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Willamette Valley forests (WWF ecoregion NA0417)

Oaks, central Oregon
Oaks, central Oregon (c) 2005 Steven J. Baskauf

Willamette Valley forests map
Source of bioregions data: Olson, D. M. and E. Dinerstein. The Global 200: Priority ecoregions for global conservation. (PDF file) Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden 89:125-126.

Distinctiveness (1=highest,4=lowest): 3 (bioregionally outstanding)
The Willamette Valley once contained a prairie with oak savannas and groves of Douglas fir.*

Conservation Status (1=most endangered, 5=most intact): 1 (critical)
Less than one percent of the habitat remains intact.  Nearly all of the region has been converted to agriculture or has been urbanized.  Fire suppression has contributed to the loss of prairie and the conversion of savanna to forest.*

Characteristic species*
 
Quercus garryana  (Oregon white oak)
Pseudotsuga menziesii  (Douglas fir)
Populus trichocarpa  (black cottonwood)

Associated habitats

Oak savanna, Oregon Oak savanna, Oregon Oaks, Oregon
oak savanna with heavily impacted grasslands, Oregon (c) 2005 Steven J. Baskauf  hires  hires  hires

riparian woodland, Willamette Valley, Oregon riparian woodland, Willamette Valley, Oregon riparian woodland, Willamette Valley, Oregon
remnant riparian woodland adjacent to cultivated field, Oregon (c) 2005 Steven J. Baskauf  hires  hires  hires

Mixed hardwoods and conifers, southern Willamette Valley, Oregon Mixed hardwoods and conifers, southern Willamette Valley, Oregon Mixed hardwoods and conifers, southern Willamette Valley, Oregon Arbutus, southern Willamette Valley, Oregon
mixed hardwoods and conifers, southern Willamette Valley, Oregon (c) 2005 Steven J. Baskauf  hires  hires  hires  hires
 

* Ricketts, T.H., E. Dinerstein, D.M. Olson, C.J. Loucks, et al.  (1999) Terrestrial Ecoregions of North America: A Conservation Assessment.  World Wildlife Fund - United States and Canada.  Island Press, Washington, D.C. pp. 154-155.

Except as noted, images copyright 2002-2005 Steve Baskauf - Terms of use