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Northern Ontario Plant DatabaseNorthern Ontario Vegetation Type (V-type)Summary: A mixedwood stand composed of a variety of hardwood and softwood species, none of which occurs with more than 50% frequency in the canopy or subcanopy. The most common species listed are white birch, white pine, white spruce, largetooth aspen, and balsam fir. Trembling aspen is not included in the species list for the V23 type in the Central FEC manual, but that may be an oversight, as the type name includes trembling aspen. The regeneration layer is dominated by balsam fir, red maple, and sugar maple, indicating succession to a different type in the future. The most common shrubs include beaked hazel and mountain maple in the tall shrub layer, and Canada fly honeysuckle in the low shrub layer. The herb layer contains all of the characteristic boreal forest species, plus wild sarsaparilla, bracken fern, largeleaf aster, rose twisted-stalk, and ground pine. The moss layer is dominated by Schreber's feathermoss. This vegetation type is similar to C-V22, however, C-V23 is characterized by the common presence of white birch and white pine in the canopy layers and Schreber's feathermoss on the forest floor, but lacks dwarf raspberry and mountain rice grass. Soil & Ecosite Types: The White Birch-White Pine-Trembling Aspen-Beaked Hazel-Mountain Maple Vegetation Type (C-V23) occurs most commonly on dry to moderately fresh, fine sandy soils (S2) and fresh to very fresh, coarse loamy to silty (S7) soils, but may occasionally be found on slightly moister soils. This vegetation type was described from site districts scattered throughout Site Regions 4E and 5E. C-V23 can be found on a wide variety of ecosite types, including types C-ES 17.1 (Poplar-White Birch, Dry to Moderately Fresh), C-ES 17.2 (Poplar-White Birch, Fresh to Moist), C-ES 18.1 (Poplar-White Birch-White Spruce-Balsam Fir, Dry to Moderately Fresh), C-ES 18.2 (Poplar-White Birch-White Spruce-Balsam Fir, Fresh to Moist), C-ES 21.1 (White Cedar-White Pine-White Birch-White Spruce, Dry to Moderately Fresh), and C-ES 21.2 (White Cedar-White Pine-White Birch-White Spruce, Fresh to Moist), and less frequently on ecosite types C-ES 19.1 (Poplar-Jack Pine-White Spruce-Black Spruce, Dry to Moderately Fresh), C-ES 20.1 (White Pine-Red Pine-White Spruce-White Birch-Trembling Aspen, Dry to Moderately Fresh), C-ES 20.2 (White Pine-Red Pine-White Spruce-White Birch-Trembling Aspen, Fresh to Moist), and C-ES 34 (White Cedar-Lowland Hardwood, Very Moist to Wet). 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:[white birch (Betula papyrifera)]subcanopy tall shrubsDwarf Shrubs and Herbs:beaked hazel (Corylus cornuta)low shrubs forbsFerns and Fern Allies:wild sarsaparilla (Aralia nudicaulis) fernsBryophytes:bracken fern (Pteridium aquilinum)clubmosses Lichens:Schreber's feathermoss (Pleurozium schreberi) [common powderhorn (Cladonia coniocraea)] |