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A "natural bonsai" in the Mount Hamiguitan List of national parks of the Philippines">National Park A national park is a nature park designated for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes because of unparalleled national natural, historic, or cultural significance. It is an area of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that is protecte ...

in the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

, a

UNESCO World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

file:Mount Kemiri (8187817161).jpg, An elfin forest in Sumatra's Gunung Leuser National Park Dwarf forest, elfin forest, or pygmy forest is an uncommon

ecosystem An ecosystem (or ecological system) is a system formed by Organism, organisms in interaction with their Biophysical environment, environment. The Biotic material, biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and en ...

featuring miniature

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, e.g., including only woody plants with secondary growth, only ...

s, inhabited by small species of

fauna Fauna (: faunae or faunas) is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding terms for plants and fungi are ''flora'' and '' funga'', respectively. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively ...

such as rodents and lizards. They are usually located at high elevations, under conditions of sufficient air humidity but poor soil. There are two main dwarf forest ecosystem types, involving different species and environmental characteristics: coastal

temperate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (approximately 23.5° to 66.5° N/S of the Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ran ...

and

montane Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures lapse rate, fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is ...

tropical regions. Temperate coastal dwarf forest is common for parts of

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...

. Montane tropical forests are found across tropical highlands of

Central America Central America is a subregion of North America. Its political boundaries are defined as bordering Mexico to the north, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. Central America is usually ...

, northern

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

and

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

. There are also other isolated examples of dwarf forests scattered across the world, while the largest dwarf forest is found in the

High-elevation tropical dwarf forest

High-elevation tropical locations in

cloud forest A cloud forest, also called a water forest, primas forest, or tropical montane cloud forest, is a generally tropical or subtropical, evergreen, Montane forest, montane, Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, moist forest characteri ...

s contain mossy wet elfin forests due to high-elevation precipitation. These regions are characterized by low rainfall, with most of the water in the form of

mist Mist is a phenomenon caused by small droplets of water suspended in the cold air, usually by condensation. Physically, it is an example of a Dispersion (chemistry), dispersion. It is most commonly seen where water vapor in warm, moist air meets ...

and

fog Fog is a visible aerosol consisting of tiny water droplets or ice crystals suspended in the air at or near the Earth's surface. Reprint from Fog can be considered a type of low-lying cloud usually resembling stratus and is heavily influenc ...

. The water supplied is primarily available during the night, when clouds move from the ocean over the mountains, and are intercepted by the vegetation. During the day, water demands are increased as clouds rise over the mountain peaks without dissipating into available forms of

precipitation In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls from clouds due to gravitational pull. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, rain and snow mixed ("sleet" in Commonwe ...

. The forests are characterized by small trees (5–8 m), with shallow root systems, and abundant

epiphyte An epiphyte is a plant or plant-like organism that grows on the surface of another plant and derives its moisture and nutrients from the air, rain, water (in marine environments) or from debris accumulating around it. The plants on which epiphyt ...

s. The epiphytes make up a large portion of the canopy, with greater abundances in high-elevation tropical elfin forests than what is found in other, non-elfin, tropical forests. Dwarf forests should be more commonly found on isolated mountains due to the

massenerhebung effect The Massenerhebung effect (German for "mountain mass elevation") describes variation in the tree line based on mountain size and location. In general, mountains surrounded by large ranges will tend to have higher tree lines than more isolated mount ...

. The massenerhebung effect is a phenomenon where

treeline The tree line is the edge of a habitat at which trees are capable of growing and beyond which they are not. It is found at high elevations and high latitudes. Beyond the tree line, trees cannot tolerate the environmental conditions (usually low ...

s are typically higher among mountains in close proximity to other mountains. The mountains in close proximity affect the rate of wind and heat retention, decreasing the negative effects of climate. When the treeline is lower on isolated mountains, the climatic effects are more severe.

Flora

Within montane dwarf forests, there are relatively few species, with a small number of dominant species that make up a large portion of the population. Low, horizontally-branching, shrub-like plants, and dense populations of

moss Mosses are small, non-vascular plant, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic phylum, division Bryophyta (, ) ''sensu stricto''. Bryophyta (''sensu lato'', Wilhelm Philippe Schimper, Schimp. 1879) may also refer to the parent group bryo ...

lichen A lichen ( , ) is a hybrid colony (biology), colony of algae or cyanobacteria living symbiotically among hypha, filaments of multiple fungus species, along with yeasts and bacteria embedded in the cortex or "skin", in a mutualism (biology), m ...

