Table 2.8 — Rangeland area in the contiguous States by ecosystem and section, region, 



and State, 1976 — continued 

 (Thousand acres) 





Total 

 shrub- 

 lands 



Shrublands 



Other forest land 



Section, region, 

 and State 



Sage- 

 brush 



Desert 

 shrub 



South- 

 western 

 shrub- 

 steppe 



Shinnery 



Texas 

 savanna 



Desert 



Total 



Chaparral- 

 mountain 

 shrub 



Pinyon- 

 juniper 



Great Plains: 

 Kansas 

 Nebraska 

 North Dakota 

 South Dakota 



.0 



2.4 



.0 



.9 



.0 



2.4 



.0 



.9 



.0 

 .0 

 .0 

 .0 



.0 

 .0 

 .0 

 .0 



.0 

 .0 

 .0 

 .0 



.0 

 .0 

 .0 

 .0 



.0 

 .0 

 .0 

 .0 



.0 

 .0 

 .0 



4.4 



.0 

 .0 

 .0 

 .0 



.0 

 .0 

 .0 



4.4 



Total, Great Plains 



3.3 



3.3 



.0 



.0 



.0 



.0 



.0 



4.4 



.0 



4.4 



Total, Rocky Mountain 

 and Great Plains 



198,538.8 



104,526.5 



58,088.9 



26,911.4 



1,629.7 



.0 



7,382.3 



50,051.0 



7,859.0 



42,192.0 



Pacific Coast: 

 Pacific Northwest: 

 Oregon 

 Washington 



18,461.3 

 4,081.8 



14,994.6 

 4,081.8 



3,466.7 

 .0 



.0 



.0 



.0 

 .0 



.0 

 .0 



.0 

 .0 



2,481.0 

 .0 



64.0 

 .0 



2,417.0 

 .0 



Total 



22,543.1 



19,076.4 



3,466.7 



.0 



.0 



.0 



.0 



2,481.0 



64.0 



2,417.0 



Pacific Southwest: 

 California 



25,965.1 



6,269.1 



19,588.5 



.0 



.0 



.0 



107.5 



10,250.0 



7,554.0 



2,696.0 



Total 



25,965.1 



6,269.1 



19,588.5 



.0 



.0 



.0 



107.5 



10,250.0 



7,554.0 



2,696.0 



Total, Pacific Coast 



48,508.2 



25,345.5 



23,055.2 



.0 



.0 



.0 



107.5 



12,731.0 



7,618.0 



5,113.0 



Total, contiguous 

 States 



294,900.2 



129,872.0 



81,170.8 



43,213.0 



4,725.8 



28,428.8 



7,489.8 



62,782.0 



15,477.0 



47,305.0 



'Less than 0.05 thousand acres. 



Idaho and Montana. Pure stands of Douglas-fir are 

 found in southeast Idaho, northern Colorado, Wyo- 

 ming, and Utah, wherever it has developed as a 

 climax forest. In Montana and northern Idaho, grand 

 fir, Engelmann spruce, and western larch are com- 

 mon associates and frequently are the dominant spe- 

 cies. In terms of timber output, this ecosystem is 

 second only to ponderosa pine in this section of the 

 country. 



The lodgepole pine ecosystem typically consists of 

 pure, or nearly pure, very dense stands of the name- 

 sake species. This ecosystem totals nearly 17 million 

 acres, about 60 percent of which is in Idaho and 

 Montana; most of the rest is in western Wyoming and 

 central Colorado. Lodgepole pine stands are fre- 

 quently replaced through succession by such other 

 conifers as Douglas-fir, grand fir, and subalpine fir. 

 In many cases, however, pure stands of lodgepole 

 pine may take on the appearance of a climax type. 

 Dense stands in this ecosystem usually have no 

 understory flora. 



Of the fir-spruce ecosystem, nearly all 16 million 

 acres are found in Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Colo- 

 rado, and Utah. The system occupies high elevation 

 areas where temperatures are cool and moisture 

 abundant. Grand fir, subalpine fir, and Engelmann 



spruce are major species. Some of the more common 

 associates in the northern Rocky Mountains are 

 larch, western redcedar, and western white pine. In 

 Colorado, Wyoming, and Utah, this ecosystem 

 occurs up to timberline. 



The western white pine, larch, and hemlock eco- 

 systems are found exclusively in Idaho and Montana 

 and comprise less than 4 percent of the total forest 

 land in the section. The western white pine ecosystem 

 occupies roughly the same temperature belt as the 

 Douglas-fir ecosystem — moist sites above the pon- 

 derosa pine and below the fir-spruce. In this sub- 

 climax type, there is generally a mixture of western 

 redcedar, western hemlock, grand fir, Douglas-fir 

 and western larch, with ponderosa pine at lower eleva- 

 tions and Engelmann spruce at higher elevations. 



The larch ecosystem occurs west of the Continental 

 Divide in Montana and generally north of the Sal- 

 mon River in Idaho. Western larch, a deciduous 

 conifer, is a subclimax species often maintained by 

 fire. In some areas of North Idaho, it is a pioneer 

 species. On cooler and moister sites, associated 

 species are Douglas-fir and grand fir; on drier sites, 

 ponderosa pine is found. 



The hemlock ecosystem has both western and 

 mountain hemlock as major species. Mountain hem- 



39 



