A Field Guide to Ecosystem Classiﬁcation and …...The Best Place on Earth A Field Guide to...

A Field Guide to Ecosystem Classification

and Identification for Haida Gwaii

LAND MANAGEMENT HANDBOOK

68

2014

The Best Place on Earth

A Field Guide to Ecosystem Classification and Identification for Haida Gwaii

Allen Banner, William H. MacKenzie, Jim Pojar, Andy MacKinnon, Sari C. Saunders, and Heather Klassen

Print edition: ISBN 978-0-7726-6768-7Electronic/PDF edition: ISBN 978-0-7726-6769-4

CitationBanner, A., W.H. MacKenzie, J. Pojar, A. MacKinnon, S.C. Saunders, and H. Klassen. 204. A field guide to ecosystem classification and identification for Haida Gwaii. Prov. B.C., Victoria, B.C. Land Manag. Handb. 68. www.for.gov.bc.ca/hfd/pubs/Docs/Lmh/Lmh68.htm

Copies of this report can be obtained from:Crown Publications, Queen’s Printer PO Box 9452 Stn Prov Govt 563 Superior Street, 2nd Floor, Victoria, BC V8W 9V7 800 663-605 www.crownpub.bc.ca

For more information on other publications in this series, visit: www.for.gov.bc.ca/scripts/hfd/pubs/hfdcatalog/index.asp

© 204 Province of British ColumbiaWhen using information from this report, please cite fully and correctly.

The use of trade, firm, or corporation names in this publication is for the information and convenience of the reader. Such use does not constitute an official endorsement or approval by the Government of British Columbia of any product or service to the exclusion of any others that may also be suitable. Contents of this report are presented as information only. Funding assistance does not imply endorsement of any statements or information contained herein by the Government of British Columbia. Uniform Resource Locators (URLs), addresses, and contact information contained in this document are current at the time of printing unless otherwise noted.

Authors’ affiliationAllen Banner, Banner ConsultingSmithers, B.C.

William H. MacKenzie, B.C. Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations, Skeena Region, Smithers, B.C.

Jim Pojar, Northwest Institute for Bioregional Studies, Smithers, B.C.

Andy MacKinnon, Sari C. Saunders, Heather Klasssen, B.C. Ministryof Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations, West Coast Region, Nanaimo, B.C.

Haida Gwaii Field Guide iii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This field guide has been many years in the making and resulted from the collective work of a great many individuals. Ecological field sam-pling on Haida Gwaii began in the late 970s, during the early years of the Biogeoclimatic Ecosystem Classification (BEC) Program of the B.C. Forest Service. At that time, Haida Gwaii was part of the Prince Rupert Forest Region. During the late 970s and early 980s, two forest companies, Western Forest Products Ltd. and MacMillan Bloedel Ltd., were also embarking on ecosystem classification and mapping on Haida

DEDICATION

This field guide is dedicated to Dr. Geoffrey Harold Cushon – ecologist, musician, philosopher, and friend.

Geoff’s career was devoted to forest ecology in both Canada and the USA; he became the Regional Research Ecologist, Coast Forest Region, in 2004. Geoff embraced the many challenges of his new “dream job” with a gentle, yet determined, enthusiasm and compassion. The comple-tion of an ecological field guide for Haida Gwaii was one of Geoff’s keenest interests. We lost our friend and colleague August 0th, 2005, shortly after a wonderful field trip to Haida Gwaii.

Haida Gwaii Field Guideiv

Gwaii (then Tree Farm Licenses [TFLs] 24 and 39). Researchers and field staff, from government and industry, collaborated significantly in field data collection and the production of the initial unpublished eco-system classification reports that formed the foundation for this field guide. Key personnel in those early years were Jim Pojar, Rick Trow-bridge, Allen Banner, Dave Wilford, Terry Lewis, and Bill Beese.

In addition to the authors, the following individuals carried out field work and contributed to our database of over 000 plots, on which this guide is largely based: Dick Annas, Ken Awmack, Bill Beese, Marjon Blouw, Bill Chapman, Chris Clement, Wendy Cocksedge, Paul Courtin, Geoff Cushon, Alec Deas, Mike Geisler, Doug Holmes, Alex Inselberg, Darlene Knowles, Phil LePage, Terry Lewis, Anne Macadam, Karen McKeown, Ian Moss, Mike O’Neill, Nick Reynolds, Lisa Ricciotti, Brian Robinson, Jim Schwab, Kaeli Stark, Rick Trowbridge, Dave Wilford, and Dave Yole. In recent years we very much appreciated the field as-sistance of individuals from the Council of the Haida Nation, Haida Guardian Program, including Lana Wilhelm, Sean Brennan, Guy Ed-gars, and James Stanley. In addition, Todd Golumbia and Parks Canada (Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve and Haida Heritage Site) con-tributed plot data from their database. Frank Boas, Judy Godfrey, and Trevor Goward identified unknown bryophyte and lichen specimens.

This field guide is based on a provincially correlated classification of ecological plot data made possible by the Correlation Program. Del Meidinger co-ordinated this program for many years and, since 2009, Will MacKenzie has taken over that role. The Coastal Correlation Working Group consisted of Karel Klinka, Jim Pojar, Allen Banner, Del Meidinger, Fred Nuszdorfer, Bob Green, and Alex Inselberg. Tracey Fleming, Shirley Mah, Carmen Cadrin, Alex Inselberg, and Karen Yearsley provided valuable assistance with the data analysis for the cor-relation project in the early years. We thank Sara Burger for her assis-tance in acquiring, organizing, and analyzing plot data from a variety of sources and updating information from early drafts, in preparation for the production of this guide. Kara Pitman compiled summaries of Haida Gwaii climate data for Table 5.2. Terry Lewis, Greg Kehm, and Ecotrust Canada provided permission to use their summary table of bedrock formations of Haida Gwaii (Table 4.). Marty Kranabetter provided the summary of soil characteristics for Haida Gwaii (Section

Haida Gwaii Field Guide v

4.5). Patricia Rodgers assisted with the production of many of the maps in the guide. We are very grateful to Barbara Wilson (Kii’iljuus) for providing Haida names for the plants referenced in the guide.

Past and present B.C. Forest Service ecologists (Tom Braumandl, Ray Coupé, Craig Delong, Bob Green, Karel Klinka, Dennis Lloyd, Del Meidinger, Deb MacKillop, Bruce Rogers, Mike Ryan) contributed ideas and text for standardizing provincial ecological field guide format and content, as much as possible (especially the introductory chapters). Many of the site description keys provided in the appendices have been borrowed or modified from other regional and provincial guides.

Plant illustrations by the following artists have been utilized in the guide: F.L. Beebe, G. Bishop, T.C. Brayshaw, M. Bryant, P. Druk-ker-Brammall, P. Frank, G.F. Harcombe, A. Hassen, A. Havard, B.C. Newton, P. Nystedt, E.J. Stephen, R.A. With, J. R. Janish, S. Sakeld, S. Mitchell, and D. Gunn. We thank the Royal British Columbia Museum, the British Columbia Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks, and the University of Washington Press, for permission to use plant illustra-tions from their publications.

We are grateful to the following individuals for their helpful review comments on the guide: Sean Muise (Haida Gwaii Integrated Stew-ardship Team), Nick Reynolds, Terry Lewis, and Del Meidinger. Paul Nystedt of the Production Resources Section, British Columbia Ministry of Environment was a tremendous help in guiding this project to completion, including the design of cover graphics. The book was edited by Tracey D. Hooper with graphics production and typesetting by Donna Lindenberg of Newport Bay Publishing Ltd. Final edit-ing and proofreading was by Steven Justin Smith. Financial support for the preparation and publication of this guide was provided by the West Coast Region, British Columbia Ministry of Forests, Lands, and Natural Resource Operations. We are grateful to the Haida People and the Council of the Haida Nation for the opportiunity to work in their traditional territory.