, and

liverworts Liverworts are a group of non-vascular plant, non-vascular embryophyte, land plants forming the division Marchantiophyta (). They may also be referred to as hepatics. Like mosses and hornworts, they have a gametophyte-dominant life cycle, in wh ...

are found due to high wind speeds, low temperatures and light reduction from persistent clouds and fog, which limit the growth of tall plants. The high wind speeds act as the determining factor of the stature in dwarf forest flora, especially on ridges and slopes. A low stature increases the structural stability of the plants. Wind-exposed trees invest more of their resources to increasing strength than to growth, compared to non-wind-exposed trees. The increased focus on strengthening leads to thicker trunks and twigs, which increases the ability of the trees to withstand greater wind stresses near the ridge-crest, where the majority of wind-exposed trees are found. A large percentage of energy is also allocated to growing and maintaining heavy and extensive root structures, further strengthening the tree and increasing its resistance to high winds. Plants here have leaves with moisture-tolerant characteristics, such as drip tips and waxy cuticles. They also have a slow rate of

transpiration Transpiration is the process of water movement through a plant and its evaporation from aerial parts, such as leaves, stems and flowers. It is a passive process that requires no energy expense by the plant. Transpiration also cools plants, c ...

and

metabolism Metabolism (, from ''metabolē'', "change") is the set of life-sustaining chemical reactions in organisms. The three main functions of metabolism are: the conversion of the energy in food to energy available to run cellular processes; the co ...

due to low temperatures and low radiation penetration. A large percentage of plants possess

alkaloids Alkaloids are a broad class of naturally occurring organic compounds that contain at least one nitrogen atom. Some synthetic compounds of similar structure may also be termed alkaloids. Alkaloids are produced by a large variety of organisms i ...

and other

natural product A natural product is a natural compound or substance produced by a living organism—that is, found in nature. In the broadest sense, natural products include any substance produced by life. Natural products can also be prepared by chemical s ...

s, likely to combat a high amount of

herbivory A herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically evolved to feed on plants, especially upon vascular tissues such as foliage, fruits or seeds, as the main component of its diet. These more broadly also encompass animals that eat n ...

from insects. This may also account for the low leaf

surface area The surface area (symbol ''A'') of a solid object is a measure of the total area that the surface of the object occupies. The mathematical definition of surface area in the presence of curved surfaces is considerably more involved than the d ...

and low transpiration rates of the plants. One study showed that leaves of ten plant species had approximately 70–98% of all leaves damaged by insects.

Fauna

Elfin forests occur at high elevations, which are generally associated with low vertebrate biodiversity.

Hummingbird Hummingbirds are birds native to the Americas and comprise the Family (biology), biological family Trochilidae. With approximately 366 species and 113 genus, genera, they occur from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego, but most species are found in Cen ...

s and bats make up a large proportion of the vertebrates in some areas, usually as altitudinal migrants during seasonal shifts, such as for reproduction, or in response to food abundance. Other vertebrate species mostly include small

rodent Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the Order (biology), order Rodentia ( ), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and Mandible, lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal specie ...

Seasonal variations

Rainfall tends to be highly seasonal, sparse, and far between, therefore fog interception is a significant water source during dry seasons. Throughout the year, wind speed, temperature and

humidity Humidity is the concentration of water vapor present in the air. Water vapor, the gaseous state of water, is generally invisible to the human eye. Humidity indicates the likelihood for precipitation (meteorology), precipitation, dew, or fog t ...

are fairly consistent, with humidity usually greater than 90%. At one study site in the

Guajira Peninsula The Guajira Peninsula (, also spelled ''Goajira'', mainly in colonial period texts, ) is a peninsula in northern Colombia and northwestern Venezuela in the Caribbean. It is the northernmost peninsula in South America and has an area of exte ...

