Natural Resources
Conservation Service
Ecological site R002XC011OR
Low Hill Group
Last updated: 11/27/2024
Accessed: 12/30/2024
General information
Provisional. A provisional ecological site description has undergone quality control and quality assurance review. It contains a working state and transition model and enough information to identify the ecological site.
MLRA notes
Major Land Resource Area (MLRA): 002X–Willamette and Puget Sound Valleys
The Willamette and Puget Sound Valleys Major Land Resource Area (MLRA 2) is located in western Washington and Oregon. It occupies a forearc basin between coast ranges and the Cascade Mountain volcanic arc. The northern part contains Pleistocene drift, outwash, lacustrine and glaciomarine deposits associated with continental glaciers. The southern part contains Late Pleistocene deposits from glacial outburst floods (Missoula Floods).
Climate is mild and moist, with a long growing season. Mean annual precipitation ranges from 20 to 60 inches, falling mostly in fall, winter, and spring. Summers are dry. Soil temperature regime is mesic and soil moisture regimes are xeric and aquic.
Most sites in this MLRA can support forested vegetation, but some were maintained as prairie, savanna, or woodland through cultural burning prior to Euro-American settlement. Puget Sound has a moderating effect on temperatures and humidity can be higher in the northern part of the MLRA. Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) is widespread throughout. Oregon white oak (Quercus garryana) is common on uplands in the south and on warm, exposed or droughty sites in the north. Pacific madrone (Arbutus menziesii) occurs in areas close to salt water. Western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla) is codominant with Douglas-fir in the north. Floodplains usually contain black cottonwood (Populus balsamifera ssp. trichocarpa) and red alder (Alnus rubra). Oregon ash (Fraxinus latifolia) is typical of forested wetlands in the south. Forestry, urban development, and cultivated agriculture are currently the most extensive land uses (Soil Survey Staff, 2006).
LRU notes
The Willamette Valley land resource unit (LRU C) is located in northwestern Oregon. It is bounded by the Portland Basin to the north and the Umpqua Valley to the south. Topography is generally flat to hilly. Major landforms include floodplains and alluvial terraces, glaciolacustrine terraces, hills, and foothills. The valley floor is underlain by Pleistocene fluvial deposits (Rowland Formation). Valley borders and foothills are underlain by Eocene to Pliocene sedimentary rocks (Yamhill, Spencer, and Nestucca Formations) or, in some western areas, Eocene pillow basalts (Siletz River Volcanics). Other hills consist of Miocene Columbia River Basalt (Yeats et al., 1996; Orr et al., 1992). Locations below 400 feet elevation are covered with late Pleistocene silts deposited by the Missoula Floods (Willamette Silts).
Mean annual precipitation ranges from 35 to 60 inches. Most falls as rain between October and May. The frost-free period ranges from 160 to 210 days. Snowfall occasionally occurs in winter, but snow cover rarely lasts longer than a few days. Ice storms usually occur at least once each winter. Winter storm winds come from the south. Fair-weather winds during summer come from the north.
Prior to Euro-American settlement, fire was used in this LRU to maintain early-seral plant communities for food and fiber. General Land Office (GLO) land surveys conducted between 1851 and 1910 documented widespread prairies and savannas (Hulse et al., 2002). Fire exclusion since Euro-American settlement allowed many of these to succeed to forested communities (Johannessen et al., 1971; Day, 2005). Historic prairies and savannas were less common at the north end of the Willamette Valley, but an island of these types occurred in the Tualitan Valley. In general, fire frequency decreased with distance from human settlements (Christy and Alverson, 2011).
Presence of Oregon white oak and absence of western hemlock distinguish this area from the coast range (MLRA 1) and Cascade mountains (MLRA 3). This LRU is distinguished from Portland Basin and Hills (LRU B) by low-frequency occurrence of species common in the Umpqua and Rogue valleys, including California black oak (Quercus kelloggii), Pacific madrone (Arbutus menziesii), incense cedar (Calocedrus decurrens), and white alder (Alnus rhombifolia) (Franklin and Dyrness, 1973).
Classification relationships
This ecological site group is similar to following USDA Forest Service Plant Associations (McCain and Diaz, 2001) which emphasize late-successional plant communities:
• grand fir / poison oak (CWS622)
• grand fir / California hazel / inside-out flower (CWS555)
• grand fir / oceanspray / sword fern (CWS529); grand fir / vine maple / sword fern (CWS527)
• Douglas-fir / poison oak (CDC124)
• Douglas-fir / California hazel - snowberry / sword fern (CDS312)
• Douglas-fir / oceanspray - snowberry (CDS217)
This ecological site group fits within the following LANDFIRE Biophysical Setting (BpS):
• LANDFIRE Biophysical Setting: Willamette Valley Upland Prairie and Savanna (0211200)
Ecological site concept
This site occurs on hills. Soils are very deep to moderately deep, and well or moderately well drained. The rooting zone is dry 45 to 60 consecutive days during the summer.
Table 1. Dominant plant species
| Tree |
(1) Quercus garryana |
|---|---|
| Shrub |
Not specified |
| Herbaceous |
(1) Festuca idahoensis ssp. roemeri |
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