Finally we thank the many aircraft pilots and boat captains and crews who have safely transported field personnel to the many remote areas of Haida Gwaii, thus allowing us to sample the diverse ecosystems of this “place of wonder.”

Haida Gwaii Field Guidevi

Western redcedarThuja plicata

Yellow-cedarChamaecyparis nootkatensis

Haida Gwaii Field Guide vii

Dedication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iiiAcknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iii Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. Objectives/Scope . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 History of Ecosystem Classification on Haida Gwaii . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.3 Other Sources of Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.4 Format of the Field Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.5 Limitations of the Field Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

2 Biogeoclimatic Ecosystem Classification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72. The Classification System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82.2 Climate Classification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

2.2. Naming of biogeoclimatic units . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 02.3 Site Classification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

2.3. Naming and numbering of site units . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42.4 Seral Vegetation Classification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52.5 Ecoregion Classification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62.6 Biogeoclimatic Ecosystem Classification and Climate Change . . . 6

3 How to Use the Field Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83. Identifying Biogeoclimatic Units . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83.2 Describing and Identifying Site Units . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

3.2. Describing sites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23.2.2 Identifying site units . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223.2.3 Identifying site series in seral stands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

3.3 Mapping Site Units . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 334 The Environment of Haida Gwaii . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

4. About the Islands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 344.2 Climate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

4.2. Temperature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 364.2.2 Precipitation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 364.2.3 Wind . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

4.3 Physiography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 384.4 Geology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

4.4. Bedrock geology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44.4.2 Surficial geology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

4.5 Soils . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 474.5. Zonal soils . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 484.5.2 Other common soil types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 494.5.3 Nutrient analysis of forest soils . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

4.6 Vegetation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

CONTENTS

Haida Gwaii Field Guideviii

4.6. Forested vegetation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 524.6.2 Non-forest vegetation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

4.7 Disturbance and Change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 544.7. Natural disturbance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 544.7.2 Anthropogenic disturbance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

5 Biogeoclimatic Units of Haida Gwaii . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 625. Coastal Western Hemlock Zone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

5.. CWHvh, Very Wet Hypermaritime subzone . . . . . . . . . . . . . 725... CWHvh3, Haida Gwaii variant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

5..2 CWHwh, Wet Hypermaritime subzone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 745..2. CWHwh, Submontane variant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 745..2.2 CWHwh2, Montane variant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77

5.2 Mountain Hemlock Zone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 805.2. MHwh, Wet Hypermaritime subzone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80

5.3 Coastal Mountain-heather Alpine Zone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 825.3. CMAwh, Wet Hypermaritime subzone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82

6 Forested Site Units of Haida Gwaii . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84CWHvh3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87CWHwh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CWHwh2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37MHwh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

7 Non-forested Site Units of Haida Gwaii . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 637. Wetland Realm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 657.2 Estuarine Realm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 767.3 Beachland Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 787.4 Alpine Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 847.5 Subalpine Shrub Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87

Literature Cited . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92

appendices Correlation between old and new biogeoclimatic and site units . . . . . . . 207

A. Relationship between biogeoclimatic unit names used in Green and Klinka to those presented in this guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207

A.2 Relationship between site unit numbers used in Green and Klinka to those presented in this guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208

2 The Gwaii Haanas Ecoregion and the three ecosections on Haida Gwaii . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209

Comparison charts for visual estimation of foliage cover . . . . . . . . . . . . 20A3. Example of percent coverages in a plot, viewed from above . . . . . 20A3.2 Comparison charts for visual estimation of foliage cover . . . . . . 2

Haida Gwaii Field Guide ix

tables2. Connotative codes used in subzone names on British Columbia’s

coast . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.2 Tree species codes used in names of plant and site associations

referenced in this guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33. Site and soil features that are important in site assessment . . . . . . . . . . 223.2 Example of a vegetation table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263.3 Symbols used in vegetation tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263.4 Abbreviations used to describe parent materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283.5 Abbreviations used to describe soil particle size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 293.6 Abbreviations for soil classification used in this field guide . . . . . . . . . 304. Bedrock formation groups based on dominant lithology . . . . . . . . . . . 445. Summary of the biogeoclimatic units of Haida Gwaii . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66

4 Definition of terms used in keys to relative soil moisture regime and soil nutrient regime . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

5 Key to relative soil moisture regime for Haida Gwaii . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246 Key to soil nutrient regime for Haida Gwaii . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267 Relationships between relative and actual soil moisture regime classes . 28

A7. Classification of actual soil moisture regimes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28A7.2 Actual soil moisture regime classes corresponding to each

relative soil moisture regime class for BEC units on Haida Gwaii . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

8 Plants referenced in this guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29A8. Plants referenced in this guide in alphabetic order by

scientific name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29A8.2 Plants referenced in this guide in alphabetic order by

English name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239 Key to surficial materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2420 Keys to common rock types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243

A0. Key to common rock types – option 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243A0.2 Key to common rock types – option 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244

Key to soil texture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2452 Keys to soil classification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249

A2. Key to soil orders of British Columbia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249A2.2 Common soil orders of Haida Gwaii . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250A2.3 Key to soil Great Groups and Subgroups on Haida Gwaii . . . . . . 25

3 Classification of humus forms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256A3. Definitions of humus form orders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256A3.2 Key to humus forms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257

4 Tree species codes and symbols for species referenced in this guide . . . 258

Haida Gwaii Field Guidex

figures. Map of Haida Gwaii, British Columbia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22. Hierarchal relationships within the Biogeoclimatic Ecosystem

Classification System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82.2 Conceptual relationships among site (ecosystem) realms . . . . . . . . . . . 23. Flowchart outlining the procedure for identifying site units . . . . . . . . 93.2 Example of an edatopic grid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243.3 Mesoslope position diagram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283.4 Example of a landscape profile diagram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34. Physiographic regions of Haida Gwaii . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 395. Distribution of biogeoclimatic units of Haida Gwaii . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 635.2 Biogeoclimatic cross-sections of Haida Gwaii . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 647. Conceptual relationships among site (ecosystem) realms . . . . . . . . . . . 647.2 Modified edatopic grid for wetland ecosystems, showing pH

and hydrodynamic index axes, in addition to soil moisture and nutrient regime axes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66

5.2 Selected climate variables for forested biogeoclimatic units of Haida Gwaii . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

5.3 Vegetation summary table comparing zonal sites for forested biogeoclimatic units on Haida Gwaii . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

6. Plant species groups used in vegetation summary tables for Haida Gwaii . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86

Haida Gwaii Field Guide

1 INTRODUCTION

1.1 Objectives/Scope

This field guide presents site classification and identification informa-tion for ecosystems of Haida Gwaii (Queen Charlotte Islands), British Columbia (Figure .), following the Biogeoclimatic Ecosystem Clas-sification (BEC) system (described in Chapter 2).

The objectives of this classification are as follows:• to provide a framework for organizing ecological information and

management experience about ecosystems;• to promote a better understanding of ecosystems and their

interrelationships;• to provide resource managers with a common “language” to

describe ecosystems; and• to improve the users’ ability to prescribe and monitor site-specific

treatments.

