BLM REA CYR 2013 Current Distribution of Upland Mesic Spruce Forest

Some of the CYR rasters intentionally do not align or have the same extent. These rasters were not snapped to a common raster per the authors' discretion. Please review selected rasters prior to use. These varying alignments are a result of the use of differing source data sets and all products derived from them. We recommend that users snap or align rasters as best suits their own projects. - The upland mesic spruce forest CE occurs throughout the boreal region of Alaska from the south slopes of the Brooks Range to the north slopes of the Alaska Range and west to the limit of conifer growth. This CE often occurs near the limit of conifer growth, both near elevational treeline and near the western limit of coniferous forest. The canopy is characterized by a woodland to open forest structure with a well-developed understory composed of low and dwarf shrubs. Because of mapping limitations, this CE includes both white and black spruce forests that occur on upland mesic slopes and inactive alluvial deposits. The range of Picea glauca extends beyond that of Picea mariana, and thus Picea glauca is more likely to be the dominant tree near the limit of conifer growth. Soils are cold, gravelly, and well-drained with little to no peat development. Permafrost is continuous to discontinuous. In woodland forests near treeline, Picea glauca is generally the dominant conifer. canopy cover is open to woodland in mature forests. Hardwoods do not make up a significant part of the canopy. The understory is typically a low shrub layer composed of Betula nana, B. glandulosa, Vaccinium uliginosum, Rhododendron spp., and Salix pulchra. Feathermoss, including Hylocomium splendens and Pleurozium schreberi, may be common in the ground layer. On drier or more exposed sites, Cladina spp. replace feathermosses as the dominant ground cover. On mesic sites dominated by Picea mariana, the canopy cover is generally open. Common understory species include Alnus viridis ssp. fruticosa, Rhododendron groenlandicum, Rhododendron tomentosum, Vaccinium vitis-idaea, Empetrum nigrum, Rosa acicularis, Spiraea stevenii, Calamagrostis canadensis, Equisetum sylvaticum, and Cornus canadensis. Common mosses include Hylocomium splendens and Pleurozium schreberi. Lichens, such as Cladina spp., may be abundant in later seral stages. Early successional stands may be dominated by Betula neoalaskana or Populus tremuloides. Upland mesic spruce forest was derived from the Evergreen Forest class of the Input National Land Cover Database (2011) and the Evergreen Forest to Grassland/Herbaceous and Evergreen Forest to Shrub/Scrub classes of the National Land Cover Database 2001 to 2011 From To Change Index extracted to non-floodplain areas of the study area. Upland mesic spruce forest is a current distribution dataset.