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Ecoregions of Washington State

Ecoregions of Washington State. BES 489 Winter 2009. Washington State Ecoregions. Marine Nearshore. West-side Montane To Alpine. Douglas-fir / Grand fir. Sitka Spruce. Palouse Prairie. Western Hemlock. Shrub Steppe. Ponderosa Pine.

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Ecoregions of Washington State

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  1. Ecoregions of Washington State BES 489 Winter 2009

  2. Washington State Ecoregions Marine Nearshore West-side Montane To Alpine Douglas-fir / Grand fir Sitka Spruce Palouse Prairie Western Hemlock Shrub Steppe Ponderosa Pine West-side Montane – Alpine: Silver fir; Mountain hemlock; Subalpine fir; Alpine

  3. Marine Nearshore Ecoregion • Ecoregion below mean low low tide • We will only address the upper edge of these ecosystems in examining shoreline ecosystems of • Sitka Spruce (outer coast) and • Western Hemlock (Puget Sound) ecoregions

  4. Bothell Sitka Spruce Ecoregion Typical Ecosystems: Shoreline Ecosystems: Rocky intertidal Beach / Dune Estuaries Coastal Bogs Sitka Spruce Forests Riparian

  5. Outer Coast Toleak Point Sitka spruce forest High energy shorelines

  6. Rocky Intertidal Outer Coast Characteristic ecosystem of high energy shorelines

  7. Rocky Intertidal Fidalgo Head, Deception Pass Sharp biological zonation Upper intertidal Fucus zone

  8. Rocky Intertidal Rialto Beach Sharp biological zonation Mussels (Mytilus edulus)

  9. Ochre sea star Pisaster ochraceous

  10. Rocky Intertidal Rialto Beach Intense biotic interactions Sea slug consuming a sponge Ochre sea stars and giant green anemone in tidepool

  11. Outer Coast Coastal Strand • Environmental Challenges • Mobile substrate • Nutrient Poor • Droughty & windy • Salt spray & sand abrasion

  12. Coping with a Coastal Strand Habitat Dune grasses bind the mobile substrate European beachgrass (Ammophila arenaria)

  13. Coping with a Coastal Strand Habitat Clonal forbs also bind the loose substrate Succulent leaves help with drought & abrasion Searocket (Cakile edentula)

  14. Oyster farming Willapa Bay Japanese Oyster (Crassotrea gigas)

  15. Foggy Sitka Spruce forests

  16. Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis) Coastal dominant from Oregon to Alaska

  17. Coastal Temperate Rainforest Big leaf maple (Acer macrophyllum)

  18. Coastal Bogs Embayed hydrology created by old coastal dune geomorphology

  19. Coastal Bogs: cranberry farming

  20. Bothell Sitka Spruce Ecoregion Typical Ecosystems: Rocky Intertidal Coastal Bogs Beach / Dune Sitka Spruce Forests Estuaries Riparian

  21. Estuaries /Tideflats Nisqually River Estuary • Very high productivity • Low species diversity • Variable salinity & inundation From: The Natural History of Puget Sound Country A.R. Kruckeberg

  22. Estuaries /Tideflats Padilla Bay Eelgrass beds

  23. Estuaries /Tideflats Batallaria snails Padilla Bay

  24. Estuaries / Tideflats: Human Impacts “Our Changing Nature” Washington State Department of Natural Resources 1998

  25. Saltgrass Pickleweed Estuaries / Tideflats:Diking & Draining for Agriculture Diking creates sharp zonation Nisqually Delta Padilla Bay

  26. Estuaries /Tideflats:High Productivity Snow geese Skagit Delta

  27. Western Hemlock Ecoregion

  28. Western Hemlock EcoregionTypical Ecosystems • Low elevation forests: western hemlock, Douglas-fir, western red cedar • Streams, lakes • Estuaries, freshwater wetlands • Prairies & oak woodlands • Bogs

  29. Douglas-fir Pseudotsuga menziesii Western Hemlock Ecoregion • Low elevation forests • Forests originally dominated by large, old evergreen trees • Western hemlock, western red cedar, Douglas-fir

  30. Western Hemlock Ecoregion Woody Debris Nurse Log

  31. Western Hemlock Ecoregion Understory plants adapted to stressful conditions • Chronic light shortage • Acidic • Low nutrients • Dry summers

  32. Western Hemlock Ecoregion:Deciduous Forests Red alder Alnus rubra

  33. Western Hemlock Ecoregion: Land Management Forest harvest Wishkah Valley

  34. Western Hemlock Ecoregion:Land Management Plantation forest Old growth forest

  35. Western Hemlock Ecoregion: Water Features create ecological heterogeneity in a sea of forest Wetlands & streams provide unique environments / habitats

  36. Western Hemlock Ecoregion: Prairies & Oak Woodlands offer unique habitats Puget Prairies Mima Mounds Fort Lewis

  37. Western Hemlock Ecoregion: Prairies & Oak Woodlands offer unique habitats Dwindling Prairies Scotch Broom (Cytisus scoparius) Fort Lewis

  38. West-side Montane to Alpine Ecoregions Ecoregions • Silver fir ecoregion • Mountain hemlock ecoregion • Subalpine fir ecoregion • Alpine ecoregion

  39. West-side Montane to Alpine Ecoregions Western WA Eastern WA Western hemlock

  40. West-side Montane to Alpine Ecoregions Alpine Mountain hemlock Silver fir White River Valley

  41. Silver fir Ecoregion:Typical Ecosystems • Montane forests:Silver fir, Noble fir, Douglas-fir, Alaska yellow cedar • Riparian, lakes & other wetlands

  42. Silver fir Ecoregion Mid elevation west side forests

  43. Silver fir Ecoregion • Thin soils • Cool temperatures • Short growing seasons

  44. Silver fir Ecoregion Lakes provide important sites of environmental heterogeneity within a sea of evergreen forest

  45. Mountain Hemlock Ecoregion High elevation snowy subalpine forests Typical Ecosystems: Mountain hemlock forests Subalpine meadows Riparian & lake areas

  46. Mountain Hemlock Ecoregion Mountain hemlock (Tsuga mertensiana)

  47. Forest – meadow mosaics at high end Closed canopy forests at lower end Mountain Hemlock Ecoregion

  48. Results Mountain Hemlock Ecoregion Snow avalanches are an important ecological feature

  49. Subalpine Fir Ecoregion High elevation dry subalpine forests Subalpine fir (Abies lasiocarpa)

  50. Subalpine Fir Ecoregion:Typical Ecosystems Subalpine fir forests(+ whitebark pine, Alaska yellow cedar, mountain hemlock) Subalpine meadows / grasslands Riparian, lakes

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