The Sierra Nevada lower montane forest is a

plant community A plant community is a collection or association of plant species within a designated geographical unit, which forms a relatively uniform patch, distinguishable from neighboring patches of different vegetation types. The components of each plant ...

along a strip along the western and eastern edges of the

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada () is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primarily ...

mountain range A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have arise ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. This zone is also known as a

yellow pine forest Ponderosa pine forest is a plant association and plant community dominated by ponderosa pine and found in western North America. It is found from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Coast Ranges in the Western United States and Western Canada. In ...

. Moving southward, the elevation range of the lower montane forest grows. Its elevation range at the northern end of the Sierra is from . In the central Sierra, its elevation range is from . In the southern end of the Sierra, its range is from . The daily high temperature in the summer is , while the daily lows in winter are around . Annual precipitation depends on elevation: Yosemite Valley at gets a year. At the lower elevation of this forest, the hot, dry summers and cool, moist winters of the

Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate (also called a dry summer temperate climate ''Cs'') is a temperate climate sub-type, generally characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, fairly wet winters; these weather conditions are typically experienced in the ...

give rise to the lower montane forest zone. The accumulation of several feet of

snow Snow comprises individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes. It consists of frozen crystalline water throughout ...

during the winter is not uncommon and can stay on the ground for several months. The diversity of

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...

species found in this zone make this a beautiful and interesting forest to explore. The

indicator species A bioindicator is any species (an indicator species) or group of species whose function, population, or status can reveal the qualitative status of the environment. The most common indicator species are animals. For example, copepods and other sma ...

for the lower montane forest are the

ponderosa pine ''Pinus ponderosa'', commonly known as the ponderosa pine, bull pine, blackjack pine, western yellow-pine, or filipinus pine is a very large pine tree species of variable habitat native to mountainous regions of western North America. It is the ...

and the

Jeffrey pine ''Pinus jeffreyi'', also known as Jeffrey pine, Jeffrey's pine, yellow pine and black pine, is a North American pine tree. It is mainly found in California, but also in the westernmost part of Nevada, southwestern Oregon, and northern Baja Califo ...

. Ponderosa pines are common in the west side forests at lower elevations. Jeffrey pines are commonly found in the East side forests at higher elevations and in drier areas. The lower montane forests also include trees such as California black oak,

sugar pine ''Pinus lambertiana'' (commonly known as the sugar pine or sugar cone pine) is the tallest and most massive pine tree, and has the longest cones of any conifer. The species name ''lambertiana'' was given by the Scottish botanist David Douglas, ...

incense-cedar ''Calocedrus'', the incense cedar (alternatively spelled incense-cedar), is a genus of coniferous trees in the cypress family Cupressaceae first described as a genus in 1873. It is native to eastern Asia and western North America. The gener ...

, and

white fir ''Abies concolor'', the white fir, is a coniferous tree in the pine family Pinaceae. This tree is native to the mountains of western North America, including the Cascade Range and southern Rocky Mountains, and into the isolated mountain range ...

. The

giant sequoia ''Sequoiadendron giganteum'' (giant sequoia; also known as giant redwood, Sierra redwood, Sierran redwood, California big tree, Wellingtonia or simply big treea nickname also used by John Muir) is the sole living species in the genus ''Sequoiade ...

groves of the Sierra Nevada are also found within this biotic zone. Animals that may be found in this zone include the

dark-eyed junco The dark-eyed junco (''Junco hyemalis'') is a species of junco, a group of small, grayish New World sparrows. This bird is common across much of temperate North America and in summer ranges far into the Arctic. It is a very variable species, much ...

mountain chickadee The mountain chickadee (''Poecile gambeli'') is a small songbird, a passerine bird in the tit family Paridae. Taxonomy The specific name honors naturalist William Gambel. The mountain chickadee was formerly placed in the genus ''Parus'' with ...

western gray squirrel The western gray squirrel (''Sciurus griseus'') is a tree squirrel found along the western coast of the United States and Mexico. In some places, this species has also been known as the silver-gray squirrel, the California gray squirrel, the Or ...

mule deer The mule deer (''Odocoileus hemionus'') is a deer indigenous to western North America; it is named for its ears, which are large like those of the mule. Two subspecies of mule deer are grouped into the black-tailed deer. Unlike the related whit ...

, and American black bear. The lower montane forest can be seen in

Yosemite Valley Yosemite Valley ( ; ''Yosemite'', Miwok for "killer") is a U-shaped valley, glacial valley in Yosemite National Park in the western Sierra Nevada (U.S.), Sierra Nevada mountains of Central California. The valley is about long and deep, surroun ...

and along the Wawona, Hetch Hetchy, and

Big Oak Flat Groveland-Big Oak Flat is an unincorporated community and former census-designated place (CDP) in Tuolumne County, California, United States. The population was 3,388 at the 2000 census. This CDP included the communities of Groveland, Big Oak ...

