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Rocky Mountains Subalpine Zone
The Rocky Mountains subalpine zone is the biotic zone immediately below tree line in the Rocky Mountains of North America. In northern New Mexico, the subalpine zone occupies elevations approximately from ; while in northern Alberta, the subalpine zone extends from . Climate The climate of the Rocky Mountains subalpine zone is never warm, with summer highs reaching on only the warmest days near the montane zone, and commonly failing to reach near tree line; Frost may occur any day of the year. Although winter low temperatures may be warmer than those in nearby lower valleys, typically staying above , prodigious snows blanket the region well into spring. Some drifts may linger into summer. Convectional precipitation, typically thunderstorms, often forms rapidly and frequently includes graupel or hail. Although uncommon, hurricane-force winds may develop and cause massive destruction such as the Routt Divide Blowdown. Flora and fauna In the North American Rocky Mountains ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Subalpine Zone On The Wilcox Pass
Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures lapse rate, fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is a crucial factor in shaping plant community, biodiversity, metabolic processes and ecosystem dynamics for montane ecosystems. Dense montane forests are common at moderate elevations, due to moderate temperatures and high rainfall. At higher elevations, the climate is harsher, with lower temperatures and higher winds, preventing the growth of trees and causing the plant community to transition to montane grasslands and shrublands, montane grasslands, shrublands or alpine tundra. Due to the unique climate conditions of montane ecosystems, they contain increased numbers of endemic species. Montane ecosystems also exhibit variation in ecosystem services, which include carbon storage and water supply. Life zones As elevation increases, the al ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lodgepole Pine
''Pinus contorta'', with the common names lodgepole pine and shore pine, and also known as twisted pine, and contorta pine, is a common tree in western North America. It is common near the ocean shore and in dry montane forests to the subalpine, but is rare in lowland rain forests. Like all pines (member species of the genus ''Pinus''), it is an evergreen conifer. Description Depending on subspecies, ''Pinus contorta'' grows as an evergreen shrub or tree. The shrub form is krummholz and is approximately high. The thin and narrow-crowned tree can grow high and achieve up to in diameter at chest height. The ''murrayana'' subspecies is the tallest. The crown is rounded and the top of the tree is flattened. In dense forests, the tree has a slim, conical crown. The formation of twin trees is common in some populations in British Columbia. The elastic branches stand upright or overhang and are difficult to break. The branches are covered with short shoots that are easy to remove. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Snowshoe Hare
The snowshoe hare (''Lepus americanus''), also called the varying hare or snowshoe rabbit, is a species of hare found in North America. It has the name "snowshoe" because of the large size of its hind feet. The animal's feet prevent it from sinking into the snow when it hops and walks. Its feet also have fur on the soles to protect it from freezing temperatures. For camouflage, its fur turns white during the winter and rusty brown during the summer. Its flanks are white year-round. The snowshoe hare is also distinguishable by the black tufts of fur on the edge of its ears. Its ears are shorter than those of most other hares. In summer, it feeds on plants such as grass, ferns, and leaves; in winter, it eats twigs, the bark from trees, and plants and, similar to the Arctic hare, has been known to occasionally eat dead animals. It can sometimes be seen feeding in small groups. This animal is mainly active at night and does not hibernate. The snowshoe hare may have up to four litter ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lynx
A lynx is a type of wild cat. Lynx may also refer to: Astronomy * Lynx (constellation) * Lynx (Chinese astronomy) * Lynx X-ray Observatory, a NASA-funded mission concept for a next-generation X-ray space observatory Places Canada * Lynx, Ontario, an unincorporated place and railway point * Lynx Mountain, in the Canadian Rockies * Lynx Lake (Northwest Territories) * Lynx Formation, a stratigraphical unit in western Canada United States * Lynx, Ohio, a census-designated place * Lynx Lake (Arizona), a reservoir Antarctica * Lynx Rocks, South Shetland Islands, Antarctica Transport Vehicles * Leyland Lynx, a model of single-decker bus produced by British Leyland in the 1980s and 1990s * Mercury Lynx, a model of car * Mitsubishi Lynx, a 1993 Mitsubishi Motors concepts, Mitsubishi Motors concept car * GWR no. 2109 Lynx, a South Devon Railway Eagle class steam locomotive * Lynx (tall ship), ''Lynx'' (tall ship), an interpretation of the 1812 privateer schooner, launched in 2001 * Lyn ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cougar
The cougar (''Puma concolor'') is a large Felidae, cat native to the Americas. Its Species distribution, range spans from the Canadian Yukon to the southern Andes in South America and is the most widespread of any large wild terrestrial mammal in the Western Hemisphere. It is an adaptable, Generalist and specialist species, generalist species, occurring in most American habitat types. This wide range has brought it many common names, including puma, mountain lion, catamount and panther (for the Florida sub-population). It is the second-largest cat in the New World, after the jaguar (''Panthera onca''). Secretive and largely solitary by nature, the cougar is properly considered both nocturnal and crepuscular, although daytime sightings do occur. Despite its size, the cougar is more closely related to smaller felines, including the domestic cat (''Felis catus'') than to any species of the subfamily Pantherinae. The cougar is an ambush predator that pursues a wide variety of pre ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bear
Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family Ursidae. They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the Northern Hemisphere and partially in the Southern Hemisphere. Bears are found on the continents of North America, South America, Europe, and Asia. Common characteristics of modern bears include large bodies with stocky legs, long snouts, small rounded ears, shaggy hair, plantigrade paws with five nonretractile claws, and short tails. While the polar bear is mostly carnivorous, and the giant panda feeds almost entirely on bamboo, the remaining six species are omnivorous with varied diets. With the exception of courting individuals and mothers with their young, bears are typically solitary animals. They may be diurnal or nocturnal and have an excellent sense of smell. Despite their heavy build and awkward gait, they are adept runners, cli ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
