Biophysical (ecological) inventory of Yoho National Park ... · Superintendent J.R . Pilon; K . Seel and G. Rutherford for assistance with drafting of the maps and R . Robertson for

Agricultur eCanada

Research

Direction général eBranch

de la recherche

~_~

Biophysical (ecological )inventory of Yoho NationalPark, British Columbia,Canada

Canad'â.

Biophysical (ecological )inventory of Yoho NationalPark, British Columbia ,Canada.GERALD M. COENLand Resource Research InstituteSoil SurveyEdmonton, Alberta

PETER KUCHARConsultan t

LRRI Contribution No . 82-20Alberta Institute of Pedology No . M-82-2

Research BranchAgriculture Canada1982

Copies of this publication are available from :Dr . G . M. Coe nAlberta Soil Survey Uni tAgriculture Canada - Soil Surve y6th Floor, Terrace Plaza Tower4445 Calgary Trail Sout hEdmonton, AlbertaT6H 2C3

Produced by Research Program Service

© Minister of Supply and Services Canada 1982

TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF FIGURES v .

LIST OF TABLES v i

PREFACE vi i

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS vii i

SUMMARY i x

INTRODUCTION . . . .

. 1LOCATION AND EXTENT 1PHYSIOGRAPHY AND GEOLOGY 1CLIMATE 1VEGETATION 3

General Vegetation Pattern 3Vegetation Zonation 3

SOILS 4MAN AND THE PARK 4

METHODOLOGY 6VEGETATION CLASSIFICATION AND MAPPING 6

Philosophy 6Classification of Yoho Vegetation 6Mapping of Yoho Vegetation 7

SOIL CLASSIFICATION AND MAPPING 9Philosophy 9Classification of Yoho Soils 9Mapping of Yoho Soils 1 0

BIOPHYSICAL CLASSIFICATION AND MAPPING 1 3Philosophy 1 3Overview of Biophysical Relationships 1 3

BIOPHYSICAL MAP UNIT DESCRIPTIONS 2 5BIOPHYSICAL MAP UNITS : 25

BC-Se 25BC-w ' 26BG -A 26BG -DN 28BG -DP 28BG -P 2 9BG -SD 30BG -SD(b) 3 1BG -SD(LS) 32BG -SF 33BG -SF(b) 34BG-SF(LS) 35BG -TB 3 5BG-TD 3 7BG-TS 38CM-SF 3 9

iii

Or

NN

Md-LC

)lO1-, C

QO

IO

rN

Mdr

d•LA

l0C

OO

lOr

NM

d'L

f)LC

)101~

CO

0T

Or

N N

CO

dr

LC)I.C

)lOC

OO

lO

r-rN

NC

Md

d- L!)d'd

"d'

d'd

'd'd

'L1iL

C)

LC)LC

)L!)L!)LC)

LC)Ll)L

nU

~10

10 10 10 10 101O

101o10

101~1~

~~

1\~

~n~

r\r

\000O

0OCO

COO

O00C

O0 0

N

..~

.

. ~.

.

..~

..

.

.>

,

J.

.

..~

~d

d

.

-•r-)

-. 1

3

-

•. U

000

• -

• .0

Q

.

.N

OLL N

LL O

LLIL

EN

1-1

-

-J

U.u. u.

f-O

liLid

O_

JJ

-d L

a

Û

0 NL

LL

iOtlc

l)U

lia~

l-

•2

iJ~

O1-N

NaN

0aN

N2a

-NN

3L.L

_u-L

bN

NN

OaaN

NN

NN

2lb

(bL.L_u..320

n.N

NaV

)üaN

Nc1)

