Sierra Nevada upper montane forest
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The Sierra Nevada upper montane forest is a vegetation type found below the treeline in the United States Sierra Nevada range.[1] It is generally located above the mixed coniferous forest and below the alpine zone.[1] Overstory trees are typically cone shaped to shed the snow.[1]
Characteristic trees including lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta subsp. murrayana ), Jeffrey pine (Pinus jeffreyi), western white pine (Pinus monticola) California red fir (Abies magnifica), and Sierra juniper (Juniperus grandis), and typical understory trees and shrubs such as huckleberry oak (Quercus vaccinifolia) and red heather (Phyllodoce breweri).[1][2] Montane chaparral can occur in areas with recent fires or with high exposure to wind.[3] In the northern Sierra, quaking aspen occur in this ecoregion.[3]
