Shown is a mixed deciduous-coniferous forest. Red spruce, one of the species of trees found naturally in the Atlantic Maritime Ecozone, can be seen in the middle of the image.
Shown is a mixed deciduous-coniferous forest. Red spruce, one of the species of trees found naturally in the Atlantic Maritime Ecozone, can be seen in the middle of the image.
Forests in the Atlantic Maritime Ecozone are mixed deciduous-coniferous. The acidic soil of the region is very well suited for the growth of trees. As a result, there are many densely forested areas in this ecozone. Forestry is an extremely important aspect of human industry in this area, forming one of the four pillars of the region's economy (with the other three being tourism, agriculture and fishing). Due to agriculture and other human activities, almost all forests found in this ecozone are second or third-growth. This means that the forest was once removed, but regenerated. Common species of trees found here include white pine, red pine, red spuce, sugar maple, red oak and yellow birch.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
The soil of the Atlantic Maritime Ecozone is acidic, and this affects the types of plants which can grow in the region. Plants which are better adapted to grow in an acidic soil are more common in this region. Examples of these plants include sphagnum moss, blueberries, lady slipper and steeplebush.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
The soil of the Atlantic Maritime Ecozone is a leached wet-climate soil. This is a result of heavy rainfall which moves nutrients from the A soil layer to the B soil layer in a process known as leaching. This results in a nutrient-poor topsoil layer, and a very large intermediate "B" layer between topsoil and bedrock. The soil of this region is also acidic. These two factors, paired with the heavy precipitation, directly affect what types of plants can live in the ecozone.