For Haida Gwaii, this field guide replaces the previously published site identification field guide for the Vancouver Forest Region (Green and Klinka 994). The classification presented in this guide differs from previous classifications in several important ways:

• a new Haida Gwaii variant of the Coastal Western Hemlock Very Wet Hypermaritime subzone (CWHvh3) is described, and replaces the CWHvh2 on Haida Gwaii;

• the variants of the Mountain Hemlock Wet Hypermaritime subzone (MHwh) that were previously called Windward and Leeward variants (MHwh1 and MHwh2, respectively) are treated as a single subzone (MHwh) specific to Haida Gwaii;

• the mapping of biogeoclimatic units has been revised for Haida Gwaii: the CWHvh3/CWHwh1 boundary has been moved eastwards on northwestern Graham Island, and numerous other minor boundary and elevational shifts have been made;

• the alpine of Haida Gwaii has been designated as the Coastal Mountain-heather Alpine Wet Hypermaritime subzone (CMAwh)

• new provincial standards for the coding of site units are applied; and• non-forested ecosystems are described.

Haida Gwaii Field Guide2

FIGURE . Map of Haida Gwaii, British Columbia.

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Haida Gwaii Field Guide 3

Correlation tables of names of classification units used in this guide and in the 994 Vancouver Region guide (Green and Klinka 994) are provided in Appendix .

The principal goal of this guide is to assist users in describing and iden-tifying terrestrial ecosystems on Haida Gwaii. Management interpreta-tions are not included in this guide but are available through resources such as the Chief Forester’s Reference Guide for Stocking Standards (British Columbia Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations 203b), the Tree Species Selection Tool, the Site Index–Bio-geoclimatic Ecosystem Classification (SIBEC) program, and the British Columbia Ministry of Environment Conservation Framework.

1.2 History of Ecosystem Classification on Haida Gwaii

Dr. V.J. Krajina and many of his graduate students at the University of British Columbia undertook extensive ecosystem classification studies on British Columbia’s coast during the late 950s and 960s. However, these studies were conducted mainly on British Columbia’s south coastal mainland and on Vancouver Island (e.g., Orlóci 965; Brooke et al. 970). In the mid 970s, BEC was adopted by the British Columbia Ministry of Forests as a framework for forest management. The Minis-try embarked on a province-wide classification program and recruited ecologists, botanists, soil scientists, and foresters to further develop and refine BEC.

In the late 970s and early 980s, the first ecosystem sampling by the Ministry of Forests was conducted on Haida Gwaii. Since that time, extensive ecological sampling has been conducted, and reports, theses, maps, and field guides have been produced that describe the biogeo-climatic and site units. Field sampling and data analysis resulted in preliminary drafts of ecosystem classifications for Haida Gwaii (Banner and Pojar 987; Banner et al. 983; 989; 99). These documents are central to the creation of the new classification for Haida Gwaii.

Concurrent with the Ministry of Forests ecosystem sampling in the early 980s, ecosystem classification and mapping of Tree Farm Licence (TFL) 241 (Lewis 982) and TFL 39, Block 62 (Beese 982) was also being

1 TFL 24 became TFL 25, Block 6 in 1998 and was subsequently incorporated into the Haida Gwaii Timber Supply Area (July 2010).

2 TFL 39, Block 6 became TFL 60 in January 2010.


conducted. The ecological data collected from these two projects have been incorporated into the provincial ecosystem plot database (British Columbia Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations 203a). Various Terrestrial Ecosystem Mapping (TEM) and Predictive Ecosystem Mapping (PEM) projects have mapped portions of Haida Gwaii, and data collected for these projects are also included. Golumbia (2007) described and mapped plant communities and ecosystems in Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve and Haida Heritage Site. Addi-tional field sampling by the authors and others was conducted on Haida Gwaii between 2005 and 2009, and targeted under-sampled ecosystems.

1.3 Other Sources of Information

This guide is to be used in conjunction with biogeoclimatic maps that display the distribution of zones, subzones, and variants found across Haida Gwaii. These maps are available in PDF and ArcGIS format at the “Maps” link on the BEC website, “BECWeb.”

A summary of the BEC system is provided in Chapter 2. More complete descriptions are provided in Biogeoclimatic Ecosystem Classification in British Columbia (Pojar et al. 987), Ecosystems of British Columbia (Meidinger and Pojar 99), and Use of the Biogeoclimatic Ecosystem Classification System in British Columbia (MacKinnon et al. 992).

Information at the biogeoclimatic zone level is provided in Meidinger and Pojar (99). MacKenzie and Moran (2004) provide more informa-tion and tools for identifying the wetlands described in this guide. MacKenzie (202) describes the framework for coding and character-izing broader non-forested site units.

For a more detailed discussion of the field methodology used to describe ecosystems, see Land Management Handbook (LMH) 25, Field Manual for Describing Terrestrial Ecosystems (British Columbia Ministry of Forests and Range and British Columbia Ministry of Envi-ronment 200). LMH 25 also provides tools and useful information for assisting with collecting field data related to identifying the ecosystems covered by this guide.

A useful reference for plant identification is Pojar and MacKinnon (994). More complete technical references for the plants of Haida Gwaii are Calder and Taylor (968) for vascular plants of Haida Gwaii,


Douglas et al. (998–2002) for vascular plants of British Columbia, and Schofield (989) and Golumbia and Bartier (2004) for bryophytes of Haida Gwaii. Turner (2004) is an excellent ethnobotanical reference for Haida Gwaii. Scientific and English names used throughout this field guide follow MacKenzie et al. (204). Appendix 8 provides the scientific, English, and Haida names for plants mentioned in this guide.

Additional information related to BEC, including links to BEC field guides and background information on the BEC system, is provided on the provincial BEC program website, “BECWeb.”

1.4 Format of the Field Guide

This guide consists of seven chapters, plus Literature Cited and appendices:

1. Introduction2. Biogeoclimatic Ecosystem Classification: provides a brief

description of the classification system3. How to Use the Field Guide: presents an overview of procedures for

site description, identification, and mapping4. The Environment of Haida Gwaii: describes the islands’ climate,

physiography, geology, soils, vegetation, and disturbance history5. Biogeoclimatic Units of Haida Gwaii: describes the islands’

biogeoclimatic zones, subzones, and variants6. Forested Site Units of Haida Gwaii: presents the classification and

description of the islands’ forested site units7. Non-forested Site Units of Haida Gwaii: presents a classification

and description of non-forested site units of the islands’ wetland, marine shore zone, and high-elevation ecosystems

1.5 Limitations of the Field Guide

The descriptions of the units provided in this guide are based on infor-mation from 040 field sample plots. The field plots are well distributed geographically, and numbers are proportional to the size of the biogeo-climatic unit, except in areas with difficult access. Most ecosystem units are characterized by at least five plots, although certain less common ecosystems (e.g., on very dry or wet sites) may be characterized by fewer plots.


This guide does not fully encompass all the complexity and diversity of ecosystems that occur on Haida Gwaii. The site series described represent the mature and old stages of relatively common ecosystems sampled through the major distribution of variants. Users are bound to encounter ecosystems that do not appear to “fit” the classification. This may be due to the presence of earlier seral conditions that are the result of natural or anthropogenic disturbances, natural variability, or chang-es in understorey species due to browsing by introduced deer. In these cases, consideration of basic site factors (e.g., climate, soil moisture, soil nutrients), silvics of tree species, and effects of various management practices will be essential for decision-making.

Newcombe’s butterweedSinosenecio newcombeiEndemic to Haida Gwaii


2 BIOGEOCLIMATIC ECOSYSTEM CLASSIFICATION

The Biogeoclimatic Ecosystem Classification (BEC) system groups simi-lar segments of the landscape (i.e., ecosystems) to form categories of a hierarchal classification system. An ecosystem is the result of complex interactions among living organisms, including plants, animals, and micro-organisms, and their physical (abiotic) environment, including the soil, air, water, and climatic conditions. For the purposes of BEC, a terrestrial ecosystem is a unit or portion of the landscape and the life on and in it. It is a landscape segment that is relatively uniform in vegetation composition and structure, and properties of both the biotic and abiotic environments, and their interactions. While boundaries between ecosystems in the landscape can be abrupt, ecosystems more often tend to grade slowly from one into another. The individual ecosys-tems within a classification unit will, therefore, have some variation in biotic and abiotic features.

