Abstract for CNVC00024

Forest
Forêt

Picea sitchensis / Rubus spectabilis - Malus fusca / Carex obnupta

Sitka Spruce / Salmonberry - Pacific Crab Apple / Slough Sedge
Épinette de Sitka / Ronce remarquable - Pommier du Pacifique / Carex voilé

---

CNVC00024 is an endemic, coniferous forest association that occurs along the backshores of estuaries and tidal sloughs of coastal British Columbia. Soils are usually loamy or sandy and are usually derived from fluvial materials, often with a thin organic cap. Salt input and wet soils limit productivity. Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis) dominates the overstory of these communities, with low cover of western red cedar (Thuja plicata). The overstory is open, with canopy individuals growing on elevated mounds. Moderate to high cover of salmonberry (Rubus spectabilis) and Pacific crab apple (Malus fusca), together with moderate cover of salal (Gaultheria shallon) characterize the shrub layer. The herb layer is usually well-developed and dominated by high cover of slough sedge (Carex obnupta) and moderate cover of yellow skunk cabbage (Lysichiton americanus). The moderately well-developed moss layer consists mostly of beaked mosses (Eurhynchium praelongum, E. oreganum) and dotted leafy moss (Rhizomnium punctatum).

 Factsheet