, dry season precipitation ranged from 1–4 days per month, while in the wet season, although increased, it was still a relatively low 4 to 12 days per month, supporting the idea that the majority of the water in this region is held in low cloud cover and fog interception. Sunshine duration is distributed bimodally and correlates with

evaporation Evaporation is a type of vaporization that occurs on the Interface (chemistry), surface of a liquid as it changes into the gas phase. A high concentration of the evaporating substance in the surrounding gas significantly slows down evapora ...

rates.

Examples

* Pygmy forest of Mount Hamiguitan on

Mindanao Mindanao ( ) is the List of islands of the Philippines, second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and List of islands by population, seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the ...

, Philippines at the elevation of 1160–1200 m a.s.l.). It is a

national park A national park is a nature park designated for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes because of unparalleled national natural, historic, or cultural significance. It is an area of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that is protecte ...

and a

protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewood ...

since 2004 and was declared a

in 2014. It is estimated to have around 1,380 different species; with 341

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to the Philippines (including the

Philippine eagle The Philippine eagle (''Pithecophaga jefferyi''), also known as the monkey-eating eagle or great Philippine eagle, is a critically endangered species of eagle of the family Accipitridae which is Endemism, endemic to forests in the Geography of ...

, the Philippine cockatoo and the

Philippine tarsier The Philippine tarsier (''Carlito syrichta''), known locally as ''mawumag'' in Cebuano and other Visayan languages, and ''magô'' in Waray, is a species of tarsier endemic to the Philippines. It is found in the southeastern part of the archip ...

). Several species are endemic to Mount Hamiguitan itself, like the Mount Hamiguitan pitcher plant ('' Nepenthes hamiguitanensis''), the Mount Hamiguitan fern ('' Lindsaea hamiguitanensis'') and the butterfly ('' Delias magsadana''). At the extensive pygmy forest of Mount Hamiguitan is the largest known dwarf forest in the Philippines and possibly the world. It merges with mossy forests,

dipterocarp forest Dipterocarpaceae is a family of flowering plants with 22 genera and about 695 known species of mainly lowland tropical forest trees. Their distribution is pantropical, from northern South America to Africa, the Seychelles, India, Indochina, Indo ...

s, and

montane forest Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures lapse rate, fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is ...

s at lower elevations. *

El Yunque National Forest El Yunque National Forest (), formerly known as the Caribbean National Forest (or ''Bosque Nacional del Caribe''), is a forest located in northeastern Puerto Rico. While there are both temperate and tropical rainforests in other states and terri ...

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

features dwarf forest areas at elevations above 900 m, as does Los Tres Picachos State Forest.

Coastal temperate elfin forest

Elfin forests of

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

are the primary example of coastal temperate dwarf forests. They are expansive, and cover most of the mountains in the southern half of

, extending into

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

, and

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

. Other expanses of elfin forest are found throughout the state, in the northern and central regions. In

northern California Northern California (commonly shortened to NorCal) is a geocultural region that comprises the northern portion of the U.S. state of California, spanning the northernmost 48 of the state's List of counties in California, 58 counties. Northern Ca ...

, Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park is home to an elfin forest with Mendocino cypress ('' Cupressus pygmaea''), and Sargent's cypress ( ''C. sargentii''), which is partially within a section of the Zayante Sandhill Area. On the

Central Coast of California The Central Coast is an area of California, roughly spanning the coastal region between Point Mugu and Monterey Bay. It lies northwest of Los Angeles and south of the San Francisco Bay Area, and includes the rugged, rural, and sparsely populat ...

, on the southeastern shore of

Morro Bay Morro Bay (''Morro'', Spanish for "Hill") is a seaside city in San Luis Obispo County, California, United States. Located on the Central Coast of California, the city's population was 10,757 as of the 2020 census, up from 10,234 at the 2010 ...

, Los Osos contains the El Moro Elfin Forest Natural Area. The area is approximately . It derives the "elfin forest" title from the short California live oaks, which range in height from , compared to the typical . This region also contains the federally endangered Morro shoulderband snail ('' Helminthoglypta walkeriana''). At a higher

elevation The elevation of a geographic location (geography), ''location'' is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational equipotenti ...