V) •

-1

1

1

1

1

I

1

1

1I

1

1

1

I

1

1

1

I

1

1

1

I

1

I

1

1

1

I

1

I

I

1

1

I

1

1

1

I

1

I

1J 1

•+ u

_ L

-3

u_a

OO

NN

JJJJ

►-~~--~a-I0000U

' C,32JJJJJJJJO

QQ

QQ

OO

CC

Ctf C

t Q~

1 1

11

000001-

LLIL_

LL_Y

YY

YZ

OO

OO

OO

OO

OO

OO

OO

ON

NN

NN

NF-

F-I-

HF-

1-333

30--13

C'3

MW

CeW

Ce

UWN

. •.N

..~

.,~

.Z

.5

R -aL 8 5X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 5R . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86T . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86M . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 7I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 7z . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88

REFERENCES 89

APPENDIX - Common and scientific names used in this report 9 1

LIST OF FIGURE S

Figure 1 - Location of Yoho National Park xii

Figure 2 - Rugged terrain of Yoho National Park sculpture dfrom sedimentary rocks by glaciers and modified byerosion (Goodsir Mountains) 2

Figure 3 - Construction of railways, highways, townsites an dother developments influence the ecosystems andaesthetics of the area . The Upper Spiral Tunnel on theCanadian Pacific Railway, Yoho National Park 5

Figure 4 - Components of the Montane zone, Lodgepole pin eforests (right) are frequently associated with Orthi cEutric Brunisol soils (left) 1 5

Figure 5 - Components of the Lower Subalpine zone . Spruce-fi rforests (right) are frequently associated with Orthi cHumo-Ferric Podzol soils (left) 1 5

Figure 6 - Components of the Upper Subalpine zone . Openspruce-fir forests (right) are frequently associated wit hOrthic Humo-Ferric Podzol soils (left) 1 7

Figure 7 - Components of the Alpine zone . Heath-tundr avegetation (right) is frequently associated with Sombri cFerro-Humic Podzol soils (left) 1 7

v

LIST OF TABLE S

Table 1 - Vegetation map units (1 :25,000 scale) 8

Table 2 - Major characteristics of soilscape map units (fro mCoen et al . 1977) 1 1

Table 3 - Biophysical map unit concepts and their respectiv esoil and vegetation components 21

Table 4 - Attributes of the biophysical map unit concept sarranged in alphabetical order 23

vi

PREFACE

The biophysical (ecological) inventory of Yoho National Par kwas undertaken at the request of Parks Canada to provide a map o flandforms, soils and vegetation to facilitate their landmanagement decisions . The development of integrated biophysica lmap unit concepts emphasizes the soil-vegetation relationship sand displays these natural resources using one set of polygons .

Maps included with and constituting an integral part of thi sreport provide a mechanism for extrapolating from site specifi cresearch data to an areal expression of the landscape and from a narea of known response to a similar area where experience i slimited . For example, if a new campground is to be located in abiophysical map unit of the same kind as one in which an existin gcampground is located, then over a similar period of time an dwith similar use, the landscape could be expected to respond t othe new campground in much the same way as it did to the existin gcampground . The response of an existing campsite would likel ysuggest some of the weaknesses of that ecosystem to withstand th eimposed use and thereby indicate some ameliorating measures whic hcould be taken . This is one way the user, without specializedtraining, can benefit from the information contained herein .

This report provides a brief introduction to the natura lhistory of Yoho National Park and then discusses the methodolog yused to prepare the maps . The map unit descriptions comprise thebulk of the report and provide a detailed description of the ma punits outlined in the legend . This report and map is a derivativ edocument based on previous reports by the authors, and mor edetailed information may be gained by consulting thes epublications .

