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Coast Douglas-fir

The Pseudotsuga Menziesii Var. Menziesii is commonly known as Coast Douglas-fir, Douglas-fir, as well as Oregon Douglas-fir

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Growing Regions

Coast Douglas-fir grows from west-central British Columbia southward to central California.  In Oregon and Washington its range is continuous from the Cascades west to the Pacific Ocean.  In California, it is found in the Klamath and Coast ranges as far south as the Santa Cruz Mountains, and in the Sierra Nevada as far south as the Yosemite Region [31,43].  Rocky Mountain Douglas-fir occurs east of the Sierra Nevada and Cascade Mountain Ranges.

     

General Information

The currently accepted scientific name of Douglas-fir is Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco [43]. Two varieties are recognized, based on foliage color, cone form, growth rate, and environmental requirements [29]: var. menziesii - coast Douglas-fir, the "green" variety, is indigenous west of the Sierra Nevada and Cascade Mountains var. glauca (Beissn.) Franco - Rocky Mountain Douglas-fir, the "blue" variety, is native to the Rocky Mountains and interior mountains of the Pacific Northwest Information reported here is for coast Douglas-fir only. Rocky Mountain Douglas-fir is described in a separate FEIS review. 

Seral coast Douglas-fir communities dominate much of the western hemlock
(Tsuga heterophylla) and Pacific silver fir (Abies amabilis) zones of
western Washington and Oregon [21].  Climax Douglas-fir forests are rare
in the northern and central Cascades, and are restricted to hot, dry
sites which commonly occur on south- or southwest-facing slopes at low
elevations [50].  Climax Douglas-fir forests increase southward from
central Oregon.  In southwestern Oregon and northern California,
Douglas-fir is a widespread climax dominant or codominant.  It is
probably the most abundant tree in the mixed-conifer zone, but its
abundance tends to decrease and that of ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa)
increase north to south within this zone [21].  Associates in the
mixed-conifer zone include ponderosa pine, sugar pine (P. lambertiana),
incense-cedar (Calocedrus decurrens), and white fir (Abies concolor)
[21].  In the mixed-evergreen zone, Douglas-fir dominates at climax with
tanoak (Lithocarpus densiflorus), Pacific madrone (Arbutus menziesii),
canyon live oak (Quercus chrysolepis), giant chinquapin (Chrysolepsis
chrysophylla), sugar pine, ponderosa pine, and incense-cedar [21,64].

Published classifications listing coast Douglas-fir as a dominant in
cover types, community types (cts), or plant associations (pas) are
listed below:

   Area                  Classification             Authority

WA: North Cascades NP  forest cover types   Agee & Kertis 1987
WA: Olympic Mtns       forest cts           Fonda & Bliss 1969
WA: Mount Rainier NP   forest cts           Franklin & others 1988
WA: Gifford Pinchot NF western hemlock pas  Topik & others 1986
WA: Gifford Pinchot NF grand fir pas        Topik 1989
OR, WA                 general veg. cts     Franklin & Dyrness 1973
OR: Willamette NF      general veg. pas     Hemstrom & others 1987
OR: Winema NF          general veg. pas     Hopkins 1979
s OR: Cascade Mtns     general veg. pas     Atzet & McCrimmon 1990
OR, CA: Siskiyou Mtns  general veg. pas     Atzet & Wheeler 1984
CA                     mixed evergreen      Sawyer & others 1977
                       forest cts
CA                     Redwood & north      Zinke 1977
                       Coast forest cts

Much of the information presented here is attributed to:
Uchytil, Ronald J. 1991. Pseudotsuga menziesii var. menziesii. In: Fire Effects Information System, [Online]. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer). Available at USDA Forest Service.

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