| Ecoregions: Central Interior and Southern Interior |
| Elevations: 700-1000m |
| Latitudes: 49-52 degrees |
| |
| Description: |
- Essentially a grassland zone occurring at the lowest elevations of the driest and hottest interior valleys
(Fraser, Thompson, Okanagan and Similkameen)
- Generally occurs below the PP zone but occasionally grades directly into IDF
- Bluebunch wheatgrass dominates on undisturbed sites with big sage at lower elevations and Ponderosa pine and Douglas-fir in
moist draws and on cooler sites
- Important habitat for California bighorn sheep, burrowing owl, white-tailed deer and sharp-tailed grouse
|
| Representative Species: |
| Drier phase |
| |
Trees
|
| |
None |
| |
Shrubs |
| |
Artemisia tridentata (big sage) |
| |
Purshia tridentata (antelope brush) |
| |
Forbs and Grasses |
| |
Agropyron spicatum (bluebunch wheatgrass) |
| |
Puntia fragilis (prickly pear cactus) |
| |
Stipa comata (needle and thread grass) |
| |
| Wetter Phase |
| |
Trees |
| |
Populus tremuloides (trembling aspen) |
| |
Pseudotsuga menziesii (Douglas-fir) |
| |
Pinus ponderosa (ponderosa pine) |
| |
Shrubs |
| |
Purshia tridentata (antelope brush) |
| |
Chrysothamnus nauseosus (rabbit brush) |
| |
Forbs and Grasses |
| |
Agropyron spicatum (bluebunch wheatgrass) |
| |
Koeleria macrantha (June grass) |
| |
Poa sandbergii (Sandberg's bluegrass) |
| |
Antenaria dimorpha (pussytoes) |
| |
| Potential Restoration Species: |
| Drier phase |
| |
Trees |
| |
None |
| |
Shrubs |
| |
Artemisia tridentata (big sage) |
| |
Purshia tridentata (antelope brush) |
| |
Forbs and Grasses |
| |
Agropyron spicatum (bluebunch wheatgrass) |
| |
Stipa comata (needle and thread grass) |
| |
| Wetter Phase |
| |
Trees |
| |
Populus tremuloides (trembling aspen) |
| |
Pseudotsuga menziesii (Douglas-fir) |
| |
Pinus ponderosa (ponderosa pine) |
| |
Shrubs |
| |
Purshia tridentata (antelope brush) |
| |
Chrysothamnus nauseosus (rabbit brush) |
| |
Forbs and Grasses |
| |
Agropyron spicatum (bluebunch wheatgrass) |
| |
Erigeron linearis (line-leaved fleabane) |
| |
Festuca idahoensis (Idaho fescue) |
| |
Koeleria macrantha (June grass) |
| |
Stipa spartea (porcupine grass) |
| |
| Meidinger, D. and Pojar, J. 1991. Ecosystems of British Columbia. British Columbia Ministry of Forests. 330 pp.
http://www.for.gov.bc.ca/hfd/pubs/Docs/Srs/SRseries.htm |
