Abstract for CNVC00001

Forest
Forêt

Tsuga heterophylla - Thuja plicata / Gaultheria shallon - Vaccinium alaskaense / Hylocomium splendens

Western Hemlock - Western Redcedar / Salal - Alaskan Blueberry / Stairstep Moss
Pruche de l'Ouest - Thuya géant / Salal - Airelle d'Alaska / Hypne éclatante


CNVC00001 is a Pacific Coast coniferous rainforest association that is characterized by a mixed species canopy dominated by western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla) and western redcedar (Thuja plicata), a moderately developed shrub layer of salal (Gaultheria shallon) and/or Alaskan blueberry (Vaccinium alaskaense), with a mossy forest floor of mostly lanky moss (Rhytidiadelphus loreus) and stairstep moss (Hylocomium splendens). It occurs on shallow, nutrient-poor sites on water-shedding upper slope or crest topopositions, up to approximately 850 mASL, on western and northern Vancouver Island and along the windward Coast Mountains of mainland British Columbia. Because of the site conditions, tree growth is poor, relative to other coastal forests. Unless growing in wind-protected conditions, windthrow and breakage tend to keep these forests from becoming or remaining very old.

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