Scattered mixed stands of mainly Pinus monticola and Abies magnifica amidst the more dominant Red Fir and Lodgepole Pine types, sometimes in nearly pure small stands of P. monticola. Understory often underdeveloped or absent.
SITE FACTORS:
Well-drained rocky soils, and other better drained and often drier and more exposed (e.g. south - southwest aspects) microsites in the Red Fir and Lodgepole Pine dominated zone.
DISTRIBUTION:
Mainly in central and southern Sierra Nevada. In Yosemite Region typically between 8000-9500', small isolated patches at the bottoms of talus slopes or on exposed drier ridges.
Source: California Gap Analysis Project, Rich Walker