THE FOREST
COMMUNITIES
OF MOUNT RAINIER
NATIONAL PARK
Jerry F. Franklin
William H. Moir
Miles A. Hemstrom
Sarah E. Greene
Bradley G. Smith
Scientific Monograph Series No. 19
NATIONAL
PARK
SERVICE
U.S. Department of the Interior
National Park Service
Washington, D.C.
1988
'
.. . . A ,
,..
-
•
,i
...• ..,?-. 1..:,
it `; '
.
'' .
,../ •'P.) % ..1.:.00 _.4 .
..!
4 ' ..'
J:..
A..
•'
—
'.
.f).
" /. ,
r) % t .P' , , ,,e ',;-,',
ul....erlid..:de
Ig Lii
,,
t
#( i ' 1 t . , P!.'+'
:A..e.a.liak42'....e.'.
Mosaic of forest stands of varying age and composition on Sunrise Ridge.
Frontispiece.
Mount Rainier National Park.
AUTHORS
•
•
.1
JERRY F. FRANKLIN is Chief Plant Ecologist. U.S. Department o'
Agriculture, Forest Service, and Bloedel Professor of Ecosystem Analy
sis, College of Forest Resources AR-10, University of Washington.
Seattle, Washington 98195. WILLIAM H. MOIR is Ecologist, U.S
Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southwestern Region. Fed
eral Building, 517 Gold Avenue, S.W., Albuquerque, New Mexico
87102. MILES A. HEMSTROM is Area Ecologist, Willamette Nationa
Forest, 211 East 7th Street, Eugene, Oregon 97440. SARAH E
GREENE is Research Forester, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Fores
Service, Forestry Sciences Laboratory, Corvallis, Oregon 97331
BRADLEY G. SMITH is Research Assistant, Department of Fores
Science, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon 97331.
ii
-^ • •
Contents
Acknowledgements
Summary
Chapter 1. Introduction
Chapter 2. Physical Setting
Climate
Geology
Topography
Soils
Chapter 3. Biological Features
Vegetation
Disturbances to Vegetation
Chapter 4. Methods
Field Sampling
Data Analysis
Terminology and Nomenclature
Chapter 5. Forest Classification
Moist Forest Ecosystems
Tsuga heterophvlla/Achlvs triph ylla Association
Tsuga Izeteroph yllalPolvstichum munition Association
Tsuga heteroph yllalOplopana.v horridum Association
Alnus rubralRubus spectabilis Community Type
Ahies amabilislOplopanax horridum Association
Abies amabilisITiarella umfoliata Association
Modal Forest Ecosystems
Abies amabilislVaccinium alaskaense Association
Vacciniutn alaskaense Phase
Berberis nervosa Phase
Rubus pedatus Phase
Charnaecvparis nootkatensis Phase
General Relationships of Type
Dry Forest Ecosystems
Tsuga heterophyllaiGaultheria slzallon Association
xv
xvi
1
3
4
4
8
10
16
16
20
25
25
26
29
32
35
50
52
54
56
58
61
64
64
64
67
67
73
74
75
75
As the Nation's principal conservation agency, the Department of the
Interior has responsibility for most of our nationally owned public
lands and natural resources. This includes fostering the wisest use of
our land and water resources, protecting our fish and wildlife, preserving the environment and cultural value of our national parks and historical places, and providing for the enjoyment of life through outdoor
recreation. The Department assesses our energy and mineral resources
and works to assure that their development is in the best interests of all
our people. The Department also has a major responsibility for American Indian reservation communities and for people who live in island
territories under U.S. administration.
Library of Congress Cataloging - in - Publication Data
The Forest Communities of Mount Rainier National Park.
(Scientific monograph series; no. 19)
Supt. of Does. no.: 1 29.80:19
Bibliography: p.
Includes index.
I. Forest ecology—Washington (State)—Mount Rainier
National Park. 2. Mount Rainier National Park (Wash.)
I. Franklin, Jerry F. II. Series: National Park Service
scientific monograph series ; no. 19.
QK192.F66 1988
574.5'2642'0979778
88-600188
ISBN 0-943475-01-5 (pbk.)