Climate is the most important factor influencing the development of regional terrestrial ecosystems and thus the units at the regional scale/level of the BEC system. Lower elevations on Haida Gwaii are generally forested, with western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla), Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis), and western redcedar (Thuja plicata) as the dominant tree species, and with red alder (Alnus rubra) on disturbed sites. As eleva-tion increases, western hemlock and western redcedar are displaced by mountain hemlock (Tsuga mertensiana) and yellow-cedar (Chamaecy-paris nootkatensis) in subalpine forests (generally above 500–600 m). At upper subalpine elevations, clumps of trees alternate with heaths and meadows in subalpine parkland. Where elevations exceed 800–900 m, cold, snowy climates preclude tree growth, and alpine—the area above the treeline—occurs. Within each of these climatic areas, ecosystems vary because of differences in topography and soil. These differences are reflected in the categories described at the finer levels/scales of the classification. For example, within a similar regional or subregional climate, ridge crests are relatively drier than lower slopes and valley bottoms.

Vegetation is emphasized in the BEC system because it is readily vis-ible and integrates the abiotic environment, biology, and ecological history of a site. However, vegetation composition (the species present)


and structure (size distribution and spatial distribution of trees and understorey plants) change over time—a process called succession. It is the mature plant communities of later successional stages that form the basis of the classification and that are most useful for identifying site units.

2.1 The Classification System

The BEC system is a hierarchical classification scheme that combines three classifications: climate, vegetation, and site. For practical pur-poses, users need only be concerned with the climate and site classi-fications (Figure 2.); the vegetation classification is used for ensuring

FIGURE 2. Hierarchal relationships within the Biogeoclimatic Ecosystem Classification (BEC) System (updated from Pojar et al. 1987).

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consistency in naming and for correlating ecosystems provincially, nationally, and internationally.

A combination of () comparative tabling of vegetation characteristics of plots, and (2) ordination of plots based on vegetation, in combina-tion with assessment of soil and site features, is used to assign plots to biogeoclimatic units. A suite of Excel-based summary tables can be produced by built-in macros within the provincial relational database program, VPro, to aid in this analysis (MacKenzie and Klassen 203). Initially, tabular summaries that integrate constancy and percent cover data for vegetation are examined to identify species and suites of species that are diagnostic at the level of a zone, subzone, variant, or site series based on hierarchal Braun-Blanquet criteria (Pojar et al. 987). Graphical outputs of plots ordinated in space, based on species composition (e.g., using non-metric multi-dimensional scaling), can be used subsequently to validate plot groups and identify possible outliers for reclassification.

2.2 Climate Classification

Broad geographic areas that are influenced by similar regional climates are classified into biogeoclimatic units in the climate classification of the BEC system. Broad climatic patterns are expressed both regionally and elevationally.

In the hierarchy of climatic units, the biogeoclimatic subzone is the basic unit—subzones are grouped into zones, and divided into vari-ants. Each biogeoclimatic subzone has a distinct and characteristic combination of plant species (plant association) on mature zonal sites. Zonal sites are intermediate in soil moisture and nutrient conditions, they generally occur on moderately deep soils of medium texture on a mid-slope position, and they are not overly influenced by local site conditions, such as slope, aspect, and cold air drainage. The mature veg-etation on zonal sites is considered to best reflect the regional climatic conditions of the subzone. An example is the Very Wet Hypermaritime Coastal Western Hemlock subzone (CWHvh), which occurs on the west coast of Haida Gwaii. This biogeoclimatic unit is characterized and delineated geographically by the occurrence of the Western redcedar – Western hemlock – Salal – Deer fern plant community on zonal sites.


On Haida Gwaii’s drier east coast is the Wet Hypermaritime Coastal Western Hemlock subzone (CWHwh), which is characterized by the Western hemlock – Sitka spruce – Lanky moss plant community on zonal sites.

Each subzone has a distinctive sequence of related ecosystems ranging from dry to wet, and poor to rich, sites. Sites that are wetter or drier, or richer or poorer, than the zonal ecosystem are influenced not only by the regional climate but also by soil and topographic features at local scales.

Subzones with similar climatic characteristics and zonal ecosystems are grouped into biogeoclimatic zones. A zone is a large geographic area with a broadly similar type of climate. A zone has typical patterns of vegetation and associated similarities in nutrient cycling and soil climate. Generally, zones also have one or more typical zonal species of tree, shrub, herb, or moss present in the mature vegetation. For ex-ample, the Coastal Western Hemlock (CWH) zone is characterized by the shade-tolerant tree species western hemlock, oval-leaved and Alaska blueberry (Vaccinium ovalifolium and V. alaskaense), and lanky moss (Rhytidiadelphus loreus).

Subzones can contain considerable climatic variation, and so may be subdivided into biogeoclimatic variants. Variants are generally recog-nized for areas that are slightly drier, wetter, snowier, warmer, or colder than other areas within a subzone. For example, the Wet Hypermari-time Coastal Western Hemlock subzone is divided into the Submon-tane CWHwh (lower elevation, warmer, and less snowy) and Montane CWHwh2 (higher elevation, cooler, and snowier) variants.

2.2. Naming of biogeoclimatic units

Zones are named after one or more of the dominant tree species of mature vegetation on zonal sites, and sometimes include a geographic or climatic modifier (e.g., Coastal Western Hemlock zone, Boreal White and Black Spruce zone). A two- to four-letter code is used to abbreviate the name. For example, CWH denotes the Coastal Western Hemlock zone, MH denotes the Mountain Hemlock zone, and CMA denotes the Coastal Mountain-heather Alpine zone.

Haida Gwaii Field Guide

Subzone names reflect climatic differentiation of zones into finer units based on precipitation and, on the coast, continentality3 (i.e., degree of ocean influence on temperature and precipitation). A two-letter code is added to the zone name: the first letter connotes precipitation; the second connotes continentality (Table 2.). For example, CWHwh rep-resents the Wet Hypermaritime CWH subzone. A third letter modifier can also be used to identify a parkland subzone. For example, the MH-whp is the Wet Hypermaritime Mountain Hemlock Parkland subzone.

Variants are named by geographic labels that reflect their general dis-tribution within a subzone, and are coded with a number. For example, CWHwh and CWHwh2 represent the Submontane and Montane vari-ants, respectively, of the CWHwh.

TABLE 2. Connotative codes used in subzone names on British Columbia’s coast

Precipitation Code

very dry x dry dmoist mwet wvery wet v

Continentality Code

hypermaritime hmaritime msubmaritime s

3 For interior subzones of the BEC system, the second letter modifier differentiates subzones by temperature rather than continentality.

2.3 Site Classification

The most commonly used units of site classification are site series (Figure 2.). However, BEC is a hierarchical classification, and there are different levels of site unit classification. The classification of site units reflects variation in soil and physiographic properties of ecosystems.

Broader classification units have several practical applications. They provide:

• a better understanding of relationships among broadly different ecosystems;


• more generalized ecosystem units for applications not requiring site series or site association level of detail or where information is insufficient to define site associations;

• communication aids for non-technical users; • a connotative map coding system for broader ecosystem types; and • a hierarchical organizational structure for descriptions of site

associations and site series.

Site realms (Figure 2.2) are broad-level groupings of plant associations with similar vegetation and environment characteristics. BEC classi-fies ecosystems from three of the seven ecosystem realms: Terrestrial, Wetland, and Estuarine (MacKenzie and Banner 200). Forested site series in the Terrestrial realm are described in Chapter 6. Non-forested site units from all three realms are described in Chapter 7.

