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Northern Ontario Plant DatabaseNorthern Ontario Vegetation Type (V-type)Description: A mixedwood stand type dominated by white birch and black spruce, each providing 11-20% cover in the canopy. White spruce and trembling aspen (11-20% cover), balsam fir (6-10% cover), and pine species (11-40% cover) occur in fewer than 2/3 of the sample plots. Regeneration is dominated by balsam fir (11-20% cover), and black spruce and white birch (6-10% cover). Red maple is a minor component in the canopy and understorey, providing no more than 5% cover in fewer than 2/3 of the sample plots. The tall shrub layer is dominated by mountain maple (6-10% cover) and showy mountain ash (2-5% cover), while the low shrub layer supports a variety of species, including lowbush and velvetleaf blueberry, bush honeysuckle, and Labrador tea, each providing 2-5% cover. The herb layer is poor, with the characteristic boreal forest species (each up to 10% cover), plus bluebead lily (6-10% cover) and goldthread (2-5% cover). A few other herb species, plus bracken fern and clubmosses may also be found. The forest floor is composed of a mixture of deciduous and coniferous leaf litter with scattered patches of mainly Schreber's feathermoss (6-10% cover) and Dicranum species (2-5% cover). Soil and Ecosite Types: The White Birch-Black Spruce-Blueberry Vegetation Type (NE-V7) occurs mainly on non-calcareous (acidic) dry to moist, sandy to silty soils, including dry to fresh sandy soils (S1), fresh to moist loamy to silty soils (S11), dry to moist coarse loamy soils (S5, S7), and very shallow soils over bedrock. This vegetation type may occur on a variety of ecosite types, including ES 1r (White Spruce-White Birch-Very Shallow Soil-Species Rich), ES 3 (White Birch-Trembling Aspen-Black Spruce-Coarse Soil), ES 4 (Black Spruce-Jack Pine-Coarse Soil), ES 10 (Trembling Aspen-Black Spruce-Balsam Poplar-Moist Soil), ES 18 (Jack Pine-White Pine-Red Pine), and ES 19 (White Pine-Red Pine-Mixedwood). Trees: overstoreyShrubs: Tall shrubsDwarf Shrubs & Herbs: dwarf shrubsFerns & Fern Allies: Bryophytes:bracken fern (Pteridium aquilinum) 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) |