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CEGL002456 Thuja occidentalis - (Picea mariana, Abies balsamea) / Alnus incana Swamp Forest
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Northern White-cedar - (Black Spruce, Balsam Fir) / Gray Alder Swamp Forest
Colloquial Name: Northern White-cedar - Mixed Conifer / Alder Swamp
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: This subboreal white-cedar - mixed conifer swamp forest is found in the northern Great Lakes region of the United States and Canada. Stands occur on level to gently sloping ground with wet, organic or mineral soil. It is typically along the margins of peatlands, in drainage courses, shores of lakes and rivers above flooding level, or in shallow depressions. The groundwater is moderately minerotrophic and has circumneutral pH. The canopy is often moderately dense to dense. The understory structure consists of high hummocks and deep, water-filled hollows, with fallen, moss-covered logs common. Thuja occidentalis is moderately to strongly dominant in the canopy, or Picea mariana may overtop the subdominant Thuja occidentalis. Other species include Abies balsamea, Acer rubrum, Betula papyrifera, Fraxinus nigra, Larix laricina and, more rarely, Picea glauca, or Tsuga canadensis. The shrub layer in this community is sparse to dense, in inverse proportion to the tree canopy. Species present in this stratum include Alnus incana, Chamaedaphne calyculata, Cornus canadensis, Cornus sericea, Gaultheria hispidula, Ledum groenlandicum, Linnaea borealis, Rosa acicularis, Rubus pubescens, and Vaccinium myrtilloides. Ilex mucronata and Viburnum nudum var. cassinoides are more common eastward. The most common herbaceous species are Carex spp. (including Carex disperma), Coptis trifolia, Clintonia borealis, Dryopteris carthusiana, Galium triflorum, Maianthemum canadense, Mitella nuda, Trientalis borealis, and Viola renifolia. Mosses include Hylocomium splendens, Pleurozium schreberi, Ptilium crista-castrensis, Rhytidiadelphus triquetrus, Sphagnum capillifolium, Sphagnum girgensohnii, and Sphagnum magellanicum. Moss cover may be thin where the canopy is very dense. Diagnostic species include Thuja occidentalis as a dominant/codominant species, with a combination of acidic and minerotrophic understory species, such as Alnus incana and Cornus sericea.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: This type (CEGL002456) is treated broadly, compared to the Minnesota treatment (2003, 2005b), which recognizes three community types, in the northeast, north-central, and northwest. Further review with Ontario is needed before deciding if these distinctions are consistent at larger regional scales. The white-cedar seepage type, ~Larix laricina - Thuja occidentalis Swamp Forest (CEGL002455)$$ is a southern Great Lakes region type, and is found in southern Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan and extreme northern parts of adjacent central states. This type may need to be separated into a slightly poorer Thuja - Larix - Picea type, and a richer Thuja type [see Harris et al. (1996) W31, W32].
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: The canopy is often moderately dense to dense (MNNHP 1993). Basal areas of 42.2-62.2 m2/ha and densities of 2457-7565 stems/ha have been reported in four stands in Lower Michigan, using a tree definition of woody stems greater than 2.5 cm dbh (Schwintzer 1981). The understory structure consists of high hummocks and deep, water-filled hollows, with fallen, moss-covered logs common. Thuja occidentalis is moderately to strongly dominant in the canopy, or Picea mariana may overtop the subdominant Thuja occidentalis. Other species include Abies balsamea, Acer rubrum, Betula papyrifera, Fraxinus nigra, Larix laricina and, more rarely, Picea glauca (in northern Minnesota and northwestern Ontario), or Tsuga canadensis. The shrub layer in this community is sparse to dense, in inverse proportion to the tree canopy. Species present in this stratum include Alnus incana, Chamaedaphne calyculata, Cornus canadensis, Cornus sericea, Gaultheria hispidula, Ledum groenlandicum, Linnaea borealis, Rosa acicularis, Rubus pubescens, and Vaccinium myrtilloides. Ilex mucronata (= Nemopanthus mucronatus) and Viburnum nudum var. cassinoides are more common eastward. The most common herbaceous species are Carex spp. (including Carex disperma), Coptis trifolia, Clintonia borealis, Dryopteris carthusiana, Galium triflorum, Maianthemum canadense, Mitella nuda, Trientalis borealis, and Viola renifolia. Mosses include Hylocomium splendens, Pleurozium schreberi, Ptilium crista-castrensis, Rhytidiadelphus triquetrus, Sphagnum capillifolium, Sphagnum girgensohnii, and Sphagnum magellanicum. Moss cover may be thin where the canopy is very dense. Diagnostic species include Thuja occidentalis as a dominant/codominant species, with a combination of acidic and more minerotrophic understory species, such as Alnus incana and Cornus sericea. (Sims et al. 1989, Harris et al. 1996, Chambers et al. 1997)
Dynamics: Tip-up mounds caused by blowdowns are common, in part because the very wet soils permit only shallow rooting by Thuja occidentalis.
