Login | Datasets | Logout
 

View Community Concepts - Detail

Picea mariana - (Larix laricina) / Ledum groenlandicum / Sphagnum spp. Forest | Midwestern Ecology Working Group...
  click to update datacart
Name: Picea mariana - (Larix laricina) / Ledum groenlandicum / Sphagnum spp. Forest
Reference: Midwestern Ecology Working Group...
Description: This community is found in the northern Great Lakes and Northern Appalachian/Boreal region of the United States and Canada and elsewhere in the boreal regions of central and eastern Canada. Sites are found on level, wet sites with organic soils, but not generally as components of large open peatlands. These sites are poorly drained and acidic, allowing a moderate to thick layer of peat to accumulate. Nutrient levels are very low. The overstory of this community is dominated by conifers. The tree canopy is closed to broken to closed with a moderately well-developed low-shrub layer, sparse herbaceous layer, and a carpet of mosses. The canopy is often pure <i>Picea mariana</i>. The only other trees that are occasionally found with it are <i>Abies balsamea, Larix laricina</i>, and <i>Pinus banksiana</i>. The shrubs are primarily ericaceous and include <i>Chamaedaphne calyculata, Gaultheria hispidula, Kalmia polifolia, Ledum groenlandicum</i>, and <i>Vaccinium myrtilloides</i>, as well as <i>Cornus canadensis</i>. In the Northeast, shrubs may include <i>Kalmia angustifolia, Nemopanthus mucronatus, Viburnum nudum var. cassinoides</i>, or <i>Rhododendron canadense</i>. The few herbaceous species that live in this community include <i>Carex trisperma, Eriophorum vaginatum var. spissum, Clintonia borealis</i>, and <i>Maianthemum trifolium (= Smilacina trifolia)</i>. <i>Sphagnum</i> spp., <i>Dicranum polysetum</i>, and <i>Pleurozium schreberi</i> are the major species constituting the abundant moss layer. 
Accession Code: VB.CC.36953.CEGL005271
Plot-observations of this Community Concept: 0
      Party Perspective according to: NatureServe (organization)
Perspective from: 17-Nov-2014 to: 01-May-2019
     
  • status: accepted
  • This Community's Level: association
  • This Community's Children: [none]
Names:   Common: Black Spruce - Tamarack / Labrador-tea Poor Swamp
  Translated: Black Spruce - (Tamarack) / Bog Labrador-tea / Peatmoss species Forest
  Scientific: Picea mariana - (Larix laricina) / Ledum groenlandicum / Sphagnum spp. Forest
  Code: CEGL005271
  UID: ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.689094 NatureServe ExplorerNatureServe Explorer logo