Abstract for CNVC00263
Forest
Forêt
Picea glauca – Populus tremuloides / Rosa acicularis / Aralia nudicaulis
White Spruce – Trembling Aspen / Prickly Rose / Wild Sarsaparilla
Épinette blanche – Peuplier faux-tremble / Rosier aciculaire / Aralie à tige nue
CNVC00263 is a boreal mixedwood forest Association that ranges from Alberta to Manitoba. It has a closed canopy of white spruce (Picea glauca) and trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides), sometimes with paper birch (Betula papyrifera) as a minor associate. The moderately developed shrub layer commonly includes low abundance of prickly rose (Rosa acicularis) and squashberry (Viburnum edule), along with lower constancy of several other shrub species. The herb layer is moderately developed and commonly includes bunchberry (Cornus canadensis), twinflower (Linnaea borealis), wild lily-of-the-valley (Maianthemum canadense), wild sarsaparilla (Aralia nudicaulis), dwarf raspberry (Rubus pubescens), arctic sweet coltsfoot (Petasites frigidus), wild strawberry (Fragaria virginiana) and northern bedstraw (Galium boreale). The forest floor cover is mainly broad-leaf litter so the moss layer is sparse, with only minor cover of red-stemmed feathermoss (Pleurozium schreberi) and stairstep moss (Hylocomium splendens). CNVC00263 typically succeeds an early seral, post-fire Association. It occurs in a region with a subhumid continental boreal climate and is most frequently found on mesic, nutrient-medium sites. Disturbance type and history, as well as site conditions, affect the relative dominance of trembling aspen and white spruce in each stand of this Association.
Factsheet