Abstract for CNVC00309

Forest
Forêt

Abies balsamea / Vaccinium vitis-idaea / Pleurozium schreberi – Bazzania trilobata

Balsam Fir / Lingonberry / Red-stemmed Feathermoss – Three-lobed Whipwort
Sapin baumier / Airelle rouge / Pleurozie dorée – Bazzanie trilobée

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CNVC00309 is a boreal coniferous forest or woodland Association that occurs in coastal environments of Nova Scotia and southeastern Newfoundland. It has a tree layer dominated by balsam fir (Abies balsamea) often with sporadic black spruce (Picea mariana) and/or white spruce (P. glauca). Regenerating balsam fir dominates the moderately developed to dense shrub layer; American mountain-ash (Sorbus americana) and sheep laurel (Kalmia angustifolia) are also usually present. Twinflower (Linnaea borealis), bunchberry (Cornus canadensis) and creeping snowberry (Gaultheria hispidula) are often abundant in the moderately developed to dense herb layer. Other common but less abundant species in this layer include wild lily-of-the-valley (Maianthemum canadense), northern starflower (Lysimachia borealis), wild sarsaparilla (Aralia nudicaulis) and lingonberry (Vaccinium vitis-idaea). Three-lobed whipwort (Bazzania trilobata) is a characteristic bryophyte, usually occurring with red-stemmed feathermoss (Pleurozium schreberi) and stairstep moss (Hylocomium splendens) in the often well-developed moss layer. CNVC00309 occurs on nutrient-poor sites in a very humid maritime climate. It is often found on headlands where soils are shallow over bedrock, but there can be some nutrient enrichment from seepage. It is a stable, self-perpetuating condition but, because it is subject to strong coastal winds, there is considerable variation in structural phases from open woodland to closed forest. Two subassociations are distinguished, typic and Vaccinium vitis-idaea.

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