Skeletal Slopes Provisional Ecological Site Group

Description

The Reference State describes areas with no human disturbance and generally experiences a normal, self-replacing fire regime. This open forest or woodland is dominated by spruce and paper birch. The hardwood cover is thought to mature and begin to decline after 130 to 400 years of age, hypothetically allowing spruce to become dominant and close the canopy. However, there are no known documented community shifts of this nature.

The natural disturbances include wind, avalanche, landslides, and infrequent fire. Grazing will also have an impact on the Reference communities of this State. However, no documentation is collected for these communities at this time.

Dominant plant species

1. bluejoint (Calamagrostis canadensis), grass

2. fireweed (Chamerion angustifolium), grass

Submodel