Abstract for CNVC00121
Forest
Forêt
Pinus contorta / Shepherdia canadensis / Leymus innovatus
Lodgepole Pine / Soapberry / Downy Lymegrass
Pin tordu / Shépherdie du Canada / Élyme innovant
CNVC00121 is a boreal coniferous forest Association that occurs in Alberta and British Columbia. It has a moderately closed canopy dominated by lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta). White spruce (Picea glauca) is usually present in the tree and shrub layers. The shrub layer is typically moderately developed and commonly includes prickly rose (Rosa acicularis) and soapberry (Shepherdia canadensis), although green alder (Alnus viridis) can be abundant when present. The herb and dwarf shrub layer is well developed and characterized by abundant downy lymegrass (Leymus innovatus), usually accompanied by twinflower (Linnaea borealis), fireweed (Chamerion angustifolium), heart-leaved arnica (Arnica cordifolia), wild strawberry (Fragaria virginiana) and one-sided wintergreen (Orthilia secunda). The moderately developed moss layer mainly consists of stairstep moss (Hylocomium splendens) and red-stemmed feathermoss (Pleurozium schreberi), with lower cover of knight’s plume moss (Ptilium crista-castrensis). CNVC00121 occurs on mesic, nutrient-medium to poor sites in a region with a subhumid continental climate. It typically establishes as the first cohort after fire. Three subassociations are distinguished: typic, Shepherdia canadensis and Alnus viridis.
Factsheet