Abstract for CNVC00093

Forest
Forêt

Picea glauca – Abies balsamea – Betula papyrifera – Populus tremuloides / Rosa acicularis / Aralia nudicaulis

White Spruce – Balsam Fir – Paper Birch – Trembling Aspen / Prickly Rose / Wild Sarsaparilla
Épinette blanche – Sapin baumier – Bouleau à papier – Peuplier faux-tremble / Rosier aciculaire / Aralie à tige nue


CNVC00093 is a boreal mixedwood forest Association that ranges from Alberta to Manitoba. It has a closed canopy of white spruce (Picea glauca) and/or balsam fir (Abies balsamea), with paper birch (Betula papyrifera) and/or trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides). The shrub layer is usually moderately developed but varies depending on the patchiness of shrubs. Typically, regenerating balsam fir dominates this layer, accompanied by squashberry (Viburnum edule) and prickly rose (Rosa acicularis). The moderately developed herb layer commonly includes wild sarsaparilla (Aralia nudicaulis), bunchberry (Cornus canadensis), twinflower (Linnaea borealis), naked mitrewort (Mitella nuda), dwarf raspberry (Rubus pubescens), arctic sweet coltsfoot (Petasites frigidus), tall bluebells (Mertensia paniculata) and wild lily-of-the-valley (Maianthemum canadense). The moss layer is poorly to moderately developed depending on the amount of broad-leaf litter on the forest floor. It usually includes red-stemmed feathermoss (Pleurozium schreberi), knight’s plume moss (Ptilium crista-castrensis) and stairstep moss (Hylocomium splendens). CNVC00093 is a mid-seral condition that typically succeeds an early seral, post-fire Association. It occurs in a region with a subhumid continental boreal climate, usually on mesic to moist, nutrient-medium to rich sites.

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