Abstract for CNVC00339

Wetland
Wetland

Picea mariana – Kalmia angustifolia – Ilex mucronata / Sphagnum spp. – Cladina spp. – Pleurozium schreberi

Black Spruce – Sheep Laurel – Mountain Holly / Peat Mosses – Reindeer Lichens – Red-stemmed Feathermoss
Épinette noire – Kalmia à feuilles étroites – Némopanthe mucroné / Sphaignes – Cladonies – Pleurozie dorée

---

CNVC00339 is a boreal, wetland, coniferous, krummholtz Association that occurs on the Cape Breton plateau of Nova Scotia and throughout the southern parts of insular Newfoundland. It is dominated by black spruce (Picea mariana) with sporadic balsam fir (Abies balsamea), together forming a dense shrub stratum. Mountain holly (Ilex mucronata) and wild raisin (Viburnum nudum) are also common in this layer. The dense low shrub layer is dominated by ericaceous species, particularly sheep laurel (Kalmia angustifolia), early lowbush blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium), common Labrador tea (Rhododendron groenlandicum) and rhodora (R. canadense), intermixed with vegetative black spruce regeneration. The herb layer is moderately developed with only bunchberry (Cornus canadensis) and creeping snowberry (Gaultheria hispidula) common. The moss layer is moderately developed to continuous, formed by a mixture of the feathermosses, red-stemmed feathermoss (Pleurozium schreberi) and stairstep moss (Hylocomium splendens), with large patches of peat mosses (Sphagnum spp.), especially small red peat moss (S. capillifolium) or orange peat moss (S. subsecundum), and reindeer lichens (Cladina spp.). CNVC00339 is a stable condition that occurs in a very humid maritime boreal climate on wet, acidic, nutrient-poor soils. The krummholtz physiognomy results from the combination of wet soils, high precipitation and strong winds that characterize the coastal maritime environment. Snow pack depth further limits tree height; canopy height is typically〈 4 m. There are two subassociations, Cladina spp. And Sphagnum subsecundum.

 Factsheet