White Pine Blister Rust
''Cronartium ribicola'' is a species of rust fungus in the family Cronartiaceae that causes the disease white pine blister rust. Other names include: (French), (German), (Spanish). ''Cronartium ribicola'' is native to China, and was subsequently introduced to North America. Some European and Asian white pines (e.g. Macedonian pine, Swiss pine and blue pine) are mostly resistant to the disease, having co-evolved with the pathogen. It was accidentally introduced into North America in approximately 1900, where it is an invasive species causing serious damage to the American white pines, which have little genetic resistance. Mortality is particularly heavy in western white pine, sugar pine, limber pine and whitebark pine. Efforts are under way to select and breed the rare resistant individuals of these species; resistance breeding is concentrated at the United States Forest Service Dorena Genetic Resource Center in Oregon and the Moscow Forestry Services Laboratory in Idaho. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Keystone Species
A keystone species is a species which has a disproportionately large effect on its natural environment relative to its abundance, a concept introduced in 1969 by the zoologist Robert T. Paine. Keystone species play a critical role in maintaining the structure of an ecological community, affecting many other organisms in an ecosystem and helping to determine the types and numbers of various other species in the community. Without keystone species, the ecosystem would be dramatically different or cease to exist altogether. Some keystone species, such as the wolf, are also apex predators. The role that a keystone species plays in its ecosystem is analogous to the role of a keystone in an arch. While the keystone is under the least pressure of any of the stones in an arch, the arch still collapses without it. Similarly, an ecosystem may experience a dramatic shift if a keystone species is removed, even though that species was a small part of the ecosystem by measures of biomass o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Huckleberry
Huckleberry is a name used in North America for several plants in the family Ericaceae, in two closely related genera: ''Vaccinium'' and ''Gaylussacia''. The huckleberry is the state fruit of Idaho. Nomenclature The name 'huckleberry' is a North American variation of the English dialectal name variously called 'hurtleberry' or 'whortleberry' () for the Vaccinium myrtillus, bilberry. In North America the name was applied to numerous plant variations all bearing small berries with colors that may be red, blue or black. It is the common name for various ''Gaylussacia'' species, and some ''Vaccinium'' species, such as ''Vaccinium parvifolium'', the ''red huckleberry'', and is also applied to other ''Vaccinium'' species which may also be called blueberry, blueberries depending upon local custom, as in New England and parts of Appalachia. Taxonomy ''Gaylussacia'' Four species of huckleberries in the genus ''Gaylussacia'' are common in eastern North America, especially Gaylussacia b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Juniper
Junipers are coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Juniperus'' () of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on the taxonomy, between 50 and 67 species of junipers are widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere, from the Arctic, south to tropical Africa, throughout parts of West Asia, western, Central Asia, central and South Asia, southern Asia, east to eastern Tibet in the Old World, and in the mountains of Central America. The highest-known juniper forest occurs at an altitude of in southeastern Tibet and the northern Himalayas, creating one of the highest tree lines on earth. Description Junipers vary in size and shape from tall trees, tall, to columnar or low-spreading shrubs with long, trailing branches. They are evergreen with needle-like and/or scale-like leaves. They can be either monoecious or dioecious. The female Conifer cone, seed cones are very distinctive, with fleshy, fruit-like coalescing scales which fuse together to form Juniper berry, a&n ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Abies Amabilis
''Abies amabilis'', commonly known as the Pacific silver fir, is a fir native to the Pacific Northwest of North America, occurring in the Pacific Coast Ranges and the Cascade Range. It is also commonly referred to as the white fir, red fir, lovely fir, Amabilis fir, Cascades fir, or silver fir. The species name is Latin for 'lovely'. Description The tree is a large evergreen conifer growing to , exceptionally tall, and with a trunk diameter of up to , exceptionally . The bark on younger trees is light grey, thin and covered with resin blisters. On older trees, it darkens and develops scales and furrows. The leaves are needle-like, flattened, long and wide by thick, matte dark green above, and with two white bands of stomata below, and slightly notched at the tip. The leaf arrangement is spiral on the shoot, but with each leaf variably twisted at the base so they lie flat to either side of and above the shoot, with none below the shoot. The shoots are orange-red with dense v ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Douglas-fir
The Douglas fir (''Pseudotsuga menziesii'') is an evergreen conifer species in the pine family, Pinaceae. It is native to western North America and is also known as Douglas-fir, Douglas spruce, Oregon pine, and Columbian pine. There are three varieties: coast Douglas-fir (''P. menziesii'' var. ''menziesii''), Rocky Mountain Douglas-fir (''P. menziesii'' var. ''glauca'') and Mexican Douglas-fir (''P. menziesii'' var. ''lindleyana''). Despite its common names, it is not a true fir (genus ''Abies''), spruce (genus '' Picea''), or pine (genus ''Pinus''). It is also not a hemlock; the genus name ''Pseudotsuga'' means "false hemlock". Description Douglas-firs are medium-size to extremely large evergreen trees, tall (although only ''Pseudotsuga menziesii var. menziesii'', common name coast Douglas-firs, reach heights near 100 m) and commonly reach in diameter, although trees with diameters of almost exist. The largest coast Douglas-firs regularly live over 500 years, with the olde ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
