Abstract for CNVC00118

Forest
Forêt

Pinus contorta / Vaccinium vitis-idaea – Arctostaphylos uva-ursi / Cladina spp.

Lodgepole Pine / Lingonberry – Common Bearberry / Reindeer Lichens
Pin tordu / Airelle rouge – Raisin d'ours / Cladonies

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CNVC00118 is a boreal coniferous forest Association that occurs in Yukon, British Columbia and Alberta. It has an open tree layer of lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta). Shrub layer development varies from sparse to dense, depending on the patchiness of shrubs, but is typically species poor. Prickly rose (Rosa acicularis) is usually common but not abundant. Common Labrador tea (Rhododendron groenlandicum) and, to a lesser extent, velvet-leaved blueberry (Vaccinium myrtilloides) can be abundant when present. The herb and dwarf shrub layer is moderately developed and usually dominated by lingonberry (V. vitis-idaea) and/or common bearberry (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi), with twinflower (Linnaea borealis) common but less abundant. The moss and lichen layer is usually moderately developed to continuous; clad (Cladonia spp.) and reindeer (Cladina spp.) lichens and red-stemmed feathermoss (Pleurozium schreberi) are the most abundant taxa. CNVC00118 occurs on dry, nutrient-poor sites in a region with a subhumid continental climate. These are among the driest, most nutrient-impoverished sites capable of supporting tree-dominated vegetation in the region. CNVC00118 is an early seral condition with dynamics that are driven by fire and limited by edaphic conditions. Two subassociations are distinguished, typic and Rhododendron groenlandicum.

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