Abstract for CNVC00128

Forest
Forêt

Picea mariana / Vaccinium vitis-idaea / Pleurozium schreberi (Hylocomium splendens)

Black Spruce / Lingonberry / Red-stemmed Feathermoss (Stairstep Moss)
Épinette noire / Airelle rouge / Pleurozie dorée (Hylocomie brillante)

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CNVC00128 is a boreal coniferous forest Association that ranges from Alberta to Manitoba. It has a moderately closed canopy of black spruce (Picea mariana), sometimes with a minor component of jack pine (Pinus banksiana). The poorly to moderately developed shrub layer typically includes common Labrador tea (Rhododendron groenlandicum) and regenerating black spruce. The herb and dwarf shrub layer is generally sparse; lingonberry (Vaccinium vitis-idaea) and bunchberry (Cornus canadensis) are the only common species, although more nutrient-demanding species, like arctic sweet coltsfoot (Petasites frigidus), dwarf raspberry (Rubus pubescens), field horsetail (Equisetum arvense) and naked mitrewort (Mitella nuda), are occasionally present. A well-developed moss layer dominated by red-stemmed feathermoss (Pleurozium schreberi), with lower abundance of stairstep moss (Hylocomium splendens) and knight’s plume moss (Ptilium crista-castrensis), further characterizes this Association. CNVC00128 occurs in a region with a subhumid continental boreal climate. It is most frequently found on moist, nutrient-poor to medium sites. It can be the first cohort after fire or succeed earlier seral conditions.

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