An open or clumped timberline forest to about 70 feet tall, dominated by Pinus albicaulis and Pinus contorta ssp. murrayana. Several other conifers may occur in some stands. Clumps of trees occur in localized soil accumulations among rocky ridges and outcrops. Shrub canopies usually are low and sparse.
SITE FACTORS:
Cold, stony sites with poorly developed, nutrient-poor soils, usually derived from granite. Growing seasons are short (limited by cold). Intergrades at lower elevations (below ~7,500 feet in the north, 9,000 feet in the south) or better sites with Jeffrey Pine Forest (85100), Red Fir Forest (85310) and Lodgepole Pine Forest (86100). Passes at higher elevations (above 9,500-11,000 feet depending on latitude) to Treeless Alpine Fell-Fields (91100).
DISTRIBUTION:
Sparsely represented on the peaks of the interior Klamath Range and on the drier slopes of Mt. Lassen. Common on the highest peaks of the Warner Mtns. in eastern Modoc Co. Common in the Sierra Nevada from the Lake Tahoe region southward to the headwaters of the Kern River in northern Tulare Co. The dominant subalpine forest of the central Sierra Nevada, largely replaced by Whitebark Pine-Mountain Hemlock Forest (86210) to the north and by Foxtail Pine Forest (86300) to the south. Elevation 8,000-9,000 feet (2420-2700m) in the north and 9,500-11,500 feet (2880-3490m) in the south.
UPDATE: 11/97
Source: Holland, 1986
Digital Text: NatureBase