Site group units describe broad sets of functionally similar ecosystems that are controlled by the same dominant ecological drivers. Site class units describe ecosystems that span a similar range of the dominant environmental gradients and support similar characteristic vegetation physiognomy and species guilds at maturity.

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FIGURE 2.2 Conceptual relationships among site (ecosystem) realms (modified from MacKenzie and Banner 2001). Shaded section shows ecosystems described in this guide.


The site association is the fundamental unit of the site classification and provides a linkage between vegetation and climatic classifica-tions at the subzone level (Figure 2.). The site association groups all sites with similar mature plant communities regardless of the climatic conditions in which the sites occur; this similarity in plant associations reflects the similar soil moisture and soil nutrient regimes of the sites. It is important to recognize that a particular site unit (e.g., a zonal HwSs – Lanky moss4) can support a variety of plant communities depending on the successional stage, but it has the greatest potential to result in one kind of plant community at late successional stages.

Site series are the most commonly used units of site classification (Figure 2.). A site series defines sites within a biogeoclimatic subzone or variant that are capable of supporting mature plant communities that belong to the same plant association or subassociation. Each bio-geoclimatic unit will have a suite of site series, each of which represents ecological space along relative soil moisture and soil nutrient gradients or regimes. Commonly, additional site series are described that reflect the effects of other environmental drivers, such as flooding or cold air ponding.5

Table 2.2 Tree species codes used in names of plant and site associations referenced in this guide

Tree code English name Scientific name

Cw western redcedar Thuja plicataDr red alder Alnus rubraHm mountain hemlock Tsuga mertensianaHw western hemlock Tsuga heterophyllaPlc shore pine Pinus contorta var. contortaSs Sitka spruce Picea sitchensisYc yellow-cedar Chamaecyparis nootkatensis

4 See Table 2.2 and Appendix 14 for tree species codes used in names of plant and site associations referred to in this guide.

5 The site identification section (Section 3.2.2) contains relative soil moisture and soil nutrient regime identification information.


Although a site series is specific to a subzone or variant, the mature plant community encompassed by the site series may occur within more than one biogeoclimatic unit. Site associations represent sites that are capable of producing the same mature vegetation (i.e., plant associa-tion), regardless of biogeoclimatic unit. For example, the HwSs – Lanky moss site association spans the CWHwh, CWHwh2, and CWHvh3. Although site series within a site association occur on ecologically equivalent sites, they may occupy different positions on a relative scale of moisture and nutrients for different biogeoclimatic units. Therefore, the HwSs – Lanky moss site association occurs on zonal sites (mesic) in the CWHwh and CWHwh2 variants but is restricted to sites that are drier than zonal in the wetter CWHvh3 variant. Because site associa-tions are more variable in climatic and site conditions than the site series, they are less predictable for management application.

The site phase is applied in cases where vegetation does not differentiate site differences that are important for management. For example, the CWHwh/101 site series commonly occurs on moderately well- to well-drained soils and on imperfectly drained soils. Two phases are used to describe these situations: a Mesic phase (101a) and a Moister phase (101b). A site phase may also be differentiated on the basis of slope class, aspect, parent material, soil climate, humus form, or bedrock geology.

The site variation is applied where differences in mature vegetation oc-cur on similar site conditions, and the differences in vegetation are not clearly successional stages of ecosystem development. Because the site conditions do not differentiate the vegetation, a site series is not appli-cable. For example, in both the CWHvh3 and CWHwh, two variations are defined for the 103 Ss – Salal shoreline forest site series: 103.1 Typic variation, and 103.2 Reedgrass variation.

2.3. Naming and numbering of site units

Site associations are named using species from the mature plant as-sociation or subassociation that occur in those ecosystems at later successional stages, and generally correspond directly to the plant association/subassociation name. For forested associations, the name generally consists of one or two tree species, followed by one or two understorey plant species. While the species chosen for naming the site association are often predominant in these communities, less common


but characteristic species are sometimes used to ensure that the site unit has a unique name within the provincial classification.

Site series use the same name as the site association, and are preceded by the appropriate biogeoclimatic subzone or variant symbol. For example, CWHwh/HwSs – Lanky moss represents the zonal site series in the CWHwh variant.

Historically, forested site series were given a two-digit numeric code from 01 to 29, with 01 always zonal and site series numbered from dry to wet and secondarily from very poor to very rich. This guide uses a new system that is designed to eliminate the confusion that arises from changes in site series concepts and additions of new site series in the classification (Appendix ). The new system uses a three-digit site series code. The first number indicates the revision version of the classifica-tion; thus, “101” is the designation for the zonal ecosystem in this guide, which presents the first revision to the subzone/variant classification (the zonal site series was previously numbered “01”). Site series numbers from 102 to 109 are reserved for forested units that are drier than zonal, with the 102 being the driest and poorest, and the numbering proceed-ing left to right, top to bottom. Numbers 110 to 119 are reserved for forested units that are wetter than zonal, and the numbering proceeds left to right, top to bottom on the edatopic grid. For more information on the new coding schemes, see MacKenzie (20).

Non-forested ecosystems have been classified and numbered in a variety of ways in past guides. The new coding for these ecosystems fol-lows a convention for wetlands that was introduced by MacKenzie and Moran (2004) and further developed by MacKenzie (202). In their full form, these are four-character codes in which the first two characters are alphabetic and reflect the higher site levels of site realm/group and site class (Figure 2.). The last two digits, where used (i.e., where suf-ficient data are available), are numeric and reflect differentiation at finer scales (see Chapter 7).

2.4 Seral Vegetation Classification

Younger seral vegetation communities are classified within the BEC system by application of the vegetation and site classifications—seral plant associations are described and coded within site series (see


example in DeLong et al. 20). However, there is no such formal seral classification of Haida Gwaii ecosystems.

2.5 Ecoregion Classification

The Ecoregion Classification system is used to stratify British Co-lumbia’s terrestrial and marine ecosystem complexity into discrete geographical units at five levels. The two highest levels, ecodomains and ecodivisions, are very broad and place British Columbia globally. The three lowest levels, ecoprovinces, ecoregions, and ecosections, are progressively more detailed and narrow in scope, and relate segments of the province to one another. They describe areas of similar climate, physiography, oceanography, hydrology, vegetation, and wildlife poten-tial. Within each terrestrial ecoregion, climatic zones occur where spe-cific soils, plant, and animal communities and aquatic systems develop because of the interaction of climate with the land surface and surficial materials. These zones are best defined within BEC (Demarchi 20).

The Ecoregion Classification describes one ecoregion and three ecosec-tions for Haida Gwaii (Appendix 2).

2.6 Biogeoclimatic Ecosystem Classification and Climate Change

Climate–vegetation relationships are integral to the development of the climate and site classifications of BEC. Accordingly, the impacts of climate change need to be considered in the development and application of the classification.

Overall, the impacts of climate change on vegetation communities and vegetation–site relationships are expected to occur at time scales that will allow the classification in its current form to remain relevant for management applications for at least several decades.

At longer time scales, climate change is likely to impact the biogeoclimatic zonation of BEC. Changes in temperature regimes and/or moisture conditions will happen. Information about these projected changes is being evaluated for long-term planning, and for application in the short term, to reduce management impacts of shifts in the relationships described by the current classification.


Haida Gwaii is isolated from the migration of species, so climate change impacts are more likely to be expressed initially as changes in vigour, relative productivity, and reproductive capacity, and later as changes in the distribution of existing species and communities on the islands. Details of those changes cannot be predicted at this time. Vegetation will continue to reflect site conditions, even with climate change, but specific indicators used may have to evolve with time.

