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Northern Ontario Plant DatabaseNorthern Ontario Vegetation Type (V-type)Summary: A hardwood stand dominated by sugar maple and basswood, with white birch, yellow birch, black cherry, and white ash occurring with less than 50% frequency in the canopy. The subcanopy and regeneration layers are dominated by sugar maple, basswood, ironwood, and yellow birch; the regeneration layer also contains white elm, white ash, and black cherry, but balsam fir occurred with less than 50% frequency. Several tree and shrub species, common primarily in the southeastern districts of Central Ontario, may occur in this vegetation type, including bitternut hickory (Carya cordiformis), red ash (Fraxinus pensylvanicus), bur oak (Quercus macrocarpa), and leatherwood (Dirca palustris). The shrub layer is rather poor; Canada fly honeysuckle occurs with the most frequency, but leatherwood, choke cherry, and skunk currant are also reported. Red trillium, wild sarsaparilla, blue cohosh, the helleborine orchid, and rice grass are the most characteristic herbs. The large-flowered bellwort (Uvularia grandiflora) and foamflower (Tiarella cordifolia) are reported from the two ecosite types (ES 26.1, ES 26.2) occupied by this vegetation type, though these species were not listed for the vegetation types. Spinulose woodfern is the most common fern, followed by marginal woodfern. Only mosses found on tree trunks and decaying wood are reported; lichens occur infrequently. Soil & Ecosite Types: The Sugar Maple-Basswood-Leatherwood Vegetation Type (C-V1) occurs on dry to moderately fresh coarse to fine sandy soils (S1, S3) and fresh to very fresh, coarse to medium loamy or clay soils (S7). This vegetation type was described from 8 districts within Site Region 5E, including Site Districts 5E-11 and 5E-12. It can be found on ecosite types C-ES 26.1 (Sugar Maple-Basswood, Dry to Moderately Fresh Soils) and C-ES 26.2 (Sugar Maple-Basswood, Fresh to Moist Soils). Note: In sample plots, species listed below occurred with 50% frequency or more, except for those in square brackets, which occurred with 30-49% frequency. Trees: overstoreyShrubs:sugar maple (Acer saccharum)subcanopy tall shrubsDwarf Shrubs and Herbs:choke cherry (Prunus virginiana)low shrubs forbsFerns and Fern Allies:red trillium (Trillium erectum)graminoids fernsBryophytes:spinulose woodfern (Dryopteris carthusiana) Lichens:rough cedar moss (Brachythecium salebrosum) no species occur more than 30% of the time. |