, on Cuesta Ridge, the Land Conservancy of San Luis Obispo County manages the San Luis Obispo Elfin Forest of dwarf cypresses. Factors such as soil moisture, solar radiation, and rockiness of soil influence

species composition Relative species abundance is a component of biodiversity and is a measure of how common or rare a species is relative to other species in a defined location or community.Hubbell, S. P. 2001. ''The unified neutral theory of biodiversity and biogeog ...

along an elevation gradient, resulting in certain shrub species, such as ''

Adenostoma fasciculatum ''Adenostoma fasciculatum'', commonly known as chamise or greasewood, is a flowering plant native to California and Baja California. This shrub is one of the most widespread plants of the California chaparral ecoregion. Chamise produces a specia ...

'' and '' Arctostaphylos glauca'', being present in elfin forest habitats. Fire occurs at low-moderate frequency with high severity. Many plants have adapted to this by having serotinous seeds that open to germinate only under high heat. Because of this, they are often the first to colonize a new area. Pygmy oak forest on Morro bay estuary

Flora

Chaparral Chaparral ( ) is a shrubland plant plant community, community found primarily in California, southern Oregon, and northern Baja California. It is shaped by a Mediterranean climate (mild wet winters and hot dry summers) and infrequent, high-intens ...

areas can be waterlogged in the winter, and arid and

desert A desert is a landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions create unique biomes and ecosystems. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation. About one-third of the la ...

-like in the summer, native plants in these dry elfin forests are generally much shorter, smaller, and compact than related plants elsewhere. Some of the plants commonly found in Californian elfin forests, including many introduced species, are: diminutive plants such as Mount Hood pussypaws ('' Cistanthe umbellata''), alkali heath ('' Frankenia salina''), and species of bird's-foot trefoil ('' Lotus''); and trees and shrubs such as chamise (''

''), manzanita (''

Arctostaphylos ''Arctostaphylos'' (; from "bear" and "bunch of grapes") is a genus of plants comprising the manzanitas () and bearberries. There are about 60 species of ''Arctostaphylos'', ranging from ground-hugging arctic, coastal, and mountain shrub t ...

''), ''

Ceanothus ''Ceanothus'' is a genus of about 50–60 species of nitrogen-fixing shrubs and small trees in the buckthorn family (Rhamnaceae). Common names for members of this genus are buckbrush, California lilac, soap bush, or just ceanothus. ''"Ceanothus" ...

'', sumac ('' Rhus''), sage (''

Salvia ''Salvia'' () is the largest genus of plants in the sage family Lamiaceae, with just under 1,000 species of shrubs, Herbaceous plant, herbaceous Perennial plant, perennials, and Annual plant, annuals. Within the Lamiaceae, ''Salvia'' is part o ...

'') and scrub-oak ('' Quercus berberidifolia'') which naturally grow less than 20 ft (7m) tall.

Fauna

Californian elfin forest fauna includes many species of deer mice (''

Peromyscus ''Peromyscus'' is a genus of rodents. They are commonly referred to as deer mice or deermice, not to be confused with the chevrotain or "mouse deer". They are New World mice only distantly related to the common house and laboratory mouse, ''M ...

'' spp.), harvest mice (''

Reithrodontomys ''Reithrodontomys'' is the genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#I ...

'' spp.),

California vole The California vole (''Microtus californicus'') is a type of vole which lives throughout much of California and part of southwestern Oregon. It is also known as the "California meadow mouse", a misnomer as this species is a vole, not a mouse. It ...

(''Microtus californicus''), California pocket mouse (''Chaetodipus californicus''),

kangaroo rat Kangaroo rats, small mostly nocturnal rodents of genus ''Dipodomys'', are native to arid areas of western North America. The common name derives from their bipedal form. They hop in a manner similar to the much larger kangaroo, but developed thi ...

(''Dipodomys'' spp.) and several species of spiny lizards ('' Sceloporus'' spp.), along with other small

vertebrates Vertebrates () are animals with a vertebral column (backbone or spine), and a cranium, or skull. The vertebral column surrounds and protects the spinal cord, while the cranium protects the brain. The vertebrates make up the subphylum Vertebra ...