The smallest delineation on the map is approximatel yone-half centimeter square which at a scale of 1 :50,00 0corresponds to about 12 ha (30 acres) . Delineations this smal lwere made only to separate highly contrasting ecological areas ;in most cases areas smaller than 1 centimeter square on the ma por 25 ha (60 acres) on the ground were not delineated . Thus ,field inspections should preceed management decisions involvin gan area of less than 25 ha, or a tract where a contrastin gecological area of up to 25 ha would affect the decision . Becaus eof the variability of ecological factors over very shor tdistances, this report does not substitute for on-sit einspections by qualified specialists . It should, however, reduc ethe number of areas to be considered or allow managemen tdecisions for more or less extensive areas .

vii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The Biophysical (Ecological) Inventory of Yoho National Par k(Canada) was compiled under the auspices of Agriculture Canada ,Land Resource Research Institute, Soil Survey, Edmonton, i ncooperation with the other member agencies of the Albert aInstitute of Pedology . Financial assistance was provided by th eDepartment of Indian and Northern Affairs, Parks Canada, unde rcontract No . WR 42-75 . The University of Alberta providedlaboratory and office space .

The authors wish to express their appreciation to Park sCanada staff whose assistance and forbearance is gratefull yrecognized, in particular : P .A . Benson, C . Zinkan and D .L . Day ,Resource Studies Managers from Western Region Office : ParkSuperintendent J .R . Pilon ; K . Seel and G . Rutherford forassistance with drafting of the maps and R . Robertson for usefu ldiscussions .

To J . Tajek and I . Fisher go thanks for map checking an dediting, and to C . Lirette and M .A . Hooper for typing and to P .L .Achuff, W .D . Holland, J .A . Shields and W .W . Pettapiece thanks fo ra critical review of the manuscript .

The cooperation and support of the members of the Albert aInstitute of Pedology is recognized .

viii

SUMMAR Y

The biophysical (ecological) inventory of Yoho National Par kcovers an area of just over 1300 square kilometers situate daround 50° 50'N and 116° 30' W in southeastern British Columbia .This rugged mountainous area west of the Continental Divide ha speaks up to 3540 m asl with most valley bottoms above 1000 m asl .

Climate of the area is characterized by very changeabl eweather, being influenced by both dry Polar Continental and mois tPolar Maritime air masses . A mean annual temperature of 2 .8° Cand total yearly precipitation of about 560 mm (40% as snow) i sreported in the valley bottoms with considerably cooler an dmoister conditions prevailing near the tree line .

The contorted, sedimentary geologic strata in Yoho have bee nstrongly modified by glacial and post-glacial erosion . Theresulting medium textured, calcareous till along with fluvial an dcolluvial deposits provide the parent materials for most soils i nthe Park .

The biophysical map unit concepts were developed by firs tdividing the landscape into Montane, Lower Subalpine, UpperSubalpine and Alpine vegetation zones . Within these zone sglaciofluvial, fluvial, glaciolacustrine, morainal, and colluvia llandforms were recognized . Parameters, besides vegetation zoneand landform, used to define the concept of specific map unit sinclude : texture and coarse fragments, drainage class, soi ltaxonomy as it reflects ecological groupings, and changes i nvegetation type (which often reflect moisture regime) .Integration of these soil and landscape characteristics resultedin ecological landscape areas which were commonly repetitive .

The map legend consisted of 64 map unit concepts which wer eused to identify map delineations, some as small as about 12 h ain situations where changes in the landscape were highl ycontrasting and abrupt . The report provides map unit description sfor each of the map units developed for this inventory .

Good correlation occurs between soils and vegetation wher ethe landforms are sufficiently stable to allow the soil horizon sto develop and where vegetation disturbance has been sufficientl ysmall to allow near climax vegetation . In the Montane zone whit espruce and Douglas fir communities are associated with Eluviate dEutric and Orthic Eutric Brunisols, whereas the spruce-subalpin efir forests of the Lower Subalpine zone are associated wit hEluviated Eutric Brunisol and Orthic Humo-Ferric Podzol soils . I nthe Upper Subalpine zone spruce-subalpine fir forests with ope ncanopies are associated with Orthic Humo-Ferric Podzols with thi nAh horizons . Alpine zone heath tundra vegetation is associate dwith Sombric Humo-Ferric Podzol soils with thicker Ah horizons .

ix

RESUME

L'étude biophysique (écologique) du parc national de Yoho a u

sud-est de la Colombie-Britannique couvre un territoire d'un pe uplus de 1 300 kilomètres carrés situé à une latitude et un elongitude de 50°50' N et 116°30' 0 . Cette région accidentée, qu isétend à l'ouest de la ligne continentale de partage des eaux ,

dresse ses sommets jusqu'à 3 540 m d'altitude et le fond de l aplupart de ses vallées se situe à plus de 1 000 m .

