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Northern Ontario Plant DatabaseNorthern Ontario Vegetation Type (V-type)Summary: An even-aged conifer stand of fire origin with a pure, open canopy of jack pine. No other conifer or hardwood species are noted in the canopy. Some black spruce is present in the regeneration layer. Low shrubs dominate the understorey, including blueberries, bush honeysuckle, and Labrador tea. Of the characteristic boreal forest species, only twinflower, wild lily-of-the-valley, and bunchberry are present in the herb layer, along with some wild sarsaparilla. Bearberry and cowwheat are characteristic of these sandy, jack pine stands. The forest floor is dominated by nearly continuous carpets of Schreber's feathermoss with some patches of wavyleaf moss. Soil & Ecosite Types: The Jack Pine/Ericaceous Shrub/Feathermoss Vegetation Type (NW-V29) occurs primarily on Ecosite Types ES 13 (Jack Pine-Conifer, dry-moderately fresh, sandy soil), ES 20 (Spruce-Pine/Feathermoss, fresh, sandy-coarse loamy soil), and ES 11 (Red Pine-White Pine-Jack Pine, very shallow soil). It occurs on upland, rapidly drained, dry to fresh, coarse-textured (mainly sandy), mineral soils (S1, S2, S3, and SS6). Note: The percentage of sample plots that contained overstorey tree species is given in square brackets after each scientific name. Other species are listed in order of frequency, according to the NW-FEC manual. Trees: overstorey:Shrubs:jack pine (Pinus banksiana) [10]regeneration:black spruce (Picea mariana) tall shrubs:Dwarf Shrubs & Herbs:serviceberries (Amelanchier spp.)low shrubs: dwarf shrubs:Bryophytes:twinflower (Linnaea borealis)forbs: Lichens:Schreber's feathermoss (Pleurozium schreberi) gray reindeer lichen (Cladina rangiferina) |