Invertebrates Invertebrates are animals that neither develop nor retain a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''spine'' or ''backbone''), which evolved from the notochord. It is a paraphyletic grouping including all animals excluding the chordate subphylum ...

include burrowing scorpions (''Opistophthalmus'' spp.), and various species of scorpions,

spider Spiders (order (biology), order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight limbs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude spider silk, silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and ran ...

s and

tick Ticks are parasitic arachnids of the order Ixodida. They are part of the mite superorder Parasitiformes. Adult ticks are approximately 3 to 5 mm in length depending on age, sex, and species, but can become larger when engorged. Ticks a ...

Seasonal variations

The Californian climate usually exhibits wet winters and dry summers. Plants found in elfin forests grow during winter months, and become dormant during the summer due to drought stress. Plant communities also rely on taking in moisture from the air by intercepting fog to supplement the low, seasonal rainfall.

Formation

Formation of coastal elfin forests in northern California and Oregon, began with a series of

marine terrace A raised beach, coastal terrace,Pinter, N (2010): 'Coastal Terraces, Sealevel, and Active Tectonics' (educational exercise), from 2/04/2011or perched coastline is a relatively flat, horizontal or gently inclined surface of marine origin,Pir ...

s. A combination of uplift and changes in ocean level formed a system of terraces, resulting in an “ecological staircase”, with each terrace approximately 100,000 years older than the one below it and supporting a distinct association of soils, microbes, plants, and animals. A dune being pushed farther away from the coast by fluctuating sea levels slides over the one before it and solidifies, raising the terraces. Pioneer plant communities colonize the young terrace. The succession of plant communities that repeats on each terrace eventually forms a very specific podzol known as the Blacklock series, which offers an inhospitable environment for species and greatly stunts further growth on the terrace. Part of this soil profile includes an underlying clay or iron hardpan. Each terrace is relatively level and many are footed by paleo-dunes. Drainage is poor at best on these stairs and plants sit in a bath of their own

tannin Tannins (or tannoids) are a class of astringent, polyphenolic biomolecules that bind to and Precipitation (chemistry), precipitate proteins and various other organic compounds including amino acids and alkaloids. The term ''tannin'' is widel ...

s and acids for much of the wet season. Due to limited root mobility and acidic soil, plant communities on these terraces grow into stunted forms. Remnants of ecological staircases doubtless exist, however most have been destroyed for development or logging. Analyses of pygmy forest soils show low levels of macro- and

micronutrient Micronutrients are essential chemicals required by organisms in small quantities to perform various biogeochemical processes and regulate physiological functions of cells and organs. By enabling these processes, micronutrients support the heal ...

s, and high levels of exchangeable

aluminium Aluminium (or aluminum in North American English) is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Al and atomic number 13. It has a density lower than that of other common metals, about one-third that of steel. Aluminium has ...

, which limits the ability of plants to grow. Low pH conditions support formation of an

iron Iron is a chemical element; it has symbol Fe () and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, forming much of Earth's o ...

hardpan, preventing the trees from setting deep

root In vascular plants, the roots are the plant organ, organs of a plant that are modified to provide anchorage for the plant and take in water and nutrients into the plant body, which allows plants to grow taller and faster. They are most often bel ...

s and preventing internal drainage of soil water. As a result, the pine trees in the area are rarely more than three or four feet high, in a sort of natural

bonsai Bonsai (; , ) is the Japanese art of Horticulture, growing and shaping miniature trees in containers, with a long documented history of influences and native Japanese development over a thousand years, and with unique aesthetics, cultural hist ...

effect. Many of the tree trunks, though only an inch thick, contain 80 or more

growth rings Dendrochronology (or tree-ring dating) is the scientific method of chronological dating, dating tree rings (also called growth rings) to the exact year they were formed in a tree. As well as dating them, this can give data for dendroclimatology, ...

. Only yards away, but with younger soils, the same species of tree grows many dozens of feet high.

Examples

Examples of high-terrace podzol pygmy forests include: * Mendocino pygmy forest in

Mendocino County, California Mendocino County (; ''Mendocino'', Spanish language, Spanish for "of Antonio de Mendoza, Mendoza") is a County (United States), county located on the North Coast (California), North Coast of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United S ...

