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Northern Ontario Plant DatabaseNorthern Ontario Vegetation Type (V-type)Summary: A black spruce stand with black spruce dominant in the overstorey (21-40% cover) and understorey (6-10% cover). Balsam fir, trembling aspen, and white cedar occur in the canopy, but with insignificant cover, however, balsam fir provides 6-10% cover in the understorey. The most common shrub species are Labrador tea, which provides 11-20% cover, and speckled alder, with 6-10% cover. Other low shrubs include bristly wild rose, and lowbush and velvetleaf blueberry, each providing 2-5% cover. The herb layer is dominated by creeping snowberry, dwarf raspberry, sedges, and less consistently, woodland horsetail and Canada bluejoint (each 2-5% cover). The characteristic boreal forest species are all present, providing from 1% to 5% cover. A variety of other herbaceous species, such as violets and threeleaf false Solomon's seal, provide no more than 1% cover. Sweet coltsfoot and calcicolous violets, such as kidneyleaf violet, will most likely be found on calcareous substrates. The forest floor is carpeted with feathermosses, including Schreber's feathermoss (>40% cover), stairstep moss (11-20% cover), and plume moss (6-10% cover). Scattered colonies of northern peatmoss and, less consistently, common green peatmoss occur, providing 6-10% cover. Dicranum mosses are also present, but in less significant numbers. Soil and Ecosite Types: The Black Spruce-Labrador Tea-Speckled Alder-Stairstep Moss Vegetation Type (NE-V23) occurs on wet organic soils as well as moist, loamy to clayey soils. The most common soil types associated with this vegetation type are shallow organic soils (S16), deep organic soils (S17, S19), and fine loamy to clayey soils (S13, S14). Moist to fresh calcareous medium loamy to silty soils (S12) were also recorded from this V-type. The NE-V23 vegetation type occurs most frequently on ecosite types ES5f (Black Spruce-Fine Soil) and ES 9p (Black Spruce-Larch-Moist Soil-Species Poor), but may also occur on types ES6f (Black Spruce-Trembling Aspen-Fine Soil) and ES6m (Trembling Aspen-Black Spruce-Balsam Fir-Medium Soil), ES8 (Black Spruce-Feathermoss-Sphagnum-Moist Soil), ES12 (Black Spruce-Larch-Labrador Tea, Organic Soil), ES13p (Black Spruce-Larch-Speckled Alder-Organic Soil, Species Poor), and ES13r (White Cedar-Black Spruce-Organic Soil-Species Rich). Trees: overstoreyShrubs: tall shrubsDwarf Shrubs & Herbs: dwarf shrubsFerns and Fern Allies: horsetailsBryophytes: Lichens:Schreber's feathermoss (Pleurozium schreberi) 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.gray reindeer lichen (Cladina rangiferina) |