Roaded mountaintop with trail meandering through old growth stand. Nearby mountain top above this stand has a large patch of younger forest with clear spruce dominance. Downslope grades to deciduous tree dominance.;Virgin stand of mixed red spruce-northern hardwoods forest. Old growth features include canopy gaps, standing and down dead wood, and large diameter trees. Stand is thought to be a natural ecotone near the lower elevational-topographic extent of the spruce ecosystem but abundant spruce regeneration may indicate potential for spruce dominance.
Representativeness
Plot represents a small patch of virgin spruce-deciduous hardwoods forest with abundant old growth features. Plot includes large spruce mixed with mostly smaller birch and part of a canopy gap.