Le climat de la région est caractérisé par un climat tr èchangeant, influencé à la fois par les masses d'air continentale s

polaires sèches et maritimes humides . Dans les vallées, l atempérature moyenne annuelle est de 2,8°C et la précipitatio ntotale d'environ 560 mm (dont 40% sous forme de neige) ; le sconditions météorologiques près de la limite forestière son t

considérablement plus fratches et humides .

Les strates géologique sédimentaires toutmentees du parc Yoh o

ont été fortemenet modifiées par l'érosion glaciaire e tpost-glaciaire, produisant un till calcaire de texture moyenn e

ainsi que des dépôts fluviaux et colluviaux, qui constituent le smatériaux d'origine de la plupart des sols du parc .

Les unités cartographiques biophysiques ont été établie sd'abord en divisant la paysage et 4 zones de végétatio n

montagneuse, subalpine inférieure, subalpine supérieure e talpine . Puis ces zones principales ont été subdivisées en zone s

fluvio-glaciaires, fluviales, glacio-acustres, morainiques e tcolluviales selon le type de modelé .

En plus de la végétation et du relief, les paramètre sutilisés dans la définition des unités cartographique s

particulières,comprennent la texture de la présence de fragment sgrossiers, la classe de drainage, la taxinomie des sols relié e

aux groupements écologiques et les changements dans le type d evégétation (souvent reflet du régime hydrique) . L'intégration d e

ces caractères des sols et du paysage a produit des zones d epaysage écologiques assez répétitives .

La légende de cette carte comporte 64 concepts utilisés pou ridentifier les délimitations des zones dont les plus petite s

mesurent à peine 12 hectares, dans les situations de paysag efortement contrasté et abrupt . Le rapport définit chacune de s

unités cartographiques élaborées durant cet inventaire .

Une bonne corrélation s'observe entre des sols et l a

végétation là où le sol est suffisamment stable pour permettre l a

formation d'horizons et où les perturbations de la végétatio n

n'ont pas empéché la formation d'un état quasiclimacique . Dan s

X

la zone montagneuse, les communautés a épinette blanche et asapin de Douglas son associées à des brunisols eutriques élavé set des brunisols eutriques orthiques, tandis que les forets àépinetter et à sapins de la zone subalpine inférieure croissen tsur des brunisols eutriques éluviés et des podzols humoferrique sorthiques . Dans la zone subalpine supérieure, les forêts claire sd'épinette et de sapin sont associées à des podzols orthique shumo-ferrique à horizon Ah Mince . La toundra à Ericacées de l azone alpine est associée à des podzols sombriques humo-ferrique sà horizon Ah plus épais .

xi

Yt.'\ yK2i -.

N. W T.r

-- - It

BRITIS H

COLUMBIA

ALBERT A

I

11I

11

1EDMONTO No 1

YOHONAT/ONAL

CALGAR YPARK

o

VANCOUVE R

-•-•--•-.`.-J

116''45'

116°15'

Figure 1 - Location of Yoho National Park .

U. S . A .

xii

1

INTRODUCTION

LOCATION AND EXTENT

Yoho National Park is located in southeastern Britis hColumbia (Fig . 1) . The Park is shaped roughly like a diamond wit hits northernmost point at approximately 51° 48' N, its mos teasterly point at approximately 116° 15' W, its southernmos tpoint at approximately 50° 57' N, and its most westerly point a tapproximately 116° 49' W . The northeastern Park boundary i ssituated on the Continental Divide coincident with the Britis hColumbia-Alberta border and Banff National Park, and to th esoutheast is bounded by Kootenay National Park along a portion o fits border .

