thousand years ago. This massive tree species has not been suc- 

 cessful at reoccupying its former pre-Pleistocene range. In south- 

 ern California, a component of Montane Forest is Bigcone Spruce 

 (Pseudotsuga macrocarpa), a close relative of Douglas Fir but a 

 species that is adapted to more arid conditions than Douglas Fir. 

 A few deciduous hardwoods are associated with the coniferous 

 trees of the Montane Forest. Also present are Canyon Oak (Quer- 

 cus chrysolepis) and California Black Oak (Q. kelloggii). At the 

 upper, cooler, and wetter margin of the Montane Forest, Jeffrey 

 Pine (Pinusfeffreyi, Plate 1 IB), Red Fir (Abies magnifica, Plate 

 1 IC), and Lodgepole Pine {P. murrayand) begin to appear. 



Because of the large area occupied by the Montane Forest and 

 the diversity of ecological niches that it spans, one might expect 

 a large number of shrubby and herbaceous plant species to occur 

 in this plant community, and according to MunzM California 

 Flora, approximately 1,200 herbaceous plant species occur in 

 the Montane Forest, and somewhat over 200 shrub species occur 

 in the understory of the Montane Forest. It is therefore difficult 

 to give a list of representative understory species, but a few gen- 

 era or species of wide distribution in the forest community can 

 be mentioned. These include Mountain Misery {Chamaebatia 

 foliolosa), a low, rather attractive but malodorous member of 

 the Rose family that forms large masses under the conifers. Also 

 present are various species of gooseberry or currant (Ribes spp., 

 Grossulariaceae), blackberries (Rubus spp., Rosaceae), manzani- 

 tas (Arctostaphylos spp., Ericaceae), and California lilacs (Ceano- 

 thus spp., Rhamnaceae). 



One of the tree species present in the Montane Forest is Sugar 

 Pine {Pinus lambertiana). When California was first settled by 

 immigrants from the eastern states, Sugar Pines were much more 

 common in the Sierra Nevada than they now are. This former 

 abundance was the result of the fact that forest fires raged un- 

 checked through many areas of the Sierra, and Sugar Pine was 

 perpetuated as a result of these fires. Seedlings of this species 

 compete successfully only in areas that have been opened up by 

 fires (or some other ecological disturbance). With the subsequent 

 effective fire control that has existed in much of the forested 

 area of the Sierra, natural succession has resulted in the reduction 



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