, for example, is an

oligotroph An oligotroph is an organism that can live in an environment that offers very low levels of nutrients. They may be contrasted with copiotrophs, which prefer nutritionally rich environments. Oligotrophs are characterized by slow growth, low rates o ...

ic community caused by podzolized (nutrient-poor, highly acidic) soils. The forest flora is dominated by dwarfed

bishop pine ''Pinus muricata'', the bishop pine, is a pine with a very restricted range: mostly in California, including several offshore Channel Islands, and a few locations in Baja California, Mexico. Stands of Bishop Pine are also found in Point Reyes Nat ...

, bolander pine (a variety of shore pine), and '' Cupressus pygmaea''. Bishop pine occurs in both dwarfed and full size form, the latter being trees whose roots have broken through the hardpan layer into the more fertile soil beneath. This forest is found in several discontinuous areas, with significant portions on the following public lands: ** Jug Handle State Natural Reserve, where it is the feature of the highest portion of the Ecological Staircase Trail. Adjacent, to the east, is the Pygmy Forest

National Natural Landmark The National Natural Landmarks (NNL) Program recognizes and encourages the conservation of outstanding examples of the natural history of the United States. It is the only national natural areas program that identifies and recognizes the best e ...

. within Jackson Demonstration State Forest. ** Russian Gulch State Park. ** Jackson Demonstration State Forest includes a large pygmy forest area east of the towns of Mendocino and Casper. ** The Hans Jenny Pygmy Forest Reserve, co-managed by the

University of California Natural Reserve System The University of California Natural Reserve System (UCNRS) is a system of protected areas throughout California. The reserves support UC's mission of teaching, research, and public service. Unlike national and state parks, they are not availab ...

and

The Nature Conservancy The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is a global environmental organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, United States. it works via affiliates or branches in 79 countries and territories, as well as across every state in the US. Founded in ...

. ** Within the Van Damme State Park is the Charlotte M. Hoak Pygmy Forest, located along the northern border of the park. A second pygmy forest location on the southern border has a self-guided nature trail built entirely on an elevated walkway forming a short loop through the site. *

Salt Point State Park Salt Point State Park is a state park in Sonoma County, California, Sonoma County, California, United States. The park covers on the coast of Northern California, with of hiking trails and over of a rough rocky coastline including Salt Point w ...

Sonoma County, California Sonoma County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, its population was 488,863. Its seat of government and largest city is Santa Rosa. Sonoma County comprises the Santa Rosa-Petaluma ...

has a much smaller pygmy forest and a fifth terrace prairie ranging from 900 to 1000 feet and formerly supporting elk populations. Like the Mendocino forest, the dominant trees are also bishop pine, bolander pine, and ''C. pigmaea''. Most of Salt Point is on the northernmost portion of the

Salinian Block The Salinian Block or Salinian terrane is a geologic terrane which lies west of the main trace of the San Andreas Fault system in California. It is bounded on the south by the Big Pine Fault in Ventura County and on the west by the Nacimiento Fau ...

and the terrace staircase drops suddenly into the

gulch A gulch is a deep V-shaped valley formed by erosion. It may contain a small stream or dry creek bed and is usually larger in size than a gully. Sudden intense rainfall upstream may produce flash floods in the bed of the gulch. In eastern Can ...

that lies over the

San Andreas Fault The San Andreas Fault is a continental Fault (geology)#Strike-slip faults, right-lateral strike-slip transform fault that extends roughly through the U.S. state of California. It forms part of the tectonics, tectonic boundary between the Paci ...

. * SFB Morse Botanical Reserve in the

Del Monte Forest Del Monte Forest (''Del Monte'', Spanish for "of the mountain") is a census-designated place (CDP) in Monterey County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the CDP had a total population of 4,204, down from 4,514 at the 2010 census. ...

of the

Monterey Peninsula The Monterey Peninsula anchors the northern portion on the Central Coast (California), Central Coast of California and comprises the cities of Monterey, California, Monterey, Carmel-by-the-Sea, California, Carmel, and Pacific Grove, California, P ...

is centered on the small Huckleberry Hill pygmy forest of bishop pine and ''C. goveniana'', in the middle of a more extensive forest of

Monterey pine ''Pinus radiata'' (synonym (taxonomy), syn. ''Pinus insignis''), the Monterey pine, insignis pine or radiata pine, is a species of pine native to the Central Coast (California), Central Coast of California and Mexico (on Guadalupe Island and Ced ...

