Sierra Nevada upper montane forest

The Sierra Nevada upper montane forest is a vegetation type found below the treeline in the United States Sierra Nevada range. It is generally located above the mixed coniferous forest and below the alpine zone. Overstory trees are typically cone shaped to shed the snow.

Characteristic trees including lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta), Jeffrey pine (Pinus jeffreyi), western white pine (Pinus monticola) California red fir (Abies magnifica), and Sierra juniper (Juniperus grandis), and typical understory trees and shrubs such as huckleberry oak (Quercus vaccinifolia) and red heather (Phyllodoce breweri).

Environment
On the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada range, upper montane vegetation can be found at elevations from 5500 to 7500 ft in the northern part of the range, 6500 to 8000 ft in the central part, and 8000 to 10000 ft in the southern part. On the eastern slopes, it is at higher elevations. Precipitation in areas of upper montane forest vegetation type is 35 to 65 ft, mostly as snowfall. Summer high temperatures range from 73 to 85 F, and winter lows are below 26 F. Growing season is about four months because of long-lasting, deep snow.