Abstract for CNVC00245

Forest
Forêt

Pinus banksiana / Vaccinium angustifolium / Cladina spp.

Jack Pine / Early Lowbush Blueberry / Reindeer Lichens
Pin gris / Bleuet à feuilles étroites / Cladonies

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CNVC00245 is a boreal coniferous forest Association that occurs in Ontario and Manitoba. It has a sparse to open tree layer of jack pine (Pinus banksiana) and a poorly to moderately developed shrub layer comprising jack pine, black spruce (Picea mariana) and blueberries, both early lowbush blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium) and velvet-leaved blueberry (V. myrtilloides). The herb and dwarf shrub layer is usually poorly developed; common bearberry (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi) is sometimes abundant, but only American cow-wheat (Melampyrum lineare) is consistently present. The moss and lichen layer is well developed and dominated by reindeer lichens (Cladina rangiferina, C. mitis and C. stellaris). Patches of red-stemmed feathermoss (Pleurozium schreberi) are also present. CNVC00245 occurs on dry, nutrient-poor sites in a region with a continental boreal climate that is subhumid in the western part of its range and becomes increasingly humid eastward. These are the driest, most nutrient-impoverished sites capable of supporting tree-dominated vegetation in the region. CNVC00245 is an early seral condition with dynamics that are driven by fire and limited by edaphic conditions.

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