Abstract for CNVC00256

Forest
Forêt

Picea glauca – Abies balsamea / Streptopus lanceolatus / Pleurozium schreberi

White Spruce – Balsam Fir / Rose Twisted-stalk / Red-stemmed Feathermoss
Épinette blanche – Sapin baumier / Streptope rose / Pleurozie dorée

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CNVC00256 is a boreal coniferous forest Association that occurs in Manitoba and Ontario. It has a moderately closed canopy dominated by white spruce (Picea glauca) and/or balsam fir (Abies balsamea) and a moderately to well-developed shrub layer that usually includes regenerating balsam fir, showy mountain-ash (Sorbus decora) and mountain maple (Acer spicatum). The herb layer is moderately developed and commonly includes bunchberry (Cornus canadensis), yellow clintonia (Clintonia borealis), wild lily-of-the-valley (Maianthemum canadense), wild sarsaparilla (Aralia nudicaulis), twinflower (Linnaea borealis), dwarf raspberry (Rubus pubescens), rose twisted-stalk (Streptopus lanceolatus), northern starflower (Lysimachia borealis), three-flowered bedstraw (Galium triflorum), naked mitrewort (Mitella nuda) and goldthread (Coptis trifolia). The moss layer is usually well developed and dominated by red-stemmed feathermoss (Pleurozium schreberi), with lower cover of knight’s plume moss (Ptilium crista-castrensis) and stairstep moss (Hylocomium splendens). CNVC00256 occurs in a region with a continental boreal climate that grades from subhumid in the western portion of its range to humid in the east. It is most frequently found on mesic to moist, nutrient-medium to rich sites. It is a late seral condition that tends to occur as small patches in areas that have escaped fire for a long period. Insect outbreaks and windthrow are the primary natural disturbances. The canopy gaps or large patches that result from disturbance can promote self-replacement of this Association by the release of balsam fir regeneration. Two subassociations are recognized, typic and Acer spicatum.

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