LIVINGSTON QUADRANGLE. ^ 137 



WOODLANDS. 



The woodlands form 2.55 per cent of the quadrangle. They consist of scattered, 

 sparsely timbered tracts in the foothills iianking the Bridger and Absaroka ranges, 

 and of thin lines of trees fringing the larger streams. The uplands areas are 

 stocked with limber pine, yellow pine, red fir, and a little lodgepole pine. The 

 timber in these stands is low, stunted, and of inferior quality throughout, suitable 

 onlj^ for fuel and fencing material. Along the streams the stands are set more 

 closely than on the uplands. They consist of different proportions of aspen, cotton- 

 wood, and aborescent willows. As protection against wash and wear of the alluvial 

 stream banks and terraces, and as supplying considerable quantities of fuel, they are 

 of value. 



The woodlands in the foothill region have a low restockage ratio. Climatic 

 conditions— semiaridity — prevent abundant seed reproduction, as the grassy sward 

 which covers the ground obstructs the proper inhumation of the seeds and their 

 subsequent germination. Small quantities of underbrush are present, consisting 

 mostly of sagebrush and shrubby cinquefoil. 



The woodlands that border the streams restock rapidly. The cottonwoods 

 and aspens are abundant and steady seed producers. Much dense undergrowth, 

 formed by a mass of interlacing willows and wild-rose brush, is nearly always 

 present, except in very old-growth cottonwood stands, where commonly a grassy 

 sward forms the ground cover. 



The average yield of timber in the woodlands of the foothill region is between 

 800 and 900 cubic feet per acre; in the cottonwood stands fringing the streams the 

 yield rises to 900 or 1,000 cubic feet. Circumscribed localities occasionally yield 

 twice the amount stated, but stands of that density are rare owing to long-continued 

 cutting of the best and most easily reached blocks of timber. 



FOREST. 



The forested areas of the quadrangle comprise about 40 per cent. They lie 

 chiefly between the 6,000 and the 9,500 foot contours, and hence belong to the 

 mountain regions of the district. In some localities, particularly in the canyon 

 bottoms in the interior portions of Absaroka Eange, the lower limit for the forest 

 falls to the 5,300-foot level, while in the foothills of Gallatin Range fronting on the 

 Yellowstone Valley the lower limit stops at the 7,000-foot level in some localities. 



The forest is composed of limber pine, lodgepole pine, white pine, white-bark 

 pine, red fir, subalpine fir, Engelmann spruce, aspen, cottonwood, various species of 

 arborescent willows, thorn, wild cherry, and serviceberry. The coniferous species 

 form the principal part of the growth; the percentage contributed by the broad- 

 leaved species is insignificant. 