Environmental Description: This community is found on level to gently sloping ground with wet, organic (Sims et al. 1989) or mineral soil (MNNHP 1993). It is typically along the margins of peatlands, in drainage courses, or shallow depressions. Schwintzer and Tomberlin (1982) reported detailed results on the chemical characteristics of the groundwater of several wetland types in Lower Michigan. They found that it was difficult to differentiate swamps dominated by conifers from those dominated by other vegetation on the basis of groundwater. The swamps were moderately to strongly minerotrophic and had circumneutral pH.
Geographic Range: This hemi-boreal white-cedar - mixed conifer swamp forest is found in the northern Great Lakes region on level to gently sloping ground with wet, organic or mineral soil.
Nations: CA,US
States/Provinces: MB, MI, MN, ON
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.686037
Confidence Level: High
Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: G4
Greasons: No Data Available
| Type | Name | Database Code | Classification Code |
|---|---|---|---|
| Class | 1 Forest & Woodland Class | C01 | 1 |
| Subclass | 1.B Temperate & Boreal Forest & Woodland Subclass | S15 | 1.B |
| Formation | 1.B.3 Temperate Flooded & Swamp Forest Formation | F026 | 1.B.3 |
| Division | 1.B.3.Na Eastern North American-Great Plains Flooded & Swamp Forest Division | D011 | 1.B.3.Na |
| Macrogroup | 1.B.3.Na.3 <i>Tsuga canadensis - Fraxinus nigra - Larix laricina</i> Flooded & Swamp Forest Macrogroup | M504 | 1.B.3.Na.3 |
| Group | 1.B.3.Na.3.d Northern White-cedar - Black Ash - Red Maple Swamp Forest Group | G046 | 1.B.3.Na.3.d |
| Alliance | A4464 <i>Thuja occidentalis - Acer rubrum - Larix laricina</i> Laurentian Swamp Forest Alliance | A4464 | 1.B.3.Na.3.d |
| Association | CEGL002456 Northern White-cedar - (Black Spruce, Balsam Fir) / Gray Alder Swamp Forest | CEGL002456 | 1.B.3.Na.3.d |
Concept Lineage: CEGL005225 lumpbed into CEGL002456. It''s never really been clearly distinguishable from it.
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: = Thuja occidentalis - (Picea mariana, Abies balsamea) / Alnus incana Forest (Faber-Langendoen 2001) [White Cedar Swamp Cedar-Mixed Conifer Subtype]
= Conifer Swamp (Schwintzer 1981)
= Segments 7 and 8 of northern swamps (Clausen 1957) [uncertain if equivalent]
= Conifer Swamp (Schwintzer 1981)
= Segments 7 and 8 of northern swamps (Clausen 1957) [uncertain if equivalent]
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- Clausen, J. J. 1957. A phytosociological ordination of the conifer swamps of Wisconsin. Ecology 38(4):638-645.
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- Minnesota DNR [Minnesota Department of Natural Resources]. 2003-2005a. Field guide to the native plant communities of Minnesota. Three volumes: The Laurentian Mixed Forest Province (2003), The Eastern Broadleaf Forest Province (2005c), The Prairie Parkland and Tallgrass Aspen Parklands provinces (2005b). Ecological Land Classification Program, Minnesota County Biological Survey, and Natural Heritage and Nongame Research Program. Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, St. Paul.
- Minnesota DNR [Minnesota Department of Natural Resources]. 2003. Field guide to the native plant communities of Minnesota: The Laurentian Mixed Forest Province. Ecological Land Classification Program, Minnesota County Biological Survey, and Natural Heritage and Nongame Research Program. Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, St. Paul.
- Minnesota DNR [Minnesota Department of Natural Resources]. 2005b. Field guide to the native plant communities of Minnesota: The Prairie Parkland and Tallgrass Aspen Parklands provinces. Ecological Land Classification Program, Minnesota County Biological Survey, and Natural Heritage and Nongame Research Program. Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, St. Paul.
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- Wanek, W. J., and R. E. Newman. [1976]. The structure, composition, and community dynamics of an orchid bog in the Chippewa National Forest. Center for Environmental Studies, Bemidji State University, Bemidji, MN. 69 pp.