Maps of site units (e.g., Terrestrial Ecosystem Mapping [TEM]) will continue to be useful for management because the map units repre-sent sites that have uniformity in environmental features, including slope position, moisture and nutrient conditions, parent material, and other environmental drivers (e.g., flooding regime). Relative posi-tions will be useful, but the actual units might change. For example, flooding frequency and intensity may shift enough to require changes in classification of low- vs. medium- vs. high-bench riparian areas on the landscape. The relative positions will be useful, but there might be an expansion, for example, of low bench as currently mapped into mid bench over time. Although the specifics of future changes in the biological potential of the map units cannot be known for certain, the relationships between the sites represented on the map will continue to be valid.

Whatever the future climate, land managers will remain interested in understanding ecosystems in order to properly manage the diversity of ecosystems and ecosystem services. An ecological framework that integrates the essential ecosystem components required for this un-derstanding will continue to be essential. An evolving BEC system can continue to provide this framework for diverse applications, including ecosystem representation/conservation, wildlife habitat management, silviculture, interpreting ecosystems for the occurrence/abundance of culturally important plants, protecting ecosystems at risk, and moni-toring the impacts of climate change.


3 HOW TO USE THE FIELD GUIDE

Site series identification involves two major steps (Figure 3.). The first is to identify the biogeoclimatic subzone or variant; the second is to determine the site unit. These steps are accomplished through the field assessment of site characteristics and the comparison of these charac-teristics with information presented in this field guide, in addition to any local mapping that may be available. To make the identification process easier, especially for those who are new to an area, several aids are included in this guide, such as maps, summaries of vegetation and site characteristics, flowcharts for identifying site units, edatopic grids, and site unit descriptions. As users gain experience with a particular subzone or variant, they will become more familiar with the ecosystems and less reliant on these aids.

Because correct site description and identification are important for making subsequent decisions regarding land use and management, it is essential that site description data be collected as carefully and ac-curately as possible.

This chapter describes the procedures for identifying biogeoclimatic units, using the tables and information provided in Chapter 5, and the procedures for describing and identifying site units, using the various tools provided in Chapters 6 and 7 and in the Appendices. Section 3.3 outlines procedures for mapping site units.

3.1 Identifying Biogeoclimatic Units

Chapter 5 provides information for determining the biogeoclimatic subzones and variants on Haida Gwaii. Included are maps that show the distribution of all subzones and variants, tables that summarize and compare key environmental, climatic, and floristic features of the subzones and variants, and descriptions of each biogeoclimatic unit.

Initially, one should determine which subzones and variants potentially occur in an area. Small-scale biogeoclimatic unit maps for Haida Gwaii are available at the “Maps” link on the provincial BEC website, “BEC-Web,” and should be used to identify probable biogeoclimatic units in an area. Terrestrial Ecosystem Mapping (TEM) may be available for the


Identifying Biogeoclimatic (BGC) Unit (Subzone/Variant) (Section 3.1)

Identify site unit (Section 3.2.2):• examine descriptions of units (Chapter 6 [forested] and Chapter 7

[non-forested])• integrate site, soil, and vegetation information

Identify unit:• refer to provincial BGC unit maps (BECWeb)• refer to maps of BGC unit distributions and cross-sections (Figures

5.1 and 5.2)

PREFIELD

Confirm unit:• observe zonal vegetation en route to the site or from circum-mesic

sites in area• refer to environment and vegetation summary tables for BGC units

(Tables 5.1 and 5.3)

EN ROUTE TO SITE

Identifying Site Unit (Site Series/Phase) (Section 3.2)

Describe site, soil, and vegetation conditions (Section 3.2.1):• select sample area• estimate % cover for vegetation in plot• collect site information (Table 3.1)• collect soil information from soil pit (Table 3.1)• determine soil moisture and soil nutrient regime

(Appendices 4, 5, and 6)

AT SITE

1)

2)

Figure 3. Flowchart outlining the procedure for identifying site units.


area, and may provide more detailed or more recent mapping of the biogeoclimatic and site units. For more information about the availabil-ity of TEM, see www.env.gov.bc.ca/ecology/tem/.

The variant or subzone should then be confirmed through assessment in the field. The user should check the elevation and general floristic features (e.g., dominant tree and understorey plant species) of the area. Variant identification should be based as much as possible on the exam-ination of zonal or mesic sites; that is, sites that represent average soil moisture and nutrient conditions for the subzone or variant (see Sec-tion 2.2). Information noted in the field should be compared to the site and environment data in Table 5.. This table compares environmental characteristics among zones and among variants within zones. Floristic information can be compared to data in Table 5.3, which lists the plant species that characterize the various zones and variants. Chapter 5 also provides a written summary of characteristics of each variant, which describes the location, distribution, climate, soils, and other differ-entiating features to assist in distinguishing among the variants. It is important to use all available tools to verify the biogeoclimatic unit.

If an area is located in the transition between two variants, or if doubt remains after the information in Chapter 5 has been used in the verification step, then both possible variants should be considered for identification of site units.

3.2 Describing and Identifying Site Units

Site unit identification requires: 1) an accurate description of site, soil, and vegetation characteristics;

and 2) the use of the various aids and descriptive materials in this guide to

determine the site unit that best matches these characteristics.

While the characteristics of many sites will fit the classification well, a field site should not be expected to perfectly match all details in the site unit description in this guide. Sites that are classified within a site unit represent a cluster around a central concept. The site should reasonably match the concept and principal features of a site unit but may not per-fectly match all the details of the site unit description. It is important to note that the classification presented in this guide was developed pri-

http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/ecology/tem/


marily from mature vegetation. Differences in vegetation composition and cover should be expected when dealing with earlier seral stages.

Although the classifications and descriptions of site units in this guide represent most of the variability expected to be encountered in the forests of Haida Gwaii, there will likely be some forest ecosystems that do not fit any described site unit very well. This may be because the ecosystem is located in a geographically transitional area between two or more biogeoclimatic variants; therefore, the ecosystem reflects the transitional climate. In this case, the descriptions for both variants should be compared. Alternatively, a “poor fit” may occur if the site from which data were collected is in a transitional location between two site units or it overlaps two site units. In this case, the plot might be relocated to more accurately represent the typical ecosystems within the area of interest. If this is not possible, then the characteristics of the site as compared to both site units should be considered. Lastly, a “poor fit” may occur when a new ecosystem that has not yet been described for the subzone or variant has been encountered. If this is the case, it should be brought to the attention of a regional ecologist.

3.2. Describing sites

Accurate descriptions of the site, soil, and vegetation features of all eco-systems within an area must be completed in the field. The Appendices in this guide outline the information required for assessing a site, and they provide several keys to assist in the process. The field method and data coding standards for describing terrestrial ecosystems is outlined in Land Management Handbook (LMH) 25, Field Manual for Describ-ing Terrestrial Ecosystems (B.C. Ministry of Forests and Range and B.C. Ministry of Environment 200).

The following steps are recommended for describing a site:

Step . Select sample area. Locate an area for your assessment that appears to be representative of the site being sampled and is as homoge-neous in plant cover and overstorey canopy condition as possible. The area should not include pronounced differences in site, soil, or vegeta-tion that may indicate another site unit, and should exclude edge effects and disturbances such as roads or paths. The assessment area should be approximately 0.04 ha (20 × 20 m).


Step 2. Describe vegetation. Record as many of the plant species (in-cluding tree species) in the plot as possible. Estimate the percent cover of each species. See Appendix 3 and the back cover of this guide for comparison charts for visual estimating foliage cover.

Step 3. Describe site and soil characteristics. Determine and record site and soil information that is important for site identification. Table 3. lists some of the more important site and soil information to be collected. More detailed site and soil information may be required for certain purposes (e.g., terrain interpretations); in such cases, more information is available in LMH 25.

Step 4. Determine soil moisture and nutrient regime. Using the site and soil factors recorded, determine the relative soil moisture regime and soil nutrient regime using the keys provided in Appendices 4, 5, and 6.

