Characteristic Plants Jack Pine Forest These plants are frequently found in this community type. Those with an asterisk are State Rank S1 nutrient poor, and well drained to often diagnostic of this community. excessively well drained. In the one area Canopy Community Description sampled, charcoal was found between Balsam fir This closed canopy forest is the shallow organic layer and the Black spruce dominated by jack pine. Black or red mineral soil horizons. Heart-leaved paper birch spruce and balsam fir are common Jack pine* associates (up to 20% cover and may Diagnostics Red pine be more common in the understory), These are closed canopy forests with Sapling/shrub and red pine may be mixed with jack jack pine dominant in canopy; black Black spruce pine in some areas. With the dense spruce and/or red pine are common Red-stemmed Moss Dwarf Shrub canopy, shrubs and herbs are limited and locally abundant associates. Lowbush blueberry Jack Pine Forest in extent. Lowbush blueberry and lakes. Spruce - Heath Barrens are Sheep laurel boreal herbs such as bunchberry Similar Types ecologically similar, with many of the Herb and Canada mayflower are typically Jack Pine Woodlands occur on bedrock, same species of boreal affinities. They Bracken fern present. The bryoid layer is very well have a partial canopy with a well may be either open or closed canopy Bunchberry developed, with an almost continuous developed shrub or dwarf shrub layer, and lack jack pine. Canada mayflower carpet of feather-mosses in places. and are found either near the Downeast Creeping snowberry In these forests, jack pine requires coast or on the shores of certain inland Conservation, Wildlife, and Bryoid natural or human-caused disturbance Management Considerations Red-stemmed moss* to stimulate seed germination, and Location Map This is likely a disturbance dependant hence to regenerate. In Maine, Jack community, with fire the primary Pine Forests would eventually succeed natural disturbance agent. In the Distribution to spruce and fir without clearcuts or limited area from which this type is Limited to a small portion of fire. known in Maine, most of the jack pine northwestern Maine (New England- forest has been clearcut within the last Adirondack Province); more widespread Soil and Site Characteristics 25 years and is now growing back as in the uppermost midwest and adjacent These forests are found on flat or young jack pine forest. In areas where Canada. rolling terrain at moderate elevations mature jack pine has not been cut, north of 45 degrees latitude. The regeneration is primarily red or black Landscape Pattern: Large Patch coarse textured soils are acidic, spruce. Most of the known jack pine forest is on commercial forest land, with Examples on Conservation a small proportion on conservation Lands You Can Visit land. • Holeb - Attean Pond Public Lands – Somerset Co. Jack pine forests provide nesting habitat for coniferous forest specialists. They may also be inhabited by uncommon moths such as the western pine elfin, which often uses jack pine as a larval host plant in the Midwest and black spruce in the east. Canada Mayflower Maine Natural Areas Program