Two ecoregions 
     
     in the zone. 
     
    
   
   
    
     Characteristic 
     
     trees. 
     
    
   
   
    
     Shrubs and 
     
     ground plan ts. 
     
    
   
   
    
     Silviculture. 
     
    
   
   
    
     The District is bounded on the north and west by coniferous forest on less rolling 
     
     land, swept by continuous light winds and cooler temperatures from the Gulf of 
     
     St. Lawrence. The soils are mainly loams and sandy Ioams of high fertility derived 
     
     from red micaceous sandstones (Whiteside, 1950). Coarser soils derived from 
     
     sandstone and conglomerate occur in the southeast. White pine is widespread on 
     
     light soils and, with red pine, should be favoured on abandoned lands of this type. 
     
     Pure stands of white spruce occur on old fields of heavier texture; this species 
     
     appears to be well suited to the District, especially in view of its resistance to wind 
     
     desiccation. [pp. 113—14] 
     
    
   
   
    
     RED SPRUCE — HEMLOCK — PINE ZONE 
     
    
   
   
    
     This Zone combines the two Ecoregions in the Maritime provinces in which red 
     
     spruce and hemlock attain their greatest prominence. One [the Clyde River — 
     
     Hal/fax ecoregion] includes most of the interior of western Nova Scotia, where red 
     
     oak is a common associate; the other [the Maritime Lowlands Ecoregion] occupies 
     
     much of the lowland of central Nova Scotia and eastern New Brunswick [plus 
     
     Prince Edward Island]. Heavy soils and imperfect drainage prevail in the latter 
     
     Ecoregion; sandy, generally shallow soils in the former. Red spruce and hemlock 
     
     have been depleted in both, but remnants of old—growth forest indicate the former 
     
     importance of these two species. It is the forests of this zone which, more than 
     
     any other, represent a distinctive forest in the Maritime Provinces. 
     
    

    
     (pp. 125-26] 
     
    
   
   
    
     Maritime Lowlands Ecoregion 
     
    
   
   
    
     Red spruce, black spruce, balsam fir, red maple, hemlock and white pine comprise 
     
     a distinctive forest association on the gentle relief of the lowlands in all three 
     
     Maritime Provinces. Jack pine is abundant on sandy soils, and black spruce 
     
     swamps and peat bogs cover extensive areas. Red maple and wire birch, rather 
     
     than red oak, predominate as fire types. Beech often forms pure stands on 
     
     exposed ridges, with scattered spruce and fir, but sugar maple and yellow birch 
     
     may be found on the larger hills. 
     
    
   
   
    
     The lesser vegetation of this Ecoregion reflects the generally poor drainage and 
     
     repeated cutting and burning. Witherod and rhodora are the common shrubs in 
     
     areas of repeated disturbance; in places they may so effectively control a site that 
     
     they exclude the softwood regeneration. Sheep laurel, mountain—holly and 
     
     speckled alder are other aggressors. Common smaller plants include Wintergreen, 
     
     gold-thread, naked miterwort, bunchberry, bristly clubmoss, sphagnum and 
     
     Schreber's moss. Mountain maple, wood fern and wood-sorrel are present, but 
     
     not as abundant as in the more humid Ecoregions. The relatively clean forest floor 
     
     under white pine, spruce, fir and cedar on a moderately well—drained loam is 
     
     illustrated in Fig.17 [not included here]. 
     
    
   
   
    
     Problems in the silviculture of this Ecoregion lie in the conversion of wire birch and 
     
     shrub—covered waste lands to suitable softwood species and in the establishment 
     
     of a suitable pine on the sandy soils where jack pine once predominated. Black 
     
     spruce regenerates on these sites, but does not grow as well as the pines. 
     
     Nickerson (1956) has suggested that in addition, it may be detrimental to the soil. 
     
     Most of the land dominated by shrubs is poorly drained, but appears to be a good 
     
     site for the spruces. Remnants of the oldest stumps on some of these sites have 
     
     been identified as pine, hemlock and cedar. 
     
    
   
   
    
     26