DISTRIBUTION AND OCCURRENCE
SPECIES: Acer macrophyllum | Bigleaf Maple 



GENERAL DISTRIBUTION : 
Bigleaf maple occurs in the Pacific Coast region from just south of the
Alaska Panhandle in British Columbia south through the western portions
of Washington and Oregon to southern California [20].  It is generally
restricted to the west side of the Sierra Nevada-Cascade crest [28].
Bigleaf maple's northern distribution is apparently restricted by cold
temperatures.  Its southern and interior distribution seems restricted
by insufficient moisture and humidity [20,30].  At the southern end of
its range, bigleaf maple is usually restricted to canyons or riparian
habitats [11,28].


ECOSYSTEMS : 
   FRES20  Douglas-fir
   FRES21  Ponderosa pine
   FRES23  Fir - spruce
   FRES24  Hemlock - Sitka spruce
   FRES27  Redwood
   FRES28  Western hardwoods
   FRES34  Chaparral - mountain shrub


STATES : 
     CA  OR  WA  BC


ADMINISTRATIVE UNITS : 
     CHIS  CRLA  MORA  NOCA  OLYM  PORE
     REDW  SAJH  WHIS  YOSE


BLM PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGIONS : 
    1  Northern Pacific Border
    2  Cascade Mountains
    3  Southern Pacific Border
    4  Sierra Mountains


KUCHLER PLANT ASSOCIATIONS : 
   K001  Spruce - cedar - hemlock forest
   K002  Cedar - hemlock - Douglas-fir forest
   K005  Mixed conifer forest
   K006  Redwood forest
   K009  Pine - cypress forest
   K011  Western ponderosa forest
   K012  Douglas-fir forest
   K025  Alder - ash forest
   K026  Oregon oakwoods
   K028  Mosaic of K002 and K026
   K029  California mixed evergreen forest
   K030  California oakwoods
   K033  Chaparral


SAF COVER TYPES : 
   211  White fir
   213  Grand fir
   221  Red alder
   222  Black cottonwood - willow
   223  Sitka spruce
   224  Western hemlock
   225  Western hemlock - Sitka spruce
   227  Western redcedar - western hemlock
   229  Pacific Douglas-fir
   230  Douglas-fir - western hemlock
   231  Port Orford-cedar
   232  Redwood
   233  Oregon white oak
   234  Douglas-fir - tanoak - Pacific madrone
   235  Cottonwood - willow
   243  Sierra Nevada mixed conifer
   244  Pacific ponderosa pine - Douglas-fir
   249  Canyon live oak
   255  California coast live oak


SRM (RANGELAND) COVER TYPES : 
NO-ENTRY


HABITAT TYPES AND PLANT COMMUNITIES : 
Bigleaf maple occasionally forms pure stands on moist soils near
streams, but trees are generally found in riparian hardwood forests or
scattered under or within relatively open canopies of conifers, mixed
evergreens, or oaks (Quercus spp.).

Bigleaf maple most often occurs in

        - Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis)-western hemlock (Tsuga
          heterophylla) old growth forests of the Olympic rain forest
          [21]

        - Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii), grand fir (Abies
          grandis), or redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) forests

        - Mixed evergreen forests dominated by Douglas-fir, tanoak
          (Lithocarpus densiflora), Pacific madrone (Arbutus
          menziesii), chinkapin (Castanopsis chrysophylla),
          coast live oak (Quercus agrifolia), Californi live oak
          (Q. chrysolepis), Jeffrey pine (Pinus jeffreyi), sugar pine 
          (P. lambertiana), or ponderosa pine (P. ponderosa) [21,54]  

        - Oregon white oak (Q. garryana) woodlands [21,29,56]

        - Deciduous or mixed deciduous/coniferous riparian forests
          dominated by red alder (Alnus rubra), white alder (A.
          rhombifolia), Oregon ash (Fraxinus latifolia), quaking aspen 
          (Populus tremuloides), black cottonwood (Populus tricocarpa),
          willows (Salix spp.), or Douglas-fir [2,7,21,22,49]

Published classification schemes listing bigleaf maple as a dominant
part of the vegetation in community types (cts) or plant associations
(pas) are presented below:

     Area                Classification                 Authority
WA: North Cascades NP    Forest Cover Types      Agee and Kertis 1987

nw OR: Tillamook Burn    postfire cts            Bailey & Poulton 1968

OR, WA                   general veg. cts        Franklin & Dyrness 1973

CA                       redwood forest cts      Zinke 1977

CA, OR: Siskiyou Mtns    general veg. pas        Atzet and Wheeler 1984

Related categories for Species: Acer macrophyllum | Bigleaf Maple