Abstract for CNVC00104
Forest
Forêt
Picea glauca (Pinus contorta) / Shepherdia canadensis / Leymus innovatus / Hylocomium splendens
White Spruce (Lodgepole Pine) / Soapberry / Downy Lymegrass / Stairstep Moss
Épinette blanche (Pin tordu) / Shépherdie du Canada / Élyme innovant / Hylocomie brillante
CNVC00104 is a boreal coniferous forest Association that occurs in Alberta and British Columbia. It has an open canopy that is dominated by white spruce (Picea glauca), often mixed with lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta). The moderately developed shrub layer typically includes prickly rose (Rosa acicularis), soapberry (Shepherdia canadensis), squashberry (Viburnum edule) and regenerating white spruce. The herb and dwarf shrub layer is well developed and characterized by abundant downy lymegrass (Leymus innovatus), usually accompanied by twinflower (Linnaea borealis), one-sided wintergreen (Orthilia secunda), fireweed (Chamerion angustifolium) and bunchberry (Cornus canadensis). A well-developed moss layer dominated by stairstep moss (Hylocomium splendens), with lower cover of red-stemmed feathermoss (Pleurozium schreberi) and knight’s plume moss (Ptilium crista-castrensis), further characterizes this Association. CNVC00104 occurs mainly on mesic, nutrient-medium sites in a region with a subhumid continental climate. It is typically a late successional condition that occurs in areas that have escaped fire for a long period, however it can sometimes form the first cohort after fire.
Factsheet