A Guide to Soil Quality Monitoring for Long Term Ecosystem Sustainability on Northern Region National Forests

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Forest Habitat Types of Northern Idaho
PRODUCTIVITY/MANAGEMENT EXCERPTS

[Excerpted from: Cooper, Stephen V.; Neiman, Kenneth E.; Roberts, David W. Rev. 1991. Forest habitat types of northern Idaho: a second approximation. Gen. Tech. Rep. INT-236. Ogden, UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Research Station. 143 p.]

PINUS CONTORTA (PICO) SERIES

Productivity/Management—Timber productivity is expected to be low to moderate. Pinus contorta is the obvious choice for management; some lower elevation sites (<6,200 ft [1,890 m]) may support unthrifty Pseudotsuga. The gentle terrain provides easy access and opportunity for recreation. These sites receive light to moderate use by elk and deer during the summer and fall.

Pinus contorta/Vaccinium caespitosum c.t.
(PICO/VACA; lodgepole pine/dwarf huckleberry)

Productivity/Management—Stands of PICO/VACA are best managed as ABLA/VACA (see Pfister and others 1977; Steele and others 1981), with P. contorta the only suitable timber species. Timber productivity appears to be midway between PICO/VASC h.t. and ABLA series h.t.’s.

Pinus contorta/Xerophyllum tenax c.t.
(PICO/XETE; lodgepole pine/beargrass)

Productivity/Management—For timber production, stands of PICO/XETE c.t. can be managed as the ABLA/XETE h.t. (colder phases), with P. contorta the most favored species.

Pinus contorta/Vaccinium scoparium c.t.
(PICO/VASC; lodgepole pine/grouse whortleberry)

Soils—The soils are highly diagnostic for this h.t. They are exceptionally shallow, with depth to parent material usually less than 8 inches (20 cm) and not exceeding 12 inches (30 cm), and always excessively well drained. Parent materials are granitic or mica schist, and the coarser fragments are predominantly quartz. Textural classes range from coarse sandy loam to loam, while pH ranges from 5.8 to 6.1. No ash caps were found, but minor amounts of ash are mixed in the upper horizons. Average litter depth is 0.5 inch (1.5 cm).

Productivity/Management—Pinus contorta is the only timber species adapted to this h.t. Productivity is very low; natural 100-year-old stands produce trees averaging 60 ft (18 m) in height and 8 to 11 inches (20 to 28 cm) d.b.h. (average site index of 36). Regeneration problems may result on highly disturbed sites.

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