Virtual Biome: Open, low-growing Spruce Forest

This 360 º virtual biome tour is taken off of Ballaine road in Fairbanks, Alaska.

 

The  open, low-growing spruce forest is associated with north-facing slopes and poorly drained lowlands. and are usually underlain by permafrost.   Black spruce (Picea mariana) and bogs are prominent in this forest biome. A thick moss mat often of Spaghnum, sedges (Carex), grasses (Poaceae), and heaths or ericaceous shrubs make up the understory of the these spruce forests.   Another conifer associated with the wet bottomlands is the slow-growing tamarack (Larix   laricina). Other shrubs found in this biome include red-fruit barberry (Arctuous rubra), crowberry (Empetrum nigrum),  labrador tea (Ledum groenlandicum), bog blueberry (Vaccinium uligonosum), and various willows (Salix ssp.).