Typically deep or well-drained soils (with Artemisia tridentata understories) or shallow rocky, poorly drained soils (with Artemisia arbuscula understories). Often forms broad ecotones between Big Sagebrush Scrub (35210) at lower elevations or on drier or more poorly drained soils, and Eastside Ponderosa Pine Forest (84220) or Jeffery Pine Forest (85100) or montane chaparral (37500) at higher elevations or on moister sites. In the White, Inyo, and Panamint ranges it also intergrades at higher elevations with Bristlecone Pine Forest (86400) or Subalpine Sagebrush Scrub (35220).
DISTRIBUTION:
Modoc Plateau, eastern flanks of the Sierra Nevada, and widely distributed throughout the Great Basin. Pinyon is present on the eastern slopes of the Sierra Nevada and in the desert mountains to the east from Alpine County to Kern County, particularly abundant in the White Mountains, Inyo Mountains, and Panamint Range, from 6,000-9,000 feet (1830-2745m). Also in the Kern River drainage. Intergrades in Kern County (on both sides of the Sierran crest) with Mojavean Pinyon-Juniper Woodland (72210).
Source: Adapted from Holland, 1986