Northern Ontario Plant Database

Northern Ontario Vegetation Type (V-type)

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NW-V11: Trembling Aspen - Conifer / Blueberry / Feathermoss

Summary: A mixedwood stand dominated by trembling aspen and black spruce, with jack pine and white birch occurring less frequently in the canopy. Regeneration is composed of black spruce, trembling aspen, and balsam fir. The shrub layer is dominated by low, ericaceous shrubs, such as blueberries and Labrador tea, although bush honeysuckle and mountain alder will also occur and are occasionally abundant.

The herb layer is dominated by the characteristic boreal forest species, wild sarsaparilla, and goldthread. The presence of kidneyleaf violet would indicate calcareous soils or substrates. The forest floor is composed of fairly equal amounts of broadleaf litter and extensive patches of feathermosses. Sites with dense shrub cover and significant amounts of wild sarsaparilla and bunchberry would support less feathermoss cover and resemble V-type NW-V10.

Soil & Ecosite Types: The Trembling Aspen-Conifer/Blueberry/Feathermoss Vegetation Type (NW-V11) is most commonly found in the Central Plateau region of NW Ontario, on ecosite types ES 16 (Hardwood-Fir-Spruce Mixedwood, sandy soil), ES 19 (Hardwood-Fir-Spruce Mixedwood, fresh, sandy-coarse loamy soil), ES 28 (Hardwood-Fir-Spruce Mixedwood, fresh, silty soil), ES 29 (Hardwood-Fir-Spruce Mixedwood, fresh, fine loamy-clayey soil). NW-V11 occurs on deep, dry to fresh, rapidly drained, coarse-textured mineral soils (mainly S1, S2, and S3).

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:

trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides) [10]
black spruce (Picea mariana) [8]
jack pine (Pinus banksiana) [6]
white birch (Betula papyrifera) [6]
white spruce (Picea glauca) [2]
balsam fir (Abies balsamea) [2]

regeneration:

black spruce (Picea mariana)
trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides)
balsam fir (Abies balsamea)

Shrubs:

tall shrubs:

serviceberries (Amelanchier spp.)
mountain alder (Alnus viridis subsp. crispa)

low shrubs:

velvetleaf blueberry (Vaccinium myrtilloides)
bush honeysuckle (Diervilla lonicera)
lowbush blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium)
Labrador tea (Rhododendron groenlandicum)

Dwarf Shrubs & Herbs:

dwarf shrubs:

twinflower (Linnaea borealis)
creeping snowberry (Gaultheria hispidula)

forbs:

wild lily-of-the-valley (Maianthemum canadense)
bunchberry (Cornus canadensis)
wild sarsaparilla (Aralia nudicaulis)
starflower (Trientalis borealis)
bluebead lily (Clintonia borealis)
goldthread (Coptis trifolia)
kidneyleaf violet (Viola reinfolia)

Ferns & Fern Allies:

clubmosses:

running clubmoss (Lycopodium clavatum)
bristly (or interrupted) clubmoss (Lycopodium annotinum)

Bryophytes:

Schreber's feathermoss (Pleurozium schreberi)
wavyleaf moss (Dicranum polysetum)
plume moss (Ptilium crista-castrensis)
stairstep moss (Hylocomium splendens)
shaggy moss (Rhytidiadelphus triquetrus)

Lichens:

gray reindeer lichen (Cladina rangiferina)