The Northern Forests and Algonquin

A friend of mine asked what sort of things grew in "the north", by which he and so many others mean anything past where the chain hotels stop popping up and every other store advertises selling worms for fishermen.  He assumed that coniferous trees dominate in scenes such as this:

The Nipissing River not far from Cedar Lake.  Thanks again to the McElroys, where the picture can be found at  http://www.mcelroy.ca/bushlog/20110829.shtml.

Expect more pictures here in September!

By and large, they do tend to pop up far more than they do south of the 43rd parallel or so, at least in eastern North America, but it surprised him to find out that many pines actually peter out in the wet, boggy soils of the Boreal forests.  For that matter, it came as a surprise that some birches, willows, alders, aspen, and even some maples make it pretty close to the Arctic treeline, albeit most in stunted form.  Algonquin, in fact, has forests that are a mixture of these trees.

While often not considered true Boreal because it lies in an ecotone blending the Boreal world with the mixed-forests of the Great Lakes region, Algonquin does have notably similar soil and climactic conditions as areas to the north, owing to its higher elevations and the lack of a buffer it has against winter chill descending from the Arctic.  While the Great Lakes and north eastern extensions of the Appalachians can otherwise shield everything to the south and south east of Algonquin, the northern paradise itself lies in a direct wind path to frigid James and Hudson Bays, bodies of water which are responsible for extending tundra conditions far south of where they would normally exist, and giving a boost to Arctic outbreaks that can reach into southern Florida and central Mexico.  Poor Algonquin, without so much as a large lake or mountain range to block this onslaught, stands little chance of passing for anything temperate.

Remember how I said there are some maples that make it pretty far north, though?  Well, it turns out that the glacial tills and higher elevations actually work in the favor of such notable species as the Sugar Maple (Acer Saccharum), which can range as far south as Texas.  In Algonquin, they reach their peak of perfection, forming a towering canopy over 100 feet tall and, along with the surrounding areas to the west and northeast, produce the best maple syrup in existence.  Sorry, Vermont, you just don't have the same intense contrast of Winter frigidity to sudden Spring release that makes these trees both thrive and unleash some really eager sap.  Nothing beats Ontario maples, and if you don't believe me, as the blog suggests, travel there!

Maples aside, there are some other trees that reach their pinnacle of perfection in Algonquin, notably the pines.  Our Eastern White Pines are among the finest in existence, and the reason for the creation of the park to begin with.

Oh, there will be lots and lots of pictures of these come September.

That said, you can still find your typical Boreal species here as well, namely lovely stands of Black Spruce (Picea Mariana) growing in bogs that look no different from stretches of land one can encounter near the tree line.  The difference is, they usually grow with a backdrop of the other trees mentioned.  While not the apex of the Boreal forest, Algonquin is definitely part of it, and far more than just a southern extension, which the Appalachians would better qualify for in parts.  Algonquin just happens to be a place where such a nice combination of growing conditions exist to support a diverse community of forests that can largely be classified as "northern" with some dashes of "southern" mixed in.  The healthy moose population certainly agrees.