The area of Yoho National Park is about 1313 squar ekilometers . It is about 35 km wide at its widest east-wes tdimension and about 56 km at its longest north-south dimension .

PHYSIOGRAPHY AND GEOLOG Y

Yoho National Park is situated in the Continental Ranges o fthe Southern Rocky Mountains which is within the Eastern Syste mof the Cordilleran Physiographic Region (Bostock 1968) . Therugged terrain of Yoho National Park was sculptured fro mstratified sedimentary rocks by alpine glaciers and subsequentl ymodified by ongoing erosion and weathering (Fig . 2) . The foldedand contorted sedimentary and metasedimentary rocks whic hcomprise most of the exposed bedrock are generally calcareou sexcept for the massive non-calcareous quartzites in the Lak eO'Hara area (Douglas et al . 1968, Cook 1975) . Glaciation has lef ta mantle of drift covering the valleys, excluding the steep roc kwalls, to an elevation of about 2200 m asl and often higher (Dre w1975, Fox 1974) .

Water erosion and mass wasting have also been important i nshaping the modern landforms of Yoho National Park . Fluvial fansand terraces and colluviating landforms evident throughout th ePark are indications of the importance of this erosion an dweathering .

CLIMAT E

Climate in Yoho National Park is determined by its positio nimmediately west of the Continental Divide where conditions ar emoderated by the Maritime air masses from the Pacific coast .

2

Figure 2 . Rugged Terrain of Yoho National Park sculpture dfrom sedimentary rocks by glaciers and modified by erosio n(Goodsir Mountains' .

Changeability of the weather is a very important climati ccharacteristic and is largely determined by frequency and type o fair masses affecting the area . In this portion of the

nadia nRockies weather is determined mainly by two air masses

22 . Polar Maritime air masses which originate over the Pacifi c

Ocean, As these moist, warm air masses move eastward acros sthe mountain ranges, they become progressively cooler and

1drier, losing their moisture through precipitation on th ewest facing slopes (Chapman 1952, Heuser 1956, Janz and Stor r1977) .

The local climate of Yoho National Park is characterized b ya mean annual temperature of 2 .8° C with five winter monthshaving mean temperatures below 0' C and four months having mea ntemperatures higher than 5° C . In July the mean temperature i susually higher than 15° C . Total annual precipitation is abou t500 mm of which 40% falls as snow . According to criteri asuggested by the Soil Research Institute and Plant Research

-.-

Polar Continental air masses which originate in the Yukon and

_

Alaska . These air masses are cold and dry in the winter an dwarm and dry in the summer . Southward movement of these ai rmasses is parallel to the trend of the major valleys, andthus largely unrestricted .

3

Institute staff (1972), the climate is referred to as humid t osubhumid cold cryoboreal .

VEGETATION

General Vegetation Patter n

About 50% of the park is covered by coniferous forest .Bare rock, mostly above timberline occupies another 30% .Glaciers, ice and snow cover another 10%, and the remainin g10% is covered by non-forest vegetation . There are noextensive areas of grassland or scrub . Non-grassy meadows ar enumerous and varied but at the same time small and limited i ntheir total effect on the landscape (Kuchar 1978) .

Lodgepole pine forests and spruce forests are the mos twidespread vegetation types . Douglas fir, whitebark pine an dsubalpine fir and/or subalpine larch forests are less common .Western red cedar forests occur locally in the wester nportion of the Park (Kuchar 1978) .

Vegetation Zonation

In Yoho National Park the Montane-Subalpine transitio noccurs at about 1600 m asl, which is close to the major soi ltransition from dominantly Brunisolic soils to those with atransitional Brunisolic-Podzolic character . Roughlea fricegrass, Douglas fir and trembling aspen, which provid econvenient clues to identify the Montane zone, rarely occu rabove 1600 m asl .

