Abstract for CNVC00130
Forest
Forêt
Picea mariana / Equisetum arvense (E. pratense) / Hylocomium splendens
Black Spruce / Field Horsetail (Meadow Horsetail) / Stairstep Moss
Épinette noire / Prêle des champs (Prêle des prés) / Hylocomie brillante
CNVC00130 is a boreal wetland coniferous forest Association that occurs in Alberta. It usually has a moderately closed canopy that is dominated by black spruce (Picea mariana). White spruce (P. glauca) is often present but is seldom the leading species. Common Labrador tea (Rhododendron groenlandicum) is the main species in the moderately developed shrub layer, which typically also includes low cover of Rosa acicularis. The herb and dwarf shrub layer is dense and characterized by abundant horsetails (chiefly Equisetum arvense but also E. scirpoides, E. sylvaticum and E. pratense). This layer also commonly includes lingonberry (Vaccinium vitis-idaea), arctic sweet coltsfoot (Petasites frigidus), naked mitrewort (Mitella nuda), bunchberry (Cornus canadensis) and twinflower (Linnaea borealis). A continuous moss layer of stairstep moss (Hylocomium splendens), red-stemmed feathermoss (Pleurozium schreberi) and knight’s plume moss (Ptilium crista-castrensis) further characterizes this Association. CNVC00130 occurs mainly on moist to wet, nutrient-medium sites in a region with a subhumid continental climate. Stands typically establish after fire or flooding and are self-replacing over time.
Factsheet