. Bishop pine, which tolerates extreme podzol conditions better than Monterey pine, is found in the most heavily podzolized areas, with a zone of bishop pine/Monterey pine hybrids dominating the less heavily podzolized area. Other examples of California pygmy forests include: * Elfin Forest Natural Area - El Moro Elfin Forest — 90 acre State Nature Reserve of 'pygmy oaks' (coast live oak, '' Quercus agrifolia''). Located on the southeastern shore of

, in Los Osos of coastal

San Luis Obispo County San Luis Obispo County (), officially the County of San Luis Obispo, is a county on the Central Coast of California. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 282,424. The county seat is San Luis Obispo. Junípero Serra fou ...

. A raised wooden boardwalk loops through and around the forest, with viewing platforms. * Cuesta Ridge Elfin Forest — in the Cuesta Ridge Botanical Special Interest Area, on western Cuesta Ridge of the

Santa Lucia Range The Santa Lucia Range (sæntə luˈsiːə) or Santa Lucia Mountains is a rugged mountain range in coastal Central California, running from Carmel southeast for to the Cuyama River in San Luis Obispo County. The range is never more than fro ...

, in San Luis Obispo County. A pygmy sargent cypress ('' Cupressus sargentii'') forest, where

serpentine soil Serpentine soil is an uncommon soil type produced by weathered ultramafic rock such as peridotite and its metamorphic derivatives such as serpentinite. More precisely, serpentine soil contains minerals of the serpentine subgroup, especially an ...

stunts growth. Protected within the 1,334 acre Cuesta Ridge Botanical Special Interest Area, in the Santa Lucia Ranger District of the

Los Padres National Forest Los Padres National Forest is a United States national forest in Southern California, southern and central California. Administered by the United States Forest Service, Los Padres includes most of the mountainous land along the California coast ...

. * Dwarf Cupressus Preserve — a second West Cuesta Ridge grove of the pygmy

cypress forest A Cypress forest is a western United States plant association typically dominated by one or more cypress species. Example species comprising the canopy include ''Cupressus macrocarpa''. In some cases these forests have been severely damaged by goats ...

(''C. sargentii''), managed by the Land Conservancy of San Luis Obispo County. * Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park — select pygmy forest locales in the

Santa Cruz Mountains The Santa Cruz Mountains ( Mutsun Ohlone: Mak-sah-re-jah, "Sharp Ridged Mountain of the Eagle" or "People of the Eagle Mountain") are a mountain range in central and Northern California, United States, constituting a part of the Pacific Coast R ...

in Santa Cruz County. *

Mount Tamalpais Mount Tamalpais (; ; Miwok languages, Miwok: ''Támal Pájiṣ''), known locally as Mount Tam, is a mountain, peak in Marin County, California, Marin County, California, United States, often considered symbolic of Marin County. Much of Mount Tama ...

dwarf forest — a forest of small ''C. pigmaea'' trees. The mountain's serpentine soil stunts the growth of these trees, causing them to grow only a few feet tall. On Old Stage Road, 0.5 miles northeast of the Bootjack Picnic Area. * San Geronimo Ridge — just south of Whites Hill in

Marin County Marin County ( ) is a county located in the northwestern part of the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 262,231. Its county seat and largest city is San Rafael. Marin County is ac ...

. *

Hood Mountain Mount Hood, also known as Hood Mountain, is a mountain near the southeastern edge of Santa Rosa, California, at the northeast of the Sonoma Valley and attains a height of . The original name was Mount Wilikos, an Indian name meaning "willows. ...

— near Santa Rosa in

Sonoma County Sonoma County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, its population was 488,863. Its seat of government and largest city is Santa Rosa. Sonoma County comprises the Santa Rosa-Petaluma ...

. A pygmy cypress forest dominated by ''C. sargentii'' and ''Arctostaphylos'' species can be found on the northwest slopes.