TABLE 3. Site and soil features that are important in site assessment

Site features

ElevationSlope positionSlope gradientAspectFloodplain (Y/N)Microtopography

Soil features

Texture Humus thicknessPercent coarse fragments Humus formSoil depth Type of A horizonRooting depth Presence of gleyingDepth to root-restricting layer Bedrock geologyDepth to water table

3.2.2 Identifying site units

Once site, soil, and vegetation information have been recorded for a given area, the site unit (i.e., site series, variation, or phase) can be identified and named. Several aids are presented in Chapters 6 and 7 to assist in identifying site units. These aids include edatopic grids, which show the characteristic range of soil nutrient and moisture regimes for sites; descriptive summaries of each site unit and its important distin-guishing features; topographic profiles, which show the distribution of site units in the landscape; and flowcharts for identifying site units. The degree to which the user must rely on these aids depends on several fac-


tors, such as the complexity of the unit, its successional stage, and the user’s experience with a particular variant.

The site unit cannot be identified unless the correct biogeoclimatic unit has been determined (see Section 3.). The vegetation tables in this guide are based on the sampling of mature ecosystems; Section 3.2.3 provides some guidelines for identifying sites with younger seral vegetation.

Note: Browsing by introduced deer has greatly reduced vegetation cover over much of Haida Gwaii. Consequently, plant species presence and abun-dance are often less useful in field site identification on the islands, and a greater reliance on soil and site characteristics is required for making a site series determination.

Site unit description—central concept

The overall concept of each site unit is described in Chapter 6 for forested units and Chapter 7 for non-forested units. The descriptions include information on general environmental features and commonly associated terrain, soils, and vegetation. The site and soil features iden-tified are commonly associated with, or are distinctive of, the unit. The typical plant species and their cover or distribution are also described. Species with the greatest indicator value are shown in bold type. These species are not necessarily the most abundant or (in some cases) most consistently present, but, collectively, they are the most useful in char-acterizing or identifying the site unit.

Edatopic grid

The edatopic grid is a two-dimensional representation of soil moisture regime (SMR) and soil nutrient regime (SNR) (Figure 3.2). Relative soil moisture regime (RSMR) refers to the relative amount of soil moisture available for plant growth in a subzone. It is located on the left vertical axis of the edatopic grid, and ranges from driest (very xeric or 0) to wet-test (subhydric or 7). Soil moisture regimes represent the soil’s ability to receive and store moisture, and can be determined from slope position and gradient, soil depth and texture, coarse fragment content, aspect, and sources of seepage. On xeric sites, for example, precipitation may be the only source of moisture. This moisture may be lost rapidly due to any combination of factors: shallow soils, steep slopes, or coarse-


textured soils. Appendix 4 includes the definitions of the soil moisture and nutrient regime terms and Appendix 5 provides a key to identifying relative soil moisture regime.

Actual soil moisture regime (ASMR), shown in a bar on the right side of the edatopic grid, refers to the moisture regime of a site based on a more quantitative, water balance approach (Klinka et al. 989, 2000). See Appendix 7 for a description of the relationship between the relative and actual soil moisture regimes.

Soil nutrient regime (SNR) indicates the soil’s ability to supply the major nutrients required for plant growth. It is displayed along the horizontal axis of the edatopic grid, and ranges from very poor (A) to very rich (E). Many factors can influence the ability of the soil to store nutrients, including soil depth, texture, coarse fragment content, seep-age water, humus form, and geological source of the parent material.

FIGURE 3.2 Example of an edatopic grid.

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Appendix 6 provides a key to SNR, which illustrates the relative roles of these factors.

An edatopic grid displays the range of soil moisture and nutrient re-gimes for all site units within a subzone or variant. Chapter 6 provides edatopic grids for each variant. The grid does not display overlap of site units in order to simplify presentation. The potential for two or more units to occupy the same soil and nutrient conditions in the field is illustrated by the sharing of grid cells by more than one site unit on the edatopic grid. In this case, each of the site units sharing the cell may occupy the entire set of SMR/SNR conditions represented by the cell on the edatopic grid; that is, there is no gradient of values within a cell.

It should be remembered that these grids are a qualitative representa-tion of the moisture and nutrient status of sites within a subzone. This status is inferred from site, soil, and vegetation characteristics. There are limited data available on nutrient or moisture conditions to quan-tify these relationships.

Vegetation tables

Scientific, English, and Haida names of plants mentioned in this guide are listed in Appendix 8.

Vegetation tables in Chapter 5 compare floristic features among zones, subzones, and variants, and those in Chapter 6 and 7 compare vegeta-tion among site units (see Table 3.2 for an example). The tables display classes of presence/mean cover values for characteristic plant species (or groups of species) grouped in tree (woody plants >0 m in height), shrub (woody plants <0 m in height), herb (including dwarf shrubs), and moss (including liverworts and lichens) layers. Scientific names are displayed on the left side of the table (except for groupings of species, which may have only a common [English] name [See Table 6.]); Eng-lish names are displayed on the right side.

Vegetation table symbols representing constancy (the percentage of sampled plots in which the species occurred) and mean percent cover are shown in Table 3.3 and in a footnote below each vegetation table. The cover class ranges applied in this field guide are different from those commonly used in other parts of the province, emphasizing lower cover ranges for differentiation of units denuded by severe deer browsing.


TABLE 3.3 Symbols used in vegetation tables. Species constancy represents the percentage (%) of sampled plots in which the species occurs. Mean cover is not provided for species that occur in < 50% of the plots (*).

Constancy Mean Cover

% symbol % symbol>70 nnnnn >18 nnnnn

>50–70 nnnnn >8–18 nnnn

25–50 * >3–8 nnn

≥0.5–3 nn

<0.5 n

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TABLE 3.2 Example of a vegetation table


The vegetation tables are general guides to the dominant and indicator species that best characterize each unit. The actual abundance of plant species on any given site will depend on several factors, including the successional status of the site, the type and degree of disturbance that initiated succession, deer browsing, and chance. The vegetation tables in Chapters 5, 6, and 7 are derived from data collected in the sample plots used to classify and describe site units. The plots were sampled in stands of mature vegetation. Some plants may be unique to a particular unit. This usually occurs at the extremes of the environmental gradient (e.g., in the driest or wettest units). Most sites, however, do not have unique plants and it is the relative abundance as well as the presence or absence of a group of plants that distinguishes one site unit from another.

Flowcharts for identifying site series

Flowcharts have been developed to help users identify site units for each variant. The flowcharts guide users through a series of statements about site characteristics associated with one or a group of units. In each case, the user successively chooses the statement that best fits the field observations until the site is ultimately “keyed out” to a unique site series. In general, the flowcharts contain abbreviated information that has been extracted from the vegetation and environment tables and site unit descriptions. Features that can be identified quickly and easily are emphasized in the flowcharts.

Environment tables

Tables that summarize environmental features associated with each site unit have also been created for each variant. The tables identify the soil moisture and nutrient regimes, common mesoslope position, percent slope, parent material, soil particle size, soil classification, humus form and depth, and other important site features.

Slope position (Figure 3.3) affects soil water movement on a slope. Up-per slopes shed water and are drier, lower slopes receive additional wa-ter and dissolved nutrients and are wetter and richer, and middle slopes are in water balance. The identification of site units involves evaluating the slope segment that directly affects water movement on the site.

Appendix 9 provides a key to surficial materials; Appendix 0 presents keys to common rock types. Parent material abbreviations used in the environment tables and landscape profiles are defined in Table 3.4.


