Classification of natural forest communities of coastal British Columbia, Canada

Abstract

In comparison to countries with a tradition of vegetation studies, a comprehensive, hierarchical classification of plant communities in the province of British Columbia has not yet been developed. Such a classification is needed for systematic ecological studies and coordinated conservation of vegetation. As the culmination of fifty years of detailed surveys, tabular and multivariate analyses of 3779 relevrs of natural, old-growth, submontane, montane and subalpine forest communities in coastal British Columbia were used to develop a hierarchy of vegetation units according to the Braun-Blanquet approach. At the highest level, we distinguished seven orders: Quercus garryana, Pseudotsuga menziesii-Mahonia nervosa, Tsuga heterophylla-Rhytidiadelphus loreus, Tsuga mertensiana, Thuja plicata-Tiarella trifoliata, Populus trichocarpa, and Pinus contorta-Sphagnum. Diagnostic table, ordination, and climatic and edaphic regimes were used to show floristic affinities among the orders and to interpret their relationships to regional environmental gradients. Plant communities of each order were briefly characterized by their floristic composition, physiognomy, succession, and environment. The synopsis for all delineated vegetation units (order, suborder, alliance, and association) of coastal British Columbia is included. Table 1. Synopsis of vegetation units distinguished in old-growth forest communities of coastal British Columbia, showing rank, scientific names and abbreviated names.

Postglacial vegetation and climate dynamics in the Seymour‐Belize Inlet Complex, central coastal British Columbia, Canada: palynological evidence from Tiny Lake

“…Based on known pollen representation and ecology of these taxa, the initial expansion of Cupressaceae is interpreted to mark the initiation of Holocene cooling and moistening and the development of closed, late-successional T. heterophyllaCupressaceae forests at Tiny Lake (Krajina, 1969;Minore, 1990;Packee, 1990;Klinka et al, 1996). It is unlikely that fluctuations in relative sea level influenced early Holocene vegetation at Tiny Lake because detailed diatom research throughout the SBIC has constrained early Holocene sea level movement in this region to less than 2 m, a breadth that is unlikely to have had a substantive effect on water table elevation (Doherty, 2005).…”

“…sinuata prefers moist and cool upland sites such as north-facing slopes, avalanche tracks and recently deglaciated terrains (Uchytil, 1989a,b;Pojar and MacKinnon, 1994;Fastie, 1995;Hebda, 1997). An understorey of ferns, bryophytes and shrubs form an important aspect of the CWHvh1 ecosystem (Meidinger and Pojar, 1991;Klinka et al, 1996).…”

Seven hundred years of human-driven and climate-influenced fire activity in a British Columbia coastal temperate rainforest

“…Bog forests exhibit stunted growth forms and are located on hill slopes dominated by western red-cedar, yellow-cedar, western hemlock and shore pine ( Pinus contorta var. contorta Douglas ex Louden) [35]. Bog woodlands are the most common vegetation type and comprise patchy mosaics of forested and unforested sites in subdued or rolling terrain [33].…”

Translocation experiments with butterflies reveal limits to enhancement of poleward populations under climate change

“…Populations throughout the species' range vary in voltinism, depending upon weather and host plant phenology (23). The 2 butterflies share a coastal, northern range limit where open, oak-dominated habitats transition to wetter and colder coniferous forests (23,27,28).…”