Natural timberline in Yoho occurs at about 2100 m asl ,but there is some controversy in the literature (Love 1979 )as to what constitutes Alpine versus Subalpine . In Yoho i twas possible to make the separation quite distinctly usin gfloristic criteria . Plants such as golden fleabane, alpin esandwort, blaçk alpine sedge and western anemone are commo nin the Alpine zone whereas stickseeds, cow parsnip and meadowrue are indications of the Subalpine zone (Kuchar 1978) .

For the purposes of this report Montane, Lowe rSubalpine, Upper Subalpine, and Alpine zones were recognized .Most biophysical map units fell exclusively into one or th eother of these zones but a category of Montane-Subalpine wa sdefined to identify those map units which were identifie dwithin both the Montane and the Subalpine . The Subalpinezone, as recognized by the preceding criteria, was subdivide dinto a Lower Subalpine zone having greater than 30% canop ycover and an Upper Subalpine zone having less than 30% canop ycover .

4

SOILS

Soils in Yoho National Park are generally derived fro mmedium textured calcareous materials . The relatively thin profil edevelopment of most soils reflects the humid and subhumid climat eand unstable geomorphic conditions resulting from steep slopes . Aubiquitous layer of wind transported material has been deposite dthroughout the Park and wherever stable landforms occur the uppe rsolum is developed in this relatively stone-free material .Horizons appear to develop more quickly and strongly in thi sloose, low bulk density material than in the adjacent dense till .The generally thin solum and often thin unconsolidated materia lover bedrock provide a medium for plant growth which is fairl ysusceptible to destruction through erosion or other disturbances .

The soil forming factors of climate, living organisms ,topography, nature of the parent material, and time (Jenny 1941 ,Brady 1974) contribute to the different kinds of soils in Yoh oNational Park . To provide an overview, soils of Yoho Nationa lPark can be grouped into five broad categories distinguished o nmorphological evidence of their genetic development . These groupsassociated with and identified according to the followin gconvention are :

1. Soils of the Montane zon e

2. Soils of the Montane-Subalpine zone

3. Soils of the Subalpine zone

4. Soils of the Upper Subalpine zone

5. Soils of the Alpine zone

The Brunisolic soils in the Montane zone grade with increasin gelevation to Podzolic soils in the Lower and Upper Subalpine andfurther to Sombric Humo-Ferric Podzols in the Alpine zone .Because of unstable geomorphic conditions associated with stee pslopes and floodplains, soils of the Montane-Subalpine zone ar eclassified as being dominantly in the Regosolic and Gleysoli cOrders .

MAN AND THE PARK

The completion of the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1885 an dthe creation of, first a park reserve of ten square miles (2 6square kilometers) in 1886, and finally a National Park in 1911 ,were important events in the history of the area now known a sYoho National Park (Getty 1972) . These events and associate dactivities have resulted in modification of the landscape an decosystems resulting from mining, road and townsite construction ,lumbering, and fires (Fig . 3) . The attractriveness of th emagnificent scenery and extensive areas of wilderness to

5

C

backpackers and hikers results in continued pressure on th e_cosystems within Yoho National Park . This biophysical inventor ywas undertaken to identify and locate the natural resources o fthe Park and in this way to assist parks personnel in makin gappropriate decisions .

ti

rit

~

Figure 3 . Construction of railways, highways, townsites an dother developments influence the ecosystems and aesthetics o fthe area . The Upper Spiral Tunnel on the Canadian Pacifi cRailway, Yoho National Park .

~T--~:-

. : ~ . •-_ -ter

__ --

6

METHODOLOGY

Independent inventories of the vegetation and soils-landforms o fthis Park were previously conducted by Kuchar (1978) and Coen e tal . (1977) respectively . A brief description of the mappin gphilosophies of these two inventories will provide backgroun duseful in appreciating the information in this combine dbiophysical report .

