Narrowleaf cottonwood occurs from southern British Columbia, Alberta, and Saskatchewan
south to south-central California, Texas, and Chihuahua, Mexico.
It is common throughout Rocky Mountain region of western Montana,
central and southern Idaho [36,46]. The Natural Resource
Conservation Service's
PLANTS database provides
a map of narrowleaf cottonwood's distribution in the United States.
Narrowleaf cottonwood is a dominant species of Central Colorado riparian areas of upper foothills
and lower montane zones [44]. It is also a principal tree species along streams of semiarid
regions of southern Alberta [32]. Few narrowleaf cottonwood colonies are found east of the
southern Sierra Nevada Crest [47]. Common plant associates of narrowleaf cottonwood are listed
below.
Trees: In Colorado narrowleaf cottonwood is commonly found with box elder (Acer negundo), balsam poplar (P. balsamifera), Fremont cottonwood (P. fremontii), Douglas-fir
(Pseudotsuga menziesii) [1], ponderosa pine (P. ponderosa), [1,44], Rocky Mountain juniper (Juniperus scopulorum) [43,44], and blue spruce (Picea pungens) [27].
In Arizona and New Mexico, white fir (Abies concolor), blue spruce,
Douglas-fir, ponderosa pine, and Gambel oak (Quercus gambelii) are common
associates [7]. Limber pine (Pinus flexilis), Douglas-fir, eastern
cottonwood (Populus deltoides), and black cottonwood (P. trichocarpa)
are common associates in Montana [40]. In Utah, water birch (Betula occidentalis), thinleaf alder (Alnus incana)
[51], box elder, bigtooth maple (Acer grandidentatum), Gambel oak, Fremont
cottonwood, and Rocky Mountain juniper are common associates [68].
Shrubs: In Colorado, Rocky Mountain maple (Acer glabrum), Saskatoon serviceberry (Almelanchier alnifolia) [1], willow (Salix spp.), water birch, thinleaf alder [1,44], red-osier dogwood (Cornus sericea), Wood's rose (Rosa woodsii), western snowberry (Symphoricarpos occidentalis) and mountain snowberry (S. oreophilus)
are common associates of narrowleaf cottonwood [44]. In Arizona and New Mexico,
thinleaf alder, Arizona alder (Alnus oblongifolia), willow, box elder, currant (Ribes spp.), and rose (Rosa spp.) are common
[7]. In Montana, narrowleaf cottonwood is commonly found with red-osier dogwood,
kinnikinnick (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi), big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata), and Wood's rose [40]. In Utah common associates are rose, mountain
snowberry, willow, and red-osier dogwood [68].
Graminoids: In Colorado, narrowleaf cottonwood is commonly found with slender wheatgrass (Elymus trachycaulus), nodding brome (Bromus anomalus), bluejoint reedgrass (Calamagrostis canadensis),
and sedge (Carex spp.) [44].
In Montana, creeping bentgrass (Agrostis stolonifera), timothy (Phleum pratense), Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis), bluegrass (Poa
spp.), bearded wheatgrass (Elymus caninus), slender wheatgrass, other wheatgrasses
(Triticeae),
redtop (Agrostis gigantea), and reed canarygrass (Phalaris arundinacea) are common associates [40].
Forbs: Northern bedstraw (Galium boreale), cow parsnip (Heracleum lanatum), and American vetch (Vicia americana) are common associates of narrowleaf cottonwood in
Colorado [44].
In Montana dandelion (Taraxacum officinale), western yarrow (Achillea millefolium), Canada thistle (Cirsium arvense), yellow sweetclover (Melilotus officinalis), white clover (Trifolium repens), and Canada goldenrod (Solidago canadensis)
are common associates [40].
Published classifications listing narrowleaf cottonwood as an indicator or dominant are
listed below:
Classification of the forest vegetation of Colorado by habitat type and community type [1]
Classification of the riparian vegetation of the montane and subalpine zones in western Colorado [4]
Forest and woodland habitat types (plant associations) of Arizona south of the Mogollan Rim and southwestern New Mexico [7]
Classification and management of Montana's riparian and wetland sites [40]
Riparian reference area in Idaho: a catalog of plant associations and
conservation sites [50]
Preliminary riparian community type classification for Nevada [59]
A physical and biological characterization of riparian habitat and its importance to wildlife in Wyoming [66]
Riparian community type classification of Utah and southeastern Idaho [68]
Plant associations (habitat types) of the forests and woodlands of Arizona and New Mexico [82]
Riparian forest and scrubland community types of Arizona and New Mexico [86]
Riparian community type classification of eastern Idaho - western Wyoming [94]
Related categories for
SPECIES: Populus angustifolia
| Narrowleaf Cottonwood
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Information
Courtesy: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research
Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory. Fire Effects Information System