The rooting zone soil particle size describes the grain size distribution of the mineral soil, including the coarse fragment content (>2 mm di-ameter portion), as opposed to just soil texture, which describes the fine earth (≤2 mm diameter) portion of the soil. Family groupings of par-ticle size class integrate a modified class of soil texture (Table 3.5), sim-

FIGURE 3.3 Mesoslope position diagram (B.C. Ministry of Forests and Range and B.C. Ministry of Environment 2010).

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Table 3.4 Abbreviations used to describe parent materials (modified from Howes and Kenk 1997)

Symbol Parent material Symbol Parent Material

C Colluvial M MorainalE Eolian O OrganicF Fluvial R BedrockFG Glaciofluvial D Weathered bedrock (saprolite)L Lacustrine W MarineWG Glaciomarine Modifiersv = veneer (<1 m deep); b = blanket (>1 m deep)


plified from the soil texture triangle (Appendix ), with information on percent coarse fragment content. Both soil texture and coarse fragment content affect the water-holding and nutrient-holding capacity of the soil, and soil drainage, porosity, and aeration. Rooting zone soil particle size is assessed as a weighted average for the mineral horizons in which rooting occurs (unless rooting is restricted to organic horizons).

Soils with <35% coarse fragments are not assigned a coarse fragment modifier (e.g., CL is coarse-loamy). Skeletal soils are symbolized by an “s” after the particle-size class (from Table 3.5), and are defined as soils with 35–70% coarse fragments (>2mm in diameter) by volume (e.g., CLs is coarse-loamy skeletal). Fragmental soils are symbolized by an “f,” regardless of the texture of fines, and consist of at least 70% coarse fragments (stones, cobbles, and gravel). Appendix provides a key for classifying soil texture and particle size in the field.

Soils are classified according to the Soil Classification Working Group (998). A soil classification key is provided in Appendix 2. Abbrevia-tions for soils are presented in Table 3.6.

Humus form reflects soil nutrient regime, as well as soil temperature, soil moisture, and soil aeration. Humus form is classified according to Green et al. (993). A key to humus form classification is provided in Appendix 3.

The environment tables may also identify other important site features, including localized climate conditions, such as wind or insolation, and soil features of interpretive importance.

TABLE 3.5 Abbreviations used to describe soil particle size (modified from Soil Classification Working Group 1998)

Symbol Soil particle size

C Clayey FL Fine loamyKL Coarse loamyL LoamyS Sandy

Symbol Soil particle size

Si SiltyO Organicf Fragmentals Skeletal


Landscape profiles

Slope profile diagrams schematically depict the typical location and relative productivity of site units in the landscape for each subzone and variant (Figure 3.4). The most common occurrence of colluvial, morainal, fluvial, organic, and bedrock parent materials is outlined, and the dominant tree species are illustrated with schematic figures (see Appendix 4 for tree species codes and symbols legend). Because one site factor can compensate for another (e.g., soil texture for slope position), a given site unit can potentially occupy a range of landscape positions. The size of the tree symbol on the landscape profile indicates the relative productivity of that species on the site.

The aids described above can be used to make a preliminary identifica-tion of the site series or a choice between two similar units. The site unit must then be confirmed by comparing the site, soil, and vegetation information collected with the site unit summary descriptions provided in this guide for each subzone and variant. The unit that has the best fit of plant indicator species and site and soil features should then be identified.

TABLE 3.6 Abbreviations for soil classification used in this field guide

Symbol Soil classification Symbol Soil classificationHFP Humo-Ferric Podzol G GleysolHP Humic Podzol LG Luvic GleysolFHP Ferro-Humic Podzol HG Humic GleysolDYB Dystric Brunisol M MesisolEB Eutric Brunisol H HumisolSB Sombric Brunisol F FibrisolMB Melanic Brunisol FO FolisolR Regosol LFO Lithic FolisolHR Humic Regosol HFO Humic Folisol


Integrating the site and vegetation information

In many situations, site identification derived from both environmental and vegetation analysis coincides. However, this is not always the case. Where vegetation analysis gives a wide-ranging or unreliable result be-cause of unsuitable floristic conditions, greater emphasis must be placed on environmental analysis. If vegetation analysis gives a distinct result that differs significantly from environmental analysis, the environmen-tal analysis should be examined in order to explain the discrepancy. For example, a flat, coarse-textured site that initially appears to be rela-tively dry based on environmental properties may have plants that are indicative of a moist soil moisture regime. A closer examination of the soil (e.g., through the use of a deeper soil pit) may reveal the presence of a fine-textured layer that is creating a temporary perched water table. If neither vegetation nor environmental analysis provides a definitive classification, the area should be examined to determine if it is in a climatic transition. If it is, the site series on the grid for the adjacent biogeoclimatic unit should be examined. An attempt should be made to identify the site series that has the closest fit, and any anomalies should be described and, if possible, explained.

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Figure 3.4 Example of a landscape profile diagram.


3.2.3 Identifying site series in seral stands

Historically, old-growth forest covered much of Haida Gwaii. Younger seral vegetation was restricted to areas disturbed by wind, landslides, or fire. Extensive forest harvesting over the past century has markedly increased the extent of second-growth forests on the islands. The eco-systems described in this guide are based on measurements of mature vegetation (late seral or old-growth forests), and so will differ in some characteristics from young seral forests.

Second-growth forests on Haida Gwaii, in general:• have a higher density of more uniformly sized trees than older

forests;• lack very large live trees and very large dead trees;• have a smaller proportion of western redcedar and a larger

proportion of red alder than older forests; and• have dense, uniform (i.e., gap-less) canopies, with darker

understoreys and less understorey vegetation than older forests.

The understorey vegetation communities described in this guide are most applicable to forest stands that are older than 50 years. Where second-growth tree density is high, a “nudum stage,” where understo-reys have very little vegetation except for bryophytes, will persist. Deer browsing in these young, dark forests will exacerbate this condition by eliminating what few plants get established.

Younger seral plant communities (particularly the shrub–herb stages that develop soon after disturbance) do not always reflect the moisture and nutrient status of the site as clearly as do mature communities. Following disturbance, for example, species such as red alder and salmonberry (Rubus spectabilis) often increase, while other species such as devil’s club (Oplopanax horridus) often decrease with exposure to light. During early establishment, the vegetation often reflects changes in light availability or surface disturbance, and relative regeneration capability and species regeneration and dispersal mechanisms rather than the actual soil nutrient and moisture regime of the site. Addition-ally, deer browse often greatly reduces vegetation cover. Therefore, for site identification, it is often necessary to rely more heavily on abiotic site indicators, such as slope position and soil features, than on plant indicators.


3.3 Mapping Site Units

An ecosystem map is a useful tool for conducting effective integrated resource planning and management. This is especially true when imple-menting ecosystem-based management, where the “ecosystems” are site series. A map provides a permanent record of the location and distribu-tion of ecosystems, and thus acts as a spatial framework for developing site-specific management prescriptions for all potential resource values. A map also provides a means of conducting long-term monitoring of management impacts and the subsequent refinement of management interpretations.

A map of the site units of Haida Gwaii has been assembled from vari-ous projects that have included Terrestrial Ecosystem Mapping (TEM), Predictive Ecosystem Mapping (PEM), and biophysical habitat mapping (Haida Gwaii Strategic Land Use Agreement 2009). This map is useful for broad planning purposes, but the degree of ground-checking and accuracy assessment varies among areas; therefore, the map should be used with caution when implementing site interpretation at finer scales. As the classification evolves and variant lines are mapped at finer scales, this mapping of site series will also continue to be refined.

For more information about Terrestrial Ecosystem Mapping and Predictive Ecosystem Mapping, see www.env.gov.bc.ca/ ecology/tem/.

Queen Charlotte butterweedPackera subnuda var. moresbiensis

Endemic to Haida Gwaii and scattered locations between

northern Vancouver Island and southeast Alaska



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