Abstract for CNVC00246

Forest
Forêt

Picea mariana / Rhododendron groenlandicum – Vaccinium angustifolium / Cladina spp.

Black Spruce / Common Labrador Tea – Early Lowbush Blueberry / Reindeer Lichens
Épinette noire / Thé du Labrador – Bleuet à feuilles étroites / Cladonies

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CNVC00246 is a boreal coniferous forest Association that occurs in Ontario. It has a sparse tree layer of black spruce (Picea mariana) but a well-developed shrub layer comprising abundant black spruce and ericaceous species, including common Labrador tea (Rhododendron groenlandicum), velvet-leaved blueberry (Vaccinium myrtilloides) and early lowbush blueberry (V. angustifolium). The herb layer is virtually nonexistent. The moss and lichen layer is continuous and dominated by reindeer lichens (Cladina rangiferina, C. mitis and C. stellaris). Patches of red-stemmed feathermoss (Pleurozium schreberi) and Cladonia lichens are also present. CNVC00246 occurs on dry, nutrient-poor sites in a region with a continental boreal climate that is subhumid in the western part of its range and becomes increasingly humid eastward. These are the driest, most nutrient-impoverished sites capable of supporting tree-dominated vegetation in the region. The dynamics of CNVC00246 are closely tied to fire, but it can be a stable, self-perpetuating community.

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