Name:
Thuja occidentalis - (Picea mariana, Abies balsamea) / Alnus incana Forest
Reference:
Midwestern Ecology Working Group...
Description:
This sub-boreal cedar - mixed conifer swamp forest is found in the northern Great Lakes region of the United States and Canada. Stands occur on level to gently sloping ground with wet, organic or mineral soil. It is typically along the margins of peatlands, in drainage courses, shores of lakes and rivers above flooding level, or in shallow depressions. The groundwater is moderately minerotrophic and has circumneutral pH. The canopy is often moderately dense to dense. The understory structure consists of high hummocks and deep, water-filled hollows, with fallen, moss-covered logs common. Thuja occidentalis is moderately to strongly dominant in the canopy, or Picea mariana may overtop the subdominant Thuja occidentalis. Other species include Abies balsamea, Acer rubrum, Betula papyrifera, Fraxinus nigra, Larix laricina and, more rarely, Picea glauca, or Tsuga canadensis. The shrub layer in this community is sparse to dense, in inverse proportion to the tree canopy. Species present in this stratum include Alnus incana, Chamaedaphne calyculata, Cornus canadensis, Cornus sericea, Gaultheria hispidula, Ledum groenlandicum, Linnaea borealis, Rosa acicularis, Rubus pubescens, and Vaccinium myrtilloides. Nemopanthus mucronatus and Viburnum nudum var. cassinoides are more common eastward. The most common herbaceous species are Carex spp. (including Carex disperma), Coptis trifolia, Clintonia borealis, Dryopteris carthusiana, Galium triflorum, Maianthemum canadense, Mitella nuda, Trientalis borealis, and Viola renifolia. Mosses include Hylocomium splendens, Pleurozium schreberi, Ptilium crista-castrensis, Rhytidiadelphus triquetrus, Sphagnum capillifolium, Sphagnum girgensohnii, and Sphagnum magellanicum. Moss cover may be thin where the canopy is very dense. Diagnostic species include Thuja occidentalis as a dominant/codominant species, with a combination of acidic and minerotrophic understory species, such as Alnus incana and Cornus sericea.
Accession Code:
VB.CC.21696.THUJAOCCIDENTAL
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
0
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