The Shoreline Fringe Forest and Adjacent Peatlands of the Southern Central British Columbia Coast
Four distinct vegetation types are found in close proximity along an exposed section of the southern central coast of British Columbia. A coastal fringe of coniferous forest a few hundred metres wide is separated by a steep ecotone from an inland peatland-forest complex. The objectives of this study...
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ftjcfn:oai:canadianfieldnaturalist.ca:article/684 2023-05-15T16:06:05+02:00 The Shoreline Fringe Forest and Adjacent Peatlands of the Southern Central British Columbia Coast Lamb, Eric G. Megill, William 2003-04-01 application/pdf https://www.canadianfieldnaturalist.ca/index.php/cfn/article/view/684 https://doi.org/10.22621/cfn.v117i2.684 eng eng The Ottawa Field-Naturalists' Club https://www.canadianfieldnaturalist.ca/index.php/cfn/article/view/684/686 https://www.canadianfieldnaturalist.ca/index.php/cfn/article/view/684 doi:10.22621/cfn.v117i2.684 The Canadian Field-Naturalist; Vol. 117 No. 2 (2003); 209-217 0008-3550 British Columbia central coast ecotone peatland Indicator Species Analysis Indicator Plant Analysis Non-Metric Multidimensional Scaling species distribution info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion 2003 ftjcfn https://doi.org/10.22621/cfn.v117i2.684 2021-09-02T18:54:00Z Four distinct vegetation types are found in close proximity along an exposed section of the southern central coast of British Columbia. A coastal fringe of coniferous forest a few hundred metres wide is separated by a steep ecotone from an inland peatland-forest complex. The objectives of this study were (1) to describe the plant communities along the transition from forest to peatland, and (2) to identify some of the major environmental factors associated with those communities using indicator plant analysis. The coastal forest is dominated by Thuja plicata, Tsuga heterophylla, Picea sitchensis, and Chamaecyparis nootkatensis. Characteristic understory species include Gaultheria shallon and Blechnum spicant. Inland from the coastal forest are transitional forest stands with a species-rich understory including Cornus canadensis, Hylocomium splendens, and Vaccinium parvifolium. The peatlands are poor fens characterized by thickets of Pinus contorta and Chamaecyparis nootkatensis among open areas dominated by species such as Sphagnum sp., Empetrum nigrum, Juniperus communis, and bogs characterized by Myrica gale, Eriophorum angustifolium, and Sanguisorba officinalis. Indicator plant analysis identified differences in the ground surface materials, soil moisture and nutrient regime between the vegetation types. The general trend is for an increase in soil moisture from the forest vegetation to the peatlands and a concurrent change from the Mor humus forms that dominate the coastal forest floor to the surface groundwater table of the peatlands. These environmental differences between forest and peatland are likely related to the steeper slopes typically found in the fringe forest vegetation. Article in Journal/Newspaper Empetrum nigrum The Canadian Field-Naturalist (E-Journal) The Canadian Field-Naturalist 117 2 209 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
The Canadian Field-Naturalist (E-Journal) |
op_collection_id |
ftjcfn |
language |
English |
topic |
British Columbia central coast ecotone peatland Indicator Species Analysis Indicator Plant Analysis Non-Metric Multidimensional Scaling species distribution |
spellingShingle |
British Columbia central coast ecotone peatland Indicator Species Analysis Indicator Plant Analysis Non-Metric Multidimensional Scaling species distribution Lamb, Eric G. Megill, William The Shoreline Fringe Forest and Adjacent Peatlands of the Southern Central British Columbia Coast |
topic_facet |
British Columbia central coast ecotone peatland Indicator Species Analysis Indicator Plant Analysis Non-Metric Multidimensional Scaling species distribution |
description |
Four distinct vegetation types are found in close proximity along an exposed section of the southern central coast of British Columbia. A coastal fringe of coniferous forest a few hundred metres wide is separated by a steep ecotone from an inland peatland-forest complex. The objectives of this study were (1) to describe the plant communities along the transition from forest to peatland, and (2) to identify some of the major environmental factors associated with those communities using indicator plant analysis. The coastal forest is dominated by Thuja plicata, Tsuga heterophylla, Picea sitchensis, and Chamaecyparis nootkatensis. Characteristic understory species include Gaultheria shallon and Blechnum spicant. Inland from the coastal forest are transitional forest stands with a species-rich understory including Cornus canadensis, Hylocomium splendens, and Vaccinium parvifolium. The peatlands are poor fens characterized by thickets of Pinus contorta and Chamaecyparis nootkatensis among open areas dominated by species such as Sphagnum sp., Empetrum nigrum, Juniperus communis, and bogs characterized by Myrica gale, Eriophorum angustifolium, and Sanguisorba officinalis. Indicator plant analysis identified differences in the ground surface materials, soil moisture and nutrient regime between the vegetation types. The general trend is for an increase in soil moisture from the forest vegetation to the peatlands and a concurrent change from the Mor humus forms that dominate the coastal forest floor to the surface groundwater table of the peatlands. These environmental differences between forest and peatland are likely related to the steeper slopes typically found in the fringe forest vegetation. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Lamb, Eric G. Megill, William |
author_facet |
Lamb, Eric G. Megill, William |
author_sort |
Lamb, Eric G. |
title |
The Shoreline Fringe Forest and Adjacent Peatlands of the Southern Central British Columbia Coast |
title_short |
The Shoreline Fringe Forest and Adjacent Peatlands of the Southern Central British Columbia Coast |
title_full |
The Shoreline Fringe Forest and Adjacent Peatlands of the Southern Central British Columbia Coast |
title_fullStr |
The Shoreline Fringe Forest and Adjacent Peatlands of the Southern Central British Columbia Coast |
title_full_unstemmed |
The Shoreline Fringe Forest and Adjacent Peatlands of the Southern Central British Columbia Coast |
title_sort |
shoreline fringe forest and adjacent peatlands of the southern central british columbia coast |
publisher |
The Ottawa Field-Naturalists' Club |
publishDate |
2003 |
url |
https://www.canadianfieldnaturalist.ca/index.php/cfn/article/view/684 https://doi.org/10.22621/cfn.v117i2.684 |
genre |
Empetrum nigrum |
genre_facet |
Empetrum nigrum |
op_source |
The Canadian Field-Naturalist; Vol. 117 No. 2 (2003); 209-217 0008-3550 |
op_relation |
https://www.canadianfieldnaturalist.ca/index.php/cfn/article/view/684/686 https://www.canadianfieldnaturalist.ca/index.php/cfn/article/view/684 doi:10.22621/cfn.v117i2.684 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.22621/cfn.v117i2.684 |
container_title |
The Canadian Field-Naturalist |
container_volume |
117 |
container_issue |
2 |
container_start_page |
209 |
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1766402007691689984 |