Other types

Dwarf forests may occur over various world locations, with different origins. On the British west coast, notable occurrences include Wistman's Wood in

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

and isolated patches in the

Ross of Mull The Ross of Mull (Scottish Gaelic: ''An Ros Mhuileach'') is the largest peninsula of the Isle of Mull, about long, and makes up the south-western part of the island. It is bounded to the north by Loch Scridain and to the south by the Firth of ...

on the Isle of Mull in Scotland. Stunted tree growth can also occur in some cases of highly alkaline soils such as the

Stora Alvaret Stora Alvaret (; "the Great Alvar") is an alvar, a barren limestone terrace, in the southern half of the island of Öland, Sweden. Stora Alvaret is a dagger shaped expanse almost long and about at the widest north end. The area of this formatio ...

(Great Alvar) formation on the island of

Öland Öland (, ; ; sometimes written ''Oland'' internationally) is the second-largest Swedish island and the smallest of the traditional provinces of Sweden. Öland has an area of and is located in the Baltic Sea just off the coast of Småland. ...

in Sweden. In that area there are certain extents of pygmy tree growth and also areas devoid of trees entirely with many associations of rare species, due to the unique soil chemistry. In

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

, the 3,830-acre (15 km²) West Pine Plains Natural Area within the Bass River State Forest preserves a pygmy forest, consisting of

pitch pine ''Pinus rigida'', the pitch pine, is a small-to-medium-sized pine. It is native to eastern North America, primarily from central Maine south to Georgia and as far west as Kentucky. It is found in environments which other species would find unsuit ...

and

blackjack oak ''Quercus marilandica'', the blackjack oak, is a small oak, one of the red oak group ''Quercus'' sect. ''Lobatae''. It is native to the eastern and central United States. Description ''Quercus marilandica'' is a small deciduous tree growing to ...

trees that reach a height of as little as four feet at maturity. The ground cover includes bearberry and teaberry sub-shrubs, lichens and mosses. While the same species are present in the vast surrounding region of the

Pine Barrens Pine barrens, pine plains, sand plains, or pineland areas occur throughout the U.S. from Florida to Maine (see Atlantic coastal pine barrens) as well as the Midwest, West, and Canada and parts of Eurasia. Perhaps the most well known pine-barre ...

, dwarf plant size is attributed to drier, nutrient-poor soil, exposure to winds, and frequent wildfires in the area.

Conservation

In the high-elevation

Antilles The Antilles is an archipelago bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the south and west, the Gulf of Mexico to the northwest, and the Atlantic Ocean to the north and east. The Antillean islands are divided into two smaller groupings: the Greater An ...

elfin forests reduced

solar radiation Sunlight is the portion of the electromagnetic radiation which is emitted by the Sun (i.e. solar radiation) and received by the Earth, in particular the visible light perceptible to the human eye as well as invisible infrared (typically p ...

and low

evapotranspiration Evapotranspiration (ET) refers to the combined processes which move water from the Earth's surface (open water and ice surfaces, bare soil and vegetation) into the Atmosphere of Earth, atmosphere. It covers both water evaporation (movement of w ...

rates means these mountain regions retain moisture.

Environmental degradation Environment most often refers to: __NOTOC__ * Natural environment, referring respectively to all living and non-living things occurring naturally and the physical and biological factors along with their chemical interactions that affect an organism ...

may affect this. Elfin forests in California serve important roles in regulating stream flow, preventing

soil erosion Soil erosion is the denudation or wearing away of the Topsoil, upper layer of soil. It is a form of soil degradation. This natural process is caused by the dynamic activity of erosive agents, that is, water, ice (glaciers), snow, Atmosphere of Ea ...

, and preventing evaporation by shading the ground.

Clear cutting Clearcutting, clearfelling or clearcut logging is a forestry/logging practice in which most or all trees in an area are uniformly cut down. Along with Shelterwood cutting, shelterwood and Seed tree, seed tree harvests, it is used by foresters t ...

for agricultural and economic development, amongst other things, may disrupt this.

References

{{Reflist, 30em Forests Pedology

High-elevation tropical dwarf forest

Flora

Fauna

Seasonal variations

Examples

Coastal temperate elfin forest

Flora

Fauna

Seasonal variations

Formation

Examples

Other types

Conservation

See also

References