Biodiversity and composition of understory plant communities in the boreal mixedwood forest

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The understory plant community (shrubs and non-woody plants growing under canopy trees) is an important component of forest biodiversity. It provides habitat for a diversity of living organisms and is a driver of ecosystem processes. In forests, canopy trees influence the understory through direct competition and also through effects on environmental conditions important for understory plants (e.g., microsites for establishment, soil pH and nutrient availability, microclimate). Trees can also influence the severity of disturbance by fire, which in turn affects post-fire redevelopment of the understory. On mesic sites in the boreal plain of western Canada forests are dominated by varying combinations of trembling aspen and white spruce. These two tree species differ in their effects on fire severity and on environmental conditions for the understory. Their relative abundance, therefore, has important implications for the composition and biodiversity of understory plant communities in mixedwood landscapes.