VEGETATION CLASSIFICATION AND MAPPING

Philosophy

In an extensive vegetation survey the aim is to maximizethe general information within the time constraints . It wa simpossible to gather exhaustive data from many sites, an dinappropriate to gather very detailed data at a few site swhile ignoring the remainder, or to extrapolate from the fewintensive sites . Consequently it was necessary to obtai nbasic and widescale information : what is there, roughly it sabundance and general environmental conditions . A little dat afrom many stands will usually be much more informative than agreat deal of data from a small number of stands, and wil lbring one much nearer to a correct interpretation an ddescription of the vegetation . Kuchar (1978, p . 62) states :

"Bearing in mind from the outset that this was par tof an inventory program, I came, I saw, I classified .In contrast some plant ecologists (e .g . Daubenmir e1952) do not classify what they see but prefer t oextrapolate potential climax vegetation types .Although this has value in characterizing habita tpotential, and can help to reconstruct successiona lstages, it is useless for the very practical purpos eof telling us what is there now . It doesn't help abit, for example, to call an area Douglas fir-re dcedar climax when in actual fact it is youn glodgepole pine . "

Classification of Yoho Vegetatio n

Vegetation Type was selected as the basic unit o fclassification in Yoho National Park . Vegetation Type is alevel in the classification hierarchy that stresses growt hform in the dominant layer together with site conditions ,especially soil moisture . The Alliance of Europea nphytosociology has approximately the same rank as Vegetatio nType .'Each Vegetation Type has one or more Plant Communities ,distinguished on the basis of dominant species in the mos tstrongly developed layer or layers . In some cases adifference in dominants within just one layer will suffice to

7

distinguish communities ; in other cases all layers may hav eto be different before the community would be calleddifferent . Vegetation classification is an imprecise scienc ewithout hard and fast rules . They would only create mor einconsistencies, awkward splits or unions of plan tcommunities . In practice, the Vegetation Types of Yoho wer efirst identified and then split (where necessary) int osmaller units rather than identifying all the Plan tCommunities and then grouping into Vegetation Types :

Mapping of Yoho Vegetation

In his lucid guide to mapping vegetation, Kuchler (1967 )suggested these steps :

1. Outline on airphotos all units of vegetation differin gfrom one another in physiognomy .

2. Tentatively establish the structure of the observedvegetation types, especially their height and density ;also determine environmental features like slope andexposure .

3. In the field, analyze stands of each vegetation type ,using airphotos to locate them and to establish o rconfirm their boundaries .

4. Extend the information from the inspected units to theentire area, and on this basis draw the vegetation ma pdirectly from the photos .

The method used to map Yoho vegetation differed in onesignificant respect ; very few units were outlined on theairphotos before the field inspections were made . Thi sdecision resulted from previous experience indicating tha tmore lines might well be drawn around topographi cdiscontinuities than around genuinely different vegetatio nunits . Some of the major Vegetation Types were exceedingl ydifficult or impossible to discern on black-and-white smal lscale airphotos such as were available, therefore they coul dbe identified only through field inspection and thenceapproximate delineation on airphotos . When all vegetation ma punits had been satisfactorily delineated, they wer etransferred by J .C . Sproule and Associates Ltd . on to a bas emap prepared by splicing and enlarging National Topographi cSeries maps . Table 1 provides a definition of the vegetatio nmap units on the maps (Kuchar 1978) from which the derive dbiophysical maps were synthesized .

