (was Castanopsis) → chinkapins
5. Notholithocarpus (was lithocarpus) → tanoaks

recent renaming/reclassification of 4 and 5 due to DNA evidence

Front 31

Chrysolepis spp.

Back 31

chinkapins

2 species in western NA...only one is a tree (C. chrysophylla)

Front 32

Notholithocarpus spp.

Back 32

tanoaks

• one species in NA...tanoak (Notholithocarpus densiflorus)
• being wiped out by sudden oak death (Phytophthora ramorum)

Front 33

sub-subgenera of white pine subgenus (Haploxylon)

Back 33

1. white pines (e.g. eastern white pine)
2. pinyons (e.g. pinyon pine)
3. foxtail pines (e.g. bristlecone pine)
4. stone pines (e.g. limber pine)

Front 34

Pinyon-Juniper Zone of IMF

Back 34

• from about 5000 to 6000 ft
• large area of small, widely-spaced trees and shrubs at the lowest elevations of tree growth
• little vegetative ground cover
• located only in southern half of IMF
  

Front 35

Ponderosa Pine Zone of IMF

Back 35

• 5000 to 8000 ft
• lowest elevational zone in which large upright trees grow
• cooler and moister than pinyon juniper zone with grass as the common ground cover

Front 36

Fir Zone

Back 36

• 7000 to 10,000 ft
• higher, cooler, and moister than ponderosa pine zone
• can overlap with ponderosa pine zone, with pines on south-facing slopes and Douglas-fir on cooler, north-facing slopes
  

Front 37

genera within North American Pinaceae family

Back 37

1. Pinus → pines
2. Tsuga → hemlocks
3. Picea → spruces
4. Abies → (true) firs
5. Larix → larches
6. Pseudotsuga → Douglas-fir

Front 38

genus Abies

Back 38

the true firs

• in Pinaceae family
• main commercial value are as ornamentals
• wood generally not as high quality as spruce wood
• have erect cones that disintegrate at maturity
• needle attachment → "suction cups"

Front 39

Subalpine Zone

Back 39

• 10,000 ft to timberline (~12,000 ft)
• heavy winter snow and cool temps
• has densest forest cover in the region
• forest at timberline is krummholz
  

Front 40

timberline

Back 40

highest elevation where trees can survive

Front 41

genus Picea

Back 41

the spruces

• in Pinaceae family
• spruce wood is strong, light, and long-fibered so it's very desirable for lumber
• used for wooden airplanes
• wood of choice for music instruments and piano sounding boards
  

Front 42

dendrochronology

Back 42

• studying changes in climate by examining tree rings

• by overlapping rings of living trees with older logs found in Indian lodges, can go back in time over 9000 years

ex. bristlecone pine

Front 43

cottonwoods prefer _________ while aspens prefer _________

Back 43

wet sites; upland sites

Front 44

Pando clone

Back 44

• Latin for "I spread"
• quaking aspen clone in Utah
• est. to weight 6000 tons
• est. to be 80,000 yrs old; some say 1 mil
• about 47,000 stems
• average stem age is 130 yrs

Front 45

mountain benches

Back 45

• level locations where organic and mineral debris collect to form deep loose soils
• in mid-elevation SF, trees grow to large size on these

Front 46

pinite

Back 46

a sugary substance secreted by bark of sugar pine, which Native Americans caramelized to make sweet condiment

Front 47

General Sherman

Back 47

• giant sequoia
  

1. not tallest but most massive (volume) for single stems

• 272 ft tall, 32 ft diam; 3200 y/o

Front 48

chemotaxonomy

Back 48

classification of species based on chemical properties

ex. Jeffery pine (and Ponderosa pine)

Front 49

juglone

Back 49

• a strong allelopathic compound produced by black walnut
  
• released from decaying leaves, twigs, roots, and fruit husks
• Carya species also produce it but not as much