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Professional Paper 1650-E

Atlas of Relations Between Climatic Parameters and Distributions of Important Trees and Shrubs in North America— Ecoregions of North America

Ecoregions included in this volume. Level I ecoregions (the broadest categories) are listed in all capital letters, Level II (the middle level of detail) in mixed case letters, and Level III (the most detailed categories) in mixed case and italic letters.

Küchler Potential Natural Vegetation
(Click on an ecoregion name to view the graphical display for that ecoregion.)
Level I Level II Level III
WESTERN FORESTS Needleleaf Forests Spruce-cedar-hemlock forest (Picea-Thuja-Tsuga)


Cedar-hemlock-Douglas fir forest (Thuja-Tsuga-Pseudotsuga)


Silver fir-Douglas fir forest (Abies-Pseudotsuga)


Fir-hemlock forest (Abies-Tsuga)


Mixed conifer forest (Abies-Pinus-Pseudotsuga)


Redwood forest (Sequoia-Pseudotsuga)


Red fir forest (Abies)


Lodgepole pine-subalpine forest (Pinus-Tsuga)


Pine-cypress forest (Pinus-Cupressus)


Ponderosa shrub forest (Pinus)


Western ponderosa forest (Pinus)


Douglas fir forest (Pseudotsuga)


Cedar-hemlock-pine forest (Thuja-Tsuga-Pinus)


Grand fir-Douglas fir forest (Abies-Pseudotsuga)


Western spruce-fir forest (Picea-Abies)


Eastern ponderosa forest (Pinus)


Black Hills pine forest (Pinus)


Pine-Douglas fir forest (Pinus-Pseudotsuga)


Arizona pine forest (Pinus)


Spruce-fir-Douglas fir forest (Picea-Abies-Pseudotsuga)


Southwestern spruce-fir forest (Picea-Abies)


Great Basin pine forest (Pinus)


Juniper-pinyon woodland (Juniperus-Pinus)


Juniper steppe woodland (Juniperus-Artemisia-Agropyron)

Broadleaf Forests Alder-ash forest (Alnus-Fraxinus)


Oregon oakwoods (Quercus)

Broadleaf and Needleleaf Forests Mosaic of cedar-hemlock-Douglas fir forest and Oregon oakwoods


California mixed evergreen forest (Quercus-Arbutus-Pseudotsuga)


California oakwoods (Quercus)


Oak-juniper woodland (Quercus-Juniperus)


Transition between oak-juniper woodland and mountain mahogany-oak scrub
WESTERN SHRUB AND GRASSLAND Shrub Chaparral (Adenostoma-Arctostaphylos-Ceanothus)


Montane chaparral (Arctostaphylos-Castanopsis-Ceanothus)


Coastal sagebrush (Salvia-Eriogonum)


Mosaic of California oakwoods and coastal sagebrush


Mountain mahogany-oak scrub (Cercocarpus-Quercus)


Great Basin sagebrush (Artemisia)


Blackbrush (Coleogyne)


Saltbush-greasewood (Atriplex-Sarcobatus)


Creosote bush (Larrea)


Creosote bush-bur sage (Larrea-Franseria)


Palo verde-cactus shrub (Cercidium-Opuntia)


Creosote bush-tarbush (Larrea-Flourensia)


Ceniza shrub (Leucophyllum-Larrea-Prosopis)


Desert: vegetation largely absent

Grasslands Fescue-oatgrass (Festuca-Danthonia)


California steppe (Stipa)


Tule marshes (Scirpus-Typha)


Fescue-wheatgrass (Festuca-Agropyron)


Wheatgrass-bluegrass (Agropyron-Poa)


Alpine meadows and barren (Agrostis, Carex, Festuca, Poa)


Fescue-mountain muhly prairie (Festuca-Muhlenbergia)


Grama-galleta steppe (Bouteloua-Hilaria)


Grama-tobosa prairie (Bouteloua-Hilaria)

Shrub and Grasslands Combinations Sagebrush steppe (Artemisia-Agropyron)


Wheatgrass-needlegrass shrubsteppe (Agropyron-Stipa-Artemisia)


Galleta-three awn shrubsteppe (Hilaria-Aristida)


