Abstract for CNVC00272

Forest
Forêt

Populus tremuloides – Picea mariana / Alnus incana

Trembling Aspen – Black Spruce / Speckled Alder
Peuplier faux-tremble – Épinette noire / Aulne rugueux

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CNVC00272 is a boreal mixedwood forest Association that ranges from Manitoba to Quebec. It has a moderately closed to closed canopy dominated by trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides) and black spruce (Picea mariana). The shrub layer is tall and moderately developed to dense, often with abundant speckled alder (Alnus incana). Regenerating balsam fir (Abies balsamea) and black spruce are usually present, and various shrub species occur with lower constancy and abundance. The herb layer is well developed and commonly includes bunchberry (Cornus canadensis), dwarf raspberry (Rubus pubescens), wild lily-of-the-valley (Maianthemum canadense), arctic sweet coltsfoot (Petasites frigidus), twinflower (Linnaea borealis), northern starflower (Lysimachia borealis), naked mitrewort (Mitella nuda) and yellow clintonia (Clintonia borealis). The moss layer varies from poorly to well developed and is better developed in stands with less broad-leaf litter. Red-stemmed feathermoss (Pleurozium schreberi) and knight’s-plume moss (Ptilium crista-castrensis) are usually present. CNVC00272 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 primarily found on moist, nutrient-rich sites; these are some of the most productive sites in the region. It can establish as the first cohort after fire or harvesting, or succeed an earlier seral hardwood condition. Two subassociations are distinguished, typic and Populus balsamifera.

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