Madrean Upper Montane Conifer - Oak Forest and Woodland

Geology

On Permian limestone in the Guadalupe Mountains. In the Chisos Mountains, this system primarily occurs on Tertiary igneous formations and associated colluvial and alluvial deposits from these formations.

Landform

High mountain slopes and flats and rolling topography at mountain summits of the Guadalupe and Chisos Mountains.

Soils

Victorio-Lorenz-Rock outcrop complex of the Guadalupe Mountains, and Igneous Hill and Mountain soils of the Chisos Mountains.

Parent Description

This system is limited in Texas to the highest mountain areas of the Guadalupe and Chisos Mountains, but is lacking from high elevations of the Davis Mountains. The characteristic dominants of the system are Pseudotsuga menziesii (Douglas-fir) and Pinus strobiformis (southwestern white pine), though Pinus ponderosa (ponderosa pine), Juniperus spp. (junipers) and Pinus cembroides (Mexican pinyon pine) or Pinus edulis (pinyon pine) may also be present to common. Oak species, including Quercus emoryi (Emory oak), Quercus hypoleucoides (silverleaf oak), Quercus grisea (gray oak), and Quercus gambelii (Gambel oak) may be present to co-dominant. The shrub and subcanopy is typically sparse and generally dominated by species from the canopy. In some areas, Quercus gambelii (Gambel oak) may form dense shrub patches. The herbaceous layer is typically dominated by graminoids, including species such as Festuca arizonica (Arizona fescue), Muhlenbergia pauciflora (New Mexican muhly), Piptochaetium fimbriatum (pinyon ricegrass), Blepharoneuron tricholepis (pine dropseed), Koeleria macrantha (junegrass), and Poa fendleriana (mutton bluegrass).