Northern Ontario Plant Database

Northern Ontario Vegetation Type (V-type)

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NE-V15: Black Spruce - Herb Rich
Summary: A mixedwood stand type dominated by black spruce in the overstorey (21-40% cover), with a variety of other coniferous and deciduous tree species occurring as secondary species, including balsam fir and trembling aspen. The understorey contains black spruce and balsam fir, each providing 6-10% cover.

The shrub layer is moderately species-rich, with showy mountain ash the most common tall shrub and bristly wild rose the most common low shrub (each with 2-5% cover). In wetter portions of this vegetation type, speckled alder can occur with up to 10% cover. Other shrub species occurring in fewer than 2/3 of sample plots and less than 5% cover include honeysuckles, currants, blueberries, red-osier dogwood, raspberry, and squashberry.

The most common plant in the species-rich herb layer is the largeleaf aster, which provides 6-10% cover, but dwarf raspberry, wild sarsaparilla, naked mitrewort, sweet coltsfoot, and the characteristic boreal forest species may also occur, each providing 2-5% cover.

The forest floor is covered by a discontinuous carpet of feathermosses, including Schreber's feathermoss (21-40% cover), plume moss and shaggy moss (each 6-10% cover), and stairstep moss (2-5% cover). Dicranum species may provide up to 1% cover.

Soil and Ecosite Types: The black spruce-herb rich vegetation type (NE-V15) occurs primarily on fresh to moist loamy to clayey soils (S13, S14), but may also occur on fresh to moist calcareous loamy to silty soils (S12), shallow organic, moist peaty soils (S16), as well as other soil types. This vegetation type (NE-V15) may occur on ecosite types ES5f (Black Spruce-Fine Soil), ES6f (Black Spruce-Trembling Aspen-Fine Soil), ES6m (Trembling Aspen-Black Spruce-Balsam Fir-Medium Soil), ES6c (Trembling Aspen-Black Spruce-Jack Pine-Coarse Soil), ES9r (White Spruce-Balsam Fir-White Cedar-Moist Soil-Species Rich), ES10 (Trembling Aspen-Black Spruce-Balsam Poplar-Moist Soil), ES13p (Black Spruce-Larch-Speckled Alder-Organic-Soils-Species Poor), and ES18 (Jack Pine-White Pine-Red Pine).

Trees:

overstorey

black spruce (Picea mariana) [9]
trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides) [5]
balsam fir (Abies balsamea) [5]
balsam poplar (Populus balsamifera) [3]
white spruce (Picea glauca) [3]
white birch (Betula papyrifera) [2]
jack pine (Pinus banksiana) [2]

regeneration

black spruce (Picea mariana)
balsam fir (Abies balsamea)
trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides)
white birch (Betula papyrifera)

Shrubs:

tall shrubs

showy mountain ash (Sorbus decora)
speckled alder (Alnus incana subsp. rugosa)
serviceberry (Amelanchier sp.)

low shrubs

bristly wild rose (Rosa acicularis)
bush honeysuckle (Diervilla lonicera)
Canada honeysuckle (Lonicera canadensis)
bristly black currant (Ribes lacustre)
red osier dogwood (Cornus sericea)
wild red raspberry (Rubus idaeus)
squashberry (Viburnum edule)
swamp red currant (Ribes triste)
velvetleaf blueberry (Vaccinium myrtilloides)
lowbush blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium)

Dwarf Shrubs & Herbs:

dwarf shrubs

dwarf raspberry (Rubus pubescens)
twinflower (Linnaea borealis)
creeping snowberry (Gaultheria hispidula)

forbs

largeleaf aster (Eurybia macrophylla)
wild sarsaparilla (Aralia nudicaulis)
naked mitrewort (Mitella nuda)
sweet coltsfoot (Petasites frigidus var. palmatus)
bluebead lily (Clintonia borealis)
bunchberry (Cornus canadensis)
violets (Viola spp.)
rose twisted-stalk (Streptopus lanceolatus)
fragrant bedstraw (Galium triflorum)
starflower (Trientalis borealis)
wild lily-of-the-valley (Maianthemum canadense)
goldthread (Coptis trifolia)
dwarf rattlesnake plantain (Goodyera repens)
wild strawberry (Fragaria virginiana)
wood anemone (Anemone quinquefolia)
Lindley's aster (Symphyotrichum ciliolatum)
northern bluebells (Mertensia paniculata)

graminoids

sedges (Carex spp.)

Ferns & Fern Allies:

ferns

oak fern (Gymnocarpium dryopteris)

clubmosses

bristly (or interrupted) clubmoss (Lycopodium annotinum)

horsetails

woodland horsetail (Equisetum sylvaticum)

Bryophytes:

Schreber's feathermoss (Pleurozium schreberi)
shaggy moss (or electrified cat's-tail) (Rhytidiadelphus triquetrus)
plume moss (Ptilium crista-castrensis)
stairstep moss (Hylocomium splendens)
wavyleaf moss (Dicranum polysetum)
dusky broom moss (or curly heron's-bill) (Dicranum fuscescens)

Lichens:

common powderhorn (Cladonia coniocraea)

Note: Species listed above are taken from the Vegetation type description and the Species Percentage Cover by Vegetation Type Tables (pg. D 34). Species are listed in order of most cover and abundance.