DISTRIBUTION AND OCCURRENCE
SPECIES: Betula glandulosa | Bog Birch 



GENERAL DISTRIBUTION : 
Bog birch is widely distributed from the interior of Alaska across
northern Canada to Labrador and Greenland [60].  In the West, it is
found from coastal British Columbia in the mountains to California and
Colorado [23,63].  In the northeastern United States bog birch is found
in Maine and New Hampshire [48].  Betula pumila var. glandulifera
inhabits North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, New
York, and much of southeastern Canada [4,17,51].  In Idaho, British
Columbia, and Alberta both the type specimen of Betula glandulosa and
Betula pumila var. glandulifera occur [6].


ECOSYSTEMS : 
   FRES11  Spruce - fir
   FRES20  Douglas-fir
   FRES21  Ponderosa pine
   FRES23  Fir - spruce
   FRES26  Lodgepole pine
   FRES44  Alpine


STATES : 
     AK  CA  CO  ID  ME  MT  NH  OR  UT  WA
     WY  AB  BC  MB  NF  NT  NS  ON  PQ  SK
     YT


ADMINISTRATIVE UNITS : 
     CRMO  DENA  GLAC  GRTE  LACL  NOCA
     OLYM  ROMO  TICA  VOYA  WRST  YELL
     YUCH


BLM PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGIONS : 
    2  Cascade Mountains
    4  Sierra Mountains
    8  Northern Rocky Mountains
    9  Middle Rocky Mountains
   10  Wyoming Basin
   11  Southern Rocky Mountains
   16  Upper Missouri Basin and Broken Lands


KUCHLER PLANT ASSOCIATIONS : 
   K008  Lodgepole pine - subalpine forest
   K012  Douglas-fir forest
   K015  Western spruce - fir forest
   K018  Pine - Douglas-fir forest
   K021  Southwestern spruce - fir forest
   K037  Mountain mahogany - oak scrub
   K052  Alpine meadows and barren
   K093  Great Lakes spruce - forest (B. pumila var. glandulifera)
   K094  Conifer bog (B. pumila var. glandulifera)


SAF COVER TYPES : 
    12  Black spruce (B. pumila var. glandulifera)
    13  Black spruce - tamarack (B. pumila var. glandulifera)
    38  Tamarack (B. pumila var. glandulifera)
   107  White spruce
   201  White spruce
   202  White spruce - paper birch
   203  Balsam poplar
   204  Black spruce
   206  Engelmann spruce - subalpine fir
   210  Interior Douglas-fir
   217  Aspen
   218  Lodgepole pine
   251  White spruce - aspen
   252  Paper birch
   253  Black spruce - white spruce
   254  Black spruce - paper birch


SRM (RANGELAND) COVER TYPES : 
NO-ENTRY


HABITAT TYPES AND PLANT COMMUNITIES : 
In the boreal forests of interior Alaska and Canada, bog birch is found
in many black spruce (Picea mariana) and white spruce (P. glauca)
communities and is especially common at the western, northern, and
altitudinal limit of trees [44,58,60].  In these northern environments,
permafrost prevents the percolation of water, resulting in the
development of muskegs, bogs, and ponds which often impede the growth of
trees, but which support many low growing shrubs such as bog birch,
bog-rosemary (Andromeda polifolia), dwarf arctic birch (Betula nana),
and Labrador-tea (Ledum spp.) [14,60].  Over vast areas of the arctic,
moist tundra is characterized by continuous and uniformly developed
cottongrass (Eriophorum spp.) occasionally interspersed with shrubs
including bog birch [60].  Bog birch occurs on these wet sites but may
also be found on many cool and dry to mesic spruce sites where it may
form a continuous tall shrub layer [14].  Near treeline bog birch often
forms extensive pure stands [55] or shrubfields with alders (Alnus spp.)
and willows (Salix spp.) [60,61].

In southwestern Canada and the contiguous United States bog birch most
often occurs on wetland sites within lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta),
Engelmann spruce (Picea engelmanii), or subalpine fir (Abies lasiocarpa)
forest types and is often associated with alders and willows
[27,29,39,61].

Associated species:  In the interior of Alaska and Canada, bog birch is
often present in the understory of black and white spruce communities.
Commonly associated shrubs throughout the range of this species include
grayleaf willow (Salix glauca), Lemmon willow (S. lemmonii), Geyer
willow (S. geyerana), Booth willow (S. boothii), thinleaf alder (Alnus
incana ssp. tenuifolia), green alder (A. viridis ssp. crispa), prickly
rose (Rosa acicularis), Douglas spirea (Spiraea douglasii), bog
blueberry (Vaccinium uliginosum), mountain cranberry (V. vitis-idaea),
Labrador tea (Ledum groenlandicum), and red-osier dogwood (Cornus
sericea) [14,29,39,43,44,61].  Commonly associated grasses and sedges
include water sedge (Carex aquatilis), soft-leaved sedge (C. disperma),
beaked sedge (C. rostrata), bluejoint reedgrass (Calamagrostis
canadensis), and tufted hairgrass (Deschampsia cespitosa) [43,44,63].
Horsetails (Equisetum spp.) and rushes (Juncus spp.) are also often
found with bog birch [43,44].

Publications listing bog birch as a dominant, codominant, or indicator
species include:

Classification, description, and dynamics of plant communities after
  fire in the taiga of interior Alaska [14]
Riparian dominance types of Montana [18]
Plant associations of Region Two: Potential plant communities of
  Wyoming, South Dakota, Nebraska, Colorado, and Kansas [24]
Forest vegetation of the Gunnison and parts of the Uncompahgre National
  Forests: a preliminary habitat type classification [28]
Riparian zone associations: Deschutes, Ochoco, Fremont, and Winema
  National Forests [29]
A physical and biological characterization of riparian habitat and its
  importance to wildlife in Wyoming [39
Wetland community type classification for west-central Montana [43]
Ecosystem classification and interpretation of the sub-boreal spruce
  zone, Prince Rupert Forest Region, British Columbia [44]
The Alaska vegetation classification [58]

Related categories for Species: Betula glandulosa | Bog Birch