Published by the U.S. Department of the Interior. National Park
Service, with support from the U.S. Department of Agriculture,
Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station, Portland, Oregon
Printed in the United States of America
U.S. Government Printing Office
U.S. Government Printing Office: 1988 - 534-790
•
-?
•
• 1.
-■•
'.1
e.1
‘'
•
•
II' •
'"'It-
Pseudotsuga menziesiiICeanothus velutinus Community
Type
Pseudotsuga rnenziesii/Xerophyllum tenax Community Type
Pseudotsuga menziesiilViola sempervirens Community Type
Abies amabilislGaultheria shallon Association
Abies amabilis/Berberis nervosa Association
Abies amabilisIXerophyllum tenax Association
Cold Forest Ecosystems
Abies amabilis/Rubus lasiococcus Association
Ervthronium montanum Phase
Rubus lasiococcus Phase
Abies lasiocarpa/Valeriana sitchensis Community Type .
Abies amabilislMenziesia ferruginea Association
Chamaecyparis nootkatensislVaccinium ovalifolium
88
89
90
92
93
96
100
100
101
112
114
116
118
120
122
Other Forest Communities
123
Pseudotsuga menziesiilArctostaphylos uva-ursi Association
127
Chapter 6. Environmental and Floristic Relationships
127
Topographic-Elevational Patterns
Classification Insights from Similarity, Discriminant, and
Principal Component Analysis
132
Similarity Analysis
132
Discriminant Analysis
136
Principal Component Analysis
137
Chapter 7. Forest Dynamics
149
Large-Scale Disturbances
149
Successional Sequences
153
Tree Mortality and Small-Scale Disturbances
156
Chapter 8. Management Interpretations of the Habitat Types .
159
Physical Conditions
159
Biological Conditions
162
Potential for Disturbances
165
Development Potential
165
Literature Cited
167
Appendix A. Key to Typical Forest Types of Mount Rainier
National Park
173
Appendix B. Synopses of the Forest Types of Mount Rainier
National Park
177
Index
185
Association
Abies amabilislRhododendron albiflorum Association
vi
4._
Plates
(INSIDE BACK COVER)
Plate 1. Map showing distribution of habitat types in Mount Rainier National Park.
Plate 2. Map showing distribution of forest age classes in Mount Rainier
National Park.
vii
I•
./..
.a.
•'-. t. . ;tio
.....1.
, IL 4
i
k'
II
I
'• I
•
I
••,
• I
•
I
i
:4;.
• I
4 .
Summary
The forests of Mount Rainier National Park are a major natural resource. They extend up the mountain slopes to an elevation of about
1800 m (5,800 ft) and occupy 60% of the Park landscape. This phytosociological study, conducted during 1975-80, has provided a detailed description and classification of these forests for the use of park
managers and visitors. The forests lie within three zones based upon
the major climax tree species: Tsuga heterophvlla, Abies amabilis, and
Tsuga mertensiana. A total of 14 plant associations and 5 community
types were recognized across the range of environmental conditions
represented within the Park. The moist forest types have rich understories that include numerous herbaceous species and shrubs such as
Oplopanax horridum. The Abies amabilislVaccinium alaskaense
Association is typical of modal environments and the most extensive
formation within the Park. Dry associations are typified by Gaultheria
shallon- and Berberis nervosa-dominated understories. High-elevation
forest types belong to the cold grouping and are typified by herbaceous
understories on better drained sites and by dense understories of
ericaceous shrubs on wet sites. Forest types show strong relations with
elevation and landform, although details vary in the four Park quadrants. Moisture, temperature, and duration of snowpack appear to be
the primary environmental variables. Wildfire has been the major forest
disturbance; approximately 90% of the forests have arisen after fire, 7%
after avalanche, and 2% after lahars. The natural fire rotation was calculated as being 465 years before white settlement of the region. Climatic episodes appear to have been important in creating conditions for
wildfire. Uses of the forest type classification by managers include interpretations of the potential value of sites for development, productivity and resilience, value for wildlife, and visitor interest. Large colorkeyed maps (Plates 1 and 2) are included on the inside back cover to
show the distribution of the plant associations and major forest age
classes within the Park.
XVI
,
- -.......1,.....-_. '' .....
'
•• • .-:41 -a. w......1-.....1.§..UA-..t..a.:1.2-14-4•Zaair.-Af......41-/A..0