Name:
Picea mariana / Alnus incana / Sphagnum spp. Swamp Forest
Reference:
NatureServe Biotics 2019
Description:
This black spruce intermediate swamp type is found in the southern boreal forest of the Great Lakes of the United States and adjacent Canada. Stands occur on level, wet, poorly drained organic soils. The peat on which this community is usually found may be shallow to deep, and nutrient levels are moderate to high. The overstory is composed almost exclusively of conifers. <i>Picea mariana</i> is the most abundant tree and may occur in pure stands. <i>Abies balsamea, Larix laricina</i>, and <i>Thuja occidentalis</i> vary from minor to codominant. There is a moderately well-developed tall-shrub/sapling layer, consisting of <i>Alnus incana</i> and saplings of the canopy trees. Several shrubs, many of them ericaceous, make up a low-shrub layer. These include <i>Andromeda polifolia, Chamaedaphne calyculata, Gaultheria hispidula, Ledum groenlandicum, Linnaea borealis, Rubus pubescens</i>, and <i>Vaccinium angustifolium</i>. The herbaceous layer is frequently species rich, containing species such as <i>Calamagrostis canadensis</i> (in Manitoba), <i>Carex leptalea, Carex trisperma, Clintonia borealis, Coptis trifolia, Cornus canadensis, Dryopteris cristata, Eriophorum</i> spp., <i>Mitella nuda</i>, and <i>Trientalis borealis</i>. Mosses include <i>Dicranum flagellare, Dicranum polysetum, Pleurozium schreberi, Ptilium crista-castrensis, Sphagnum girgensohnii, Sphagnum magellanicum</i>, and <i>Sphagnum capillifolium</i>.
Accession Code:
urn:lsid:vegbank.org:commConcept:31360-{714E1CB1-B131-4E67-86DC-C555969A8CD6}
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
3
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