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Description: |
DISTRIBUTION: The CWHmm2
occurs at higher elevations along the leeward side
of the Vancouver Island Ranges, below the MH zone.
Elevational limits range from approximately 700
to 1100 m.
CLIMATE: Compared with the submontane variant,
the CWHmm2 has cooler temperatures, shorter growing
seasons, and heavier snowfall, with snowpacks persisting
throughout the winter. Like the submontane variant,
the CWHmm2 has a growing season water deficit from
the rainshadow effect of the Vancouver Island mountains.
Climatic data are lacking for this variant.
VEGETATION: Forests on zonal sites are dominated
by Hw, Ba, Fd, and minor amounts of Yc and Hm (more
common at upper elevations and on wetter sites).
The understorey features abundant Alaskan blueberry
and lesser amounts of salal, oval-leaved blueberry,
and black huckleberry. Rhytidiopsis robusta, Rhytidiadelphus
loreus, and Hylocomium splendens dominate the well-developed
moss layer. A history of wildfires has contributed
to the relatively large stand component of Fd throughout
the CWHmm2.
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