Open to dense, broadleafed, winter-deciduous shrubby riparian thickets usually dominated by any of several Salix species, Alnus, or Cornus. This catch-all community includes a bewildering array of cover types that require substantial study.
SITE FACTORS:
Relatively fine-textured alluvium along fairly low-gradient reaches of snowmelt fed streams. Often occurs as a thin scrubby corridor through Montane (45100) or Subalpine and Alpine Meadows (45200).
DISTRIBUTION:
Widely scattered above 5,000-7,000 feet, throughout montane parts of the Klamath, Sierra Nevada, and southern California mountains. Most of these have been ravaged by past livestock grazing and today are threatened by dewatering from small hydro projects.
UPDATE: 10/86
Source: Holland, 1986
Digital Text: NatureBase