Roads. The lower montane forest consists of several layers: * Mostly

secondary growth In botany, secondary growth is the growth that results from cell division in the cambia or lateral meristems and that causes the stems and roots to thicken, while primary growth is growth that occurs as a result of cell division at the tips of ...

with partial to complete canopy closure * A understory consisting either of smaller trees or discontinuous shrubs * A low herbaceous cover * A woody fuel and litter layer Some threats to the lower montane forests include

logging Logging is the process of cutting, processing, and moving trees to a location for transport. It may include skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks or skeleton cars. Logging is the beginning of a supply chain ...

grazing In agriculture, grazing is a method of animal husbandry whereby domestic livestock are allowed outdoors to roam around and consume wild vegetations in order to convert the otherwise indigestible (by human gut) cellulose within grass and other ...

, changing

fire regime A fire regime is the pattern, frequency, and intensity of the bushfires and wildfires that prevail in an area over long periods of time. It is an integral part of fire ecology, and renewal for certain types of ecosystems. A fire regime describes th ...

s, fragmentation due to development,

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...

, and pest outbreaks.

Flora

Common lower montane forest species of trees include: *

Ponderosa pine ''Pinus ponderosa'', commonly known as the ponderosa pine, bull pine, blackjack pine, western yellow-pine, or filipinus pine is a very large pine tree species of variable habitat native to mountainous regions of western North America. It is the ...

(''Pinus ponderosa'') *

(''Pinus jeffreyi'') *

Sugar pine ''Pinus lambertiana'' (commonly known as the sugar pine or sugar cone pine) is the tallest and most massive pine tree, and has the longest cones of any conifer. The species name ''lambertiana'' was given by the Scottish botanist David Douglas, ...

(''Pinus lambertiana'') *

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 va ...

(''Pseudotsuga menziesii'') *

White fir ''Abies concolor'', the white fir, is a coniferous tree in the pine family Pinaceae. This tree is native to the mountains of western North America, including the Cascade Range and southern Rocky Mountains, and into the isolated mountain range ...

(''Abies concolor'') *

Giant sequoia ''Sequoiadendron giganteum'' (giant sequoia; also known as giant redwood, Sierra redwood, Sierran redwood, California big tree, Wellingtonia or simply big treea nickname also used by John Muir) is the sole living species in the genus ''Sequoiade ...

(''Sequoiadendron giganteum'') *

Incense cedar ''Calocedrus'', the incense cedar (alternatively spelled incense-cedar), is a genus of coniferous trees in the cypress family Cupressaceae first described as a genus in 1873. It is native to eastern Asia and western North America. The generi ...

(''Calocedrus decurrens'') *

Black oak Black Oak may refer to: Places in the United States * Black Oak, Arkansas * Black Oak, Daviess County, Indiana * Black Oak, Lake County, Indiana, a neighborhood of Gary, Indiana * Black Oak, Missouri Other * Black Oak Arkansas Black Oak Ar ...

(''Quercus kelloggii'') *

Bigleaf maple ''Acer macrophyllum'', the bigleaf maple or Oregon maple, is a large deciduous tree in the genus '' Acer''. It is native to western North America, mostly near the Pacific coast, from southernmost Alaska to southern California. Some stands are al ...

(''Acer macrophyllum'') Understory shrubs include: *Mountain misery (''

Chamaebatia foliolosa ''Chamaebatia foliolosa'' is a species of aromatic evergreen shrub in the rose family known by the common names mountain misery and bearclover. It is endemic to the mountains of California, where it grows in coniferous forests. The Miwok tribe's ...

'') *Wild currants (''

Ribes ''Ribes'' is a genus of about 200 known species of flowering plants, most of them native to the temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The various species are known as currants or gooseberries, and some are cultivated for their edible ...

'' sp.) *Berries (''

Rubus ''Rubus'' is a large and diverse genus of flowering plants in the rose family, Rosaceae, subfamily Rosoideae, with over 1,350 species. Raspberries, blackberries, and dewberries are common, widely distributed members of the genus. Most of the ...

'' sp.) *Manzanitas (''

Arctostaphylos ''Arctostaphylos'' (; from "bear" and "bunch of grapes") is a genus of plants comprising the manzanitas () and bearberries. They are shrubs or small trees. There are about 60 species, of ''Arctostaphylos'', ranging from ground-hugging arc ...

'' sp.) *California lilacs (''

Ceanothus ''Ceanothus'' is a genus of about 50–60 species of Actinorhizal plant, nitrogen-fixing shrubs and small trees in the buckthorn family (Rhamnaceae). Common names for members of this genus are buckbrush, California lilac, soap bush, or just ceano ...

'' sp.) *White alder (''

Alnus rhombifolia ''Alnus rhombifolia'', the white alder, is an alder tree native to western North America, from British Columbia and Washington east to western Montana, southeast to the Sierra Nevada, and south through the Peninsular Ranges and Colorado Desert oa ...

'')

Sources

* {{refend Forests of the Sierra Nevada (United States) Temperate coniferous forests of the United States

Flora

See also

Sources