Grama-tobosa shrubsteppe (Bouteloua-Hilaria-Larrea)


Trans-Pecos shrub savanna (Flourensia-Larrea)


Mesquite savanna (Prosopis-Hilaria)


Mesquite-acacia savanna (Prosopis-Acacia-Andropogon-Setaria)


Mesquite-live oak savanna (Prosopis-Quercus-Andropogon)
CENTRAL AND EASTERN GRASSLANDS Grasslands Foothills prairie (Agropyron-Festuca-Stipa)


Grama-needlegrass-wheatgrass (Bouteloua-Stipa-Agropyron)


Grama-buffalo grass (Bouteloua-Buchloe)


Wheatgrass-needlegrass (Agropyron-Stipa)


Wheatgrass-bluestem-needlegrass (Agropyron-Andropogon-Stipa)


Wheatgrass-grama-buffalo grass (Agropyron-Bouteloua-Buchloe)


Bluestem-grama prairie (Andropogon-Bouteloua)


Sandsage-bluestem prairie (Artemisia-Andropogon)


Shinnery (Quercus-Andropogon)


Northern cordgrass prairie (Distichlis-Spartina)


Bluestem prairie (Andropogon-Panicum-Sorghastrum)


Nebraska Sandhills prairie (Andropogon-Calamovilfa)


Blackland prairie (Andropogon-Stipa)


Bluestem-sacahuista prairie (Andropogon-Spartina)


Southern cordgrass prairie (Spartina)


Palmetto prairie (Serenoa-Aristida)

Grassland and Forest Combinations Marl-Everglades (Mariscus and Persea-Taxodium)


Oak savanna (Quercus-Andropogon)


Mosaic of Bluestem prairie and Oak-hickory forest


Cedar glades (Juniperus-Quercus-Sporobolus)


Cross timbers (Quercus-Andropogon)


Mesquite-buffalo grass (Prosopis-Buchloe)


Juniper-oak savanna (Juniperus-Quercus-Andropogon)


Mesquite-oak savanna (Prosopis-Quercus-Andropogon)


Fayette prairie (Andropogon-Buchloe)


Blackbelt (Liquidambar-Quercus-Juniperus)


Live oak-sea oats (Quercus-Uniola)


Cypress savanna (Taxodium-Mariscus)


Everglades (Mariscus and Magnolia-Persea)
EASTERN FORESTS Needleleaf Forests Great Lakes spruce-fir forest (Picea-Abies)


Conifer bog (Larix-Picea-Thuja)


Great Lakes pine forest (Pinus)


Northeastern spruce-fir forest (Picea-Abies)

Broadleaf Forests Northern floodplain forest (Populus-Salix-Ulmus)


Maple-basswood forest (Acer-Tilia)


Oak-hickory forest (Quercus-Carya)


Elm-ash forest (Ulmus-Fraxinus)


Beech-maple forest (Fagus-Acer)


Mixed mesophytic forest (Acer-Aesculus-Fagus-Liriodendron-Quercus-Tilia)


Appalachian oak forest (Quercus)


Mangrove (Avicennia-Rhizophora)

Broadleaf and Needleleaf Forests Northern hardwoods (Acer-Betula-Fagus-Tsuga)


Northern hardwoods-fir forest (Acer-Betula-Abies-Tsuga)


Northern hardwoods-spruce forest (Acer-Betula-Fagus-Picea-Tsuga)


Transition between Appalachian oak forest and northern hardwoods


Northeastern oak-pine forest (Quercus-Pinus)


Oak-hickory-pine forest (Quercus-Carya-Pinus)


Southern mixed forest (Fagus-Liquidambar-Magnolia-Pinus-Quercus)


Southern floodplain forest (Quercus-Nyssa-Taxodium)


Pocosin (Pinus-Ilex)


Sand pine scrub (Pinus-Quercus)


Subtropical pine forest (Pinus-Tetrazygia)

The figures included in the Graphical Displays and Histograms sections of this volume are in Adobe Acrobat format (PDF); the latest version of Adobe Reader or similar software is required to view it. Download the latest version of Adobe Reader, free of charge.

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