Table 1 - Vegetation map units (1 :25,000 scale )

MAJOR VEGETATION GROUPS MAP SYMBO L& SUBGROUPS VEGETATION TYPE

SDC

white spruce-Douglas fir-western red cedar (-western hemlock )

SFDy

white spruce-subalpine fir-Douglas fir-western yew

SD,SD

white spruce-Douglas fi r

DS

Douglas fir-white spruc e

BDS

paper birch-Douglas fir-white spruce

TS

aspen-balsam poplar-white spruc e

BT

paper birch-aspen

TD

aspen-Douglas fi r

PT

lodgepole pine-popla r

PD

lodgepole pine-Douglas fi r

DP

Douglas fir-lodgepole pin e

D,D

Douglas fi r

DN

Douglas fir-limber pine

P lodgepole pine

PS

lodgepote pine-spruce

SP

spruce-lodgepole pin e

SF-SF

Engelmann spruce-subalpine fi r

lodgepole pine-spruce-fi r

whitebark pin e

Subalpine fi r

Subalpine larc h

SDP

white spruce-Douglas fir-lodgepole pine on old alluvial fan sSC

white spruce-western red ceda rSe

white spruce on ± permanently waterlogged soi lPSj

lodgepole pine-white spruce on floodplai nSd

white & hybrid spruce (-lodgepole pine) on coarse dry alluviu mS white & hybrid spruce on moist to fairly dry alluviu mST

white spruce-poplar on moist alluviu mT

aspen-balsam poplar on moist alluvium

A

avalanche scrub & meadowrec(A)

recently burned avalanche scru brec(D)

recently burned montane fores t

rec(SF)

recently burned low mid subalpine fores trec(F)

recently burned high subalpine fores tlog

recently logged subalpine spruce-fir forestHF

heath tundra with sparse alpine fi rHaL

heath tundra with sparse alpine larc hHm

alpine (-high subalpine) forb meadows & snowbedsH heath tundra

rec(H)

recently burned heath tundr aHx

stony tundr a

w

wetland scrub, sedge meadows & bog communitiesAw

tall willow scru b

rec(w)

recently burned wetland meadow srec(Se)

recently burned alluvial white spruceG

yellow dryad on fresh alluvial gravel & san d

vc

vegetated cliffsvt

thinly colonized talus & moraineX

rock lichen tundr a

A

barren rock & snowfiel do

open water, some with submergent vegetationz

seriously man-disturbed vegetation

1 . UPLAND FORES T

a . Moist Montane

b . Intermediate Montan e

c . Dry Montan e

d . Montane-Subalpin e

f . High Subalpine :mostly open canopy ,numerous glade s

e . Low-mid Subalpine :mostly closed canopy

PS F

Wh P

F, F

a L

2 . FLUVIAL FORES T

3 . UPLAND SCRUB &MEADO W

a. Montane-Subalpin e

b. Alpin e

4 . FLUVIAL SCRU B& MEADO W

5 . OTHER TYPE S

* from Kuchar (1978)

9

SOIL CLASSIFICATION AND MAPPING

Philosophy

The Canadian System of Soil Classification (Canada Soi lSurvey Committee 1978) was used to classify the soils in Yoh oNational Park because it provides a standard hierarchica ltaxonomic system for identifying soils (Coen et al .1977) .While often providing useful criteria upon which to base ma punit separations, the classification was not used solely t odetermine the attributes or location of those separations .The soil map unit separation criteria, as much as possible ,reflected the perceived needs of various Parks users . As wit hany undertaking, the amount of information obtained i sgoverned by the amount of effort (or funding) available .Thus, not all the questions for which Parks user groups woul dlike answers were reflected in the criteria chosen t oseparate soil map units .

The precision with which a landscape segment can b elocated both on the map and in the field is governed largel yby the scale of the map . The scale of 1 :50,000 was chosen a sa compromise between the desired smallest delineation and th ecost of increased detail . At the scale used, any contrastin gsoil or landscape segment smaller than 8 to 12 ha could no tbe shown on the map . As a consequence, land use decision srelated to areas smaller than can be delineated on the ma pshould be made only after on-site examinations are carrie dout .

Classification of Yoho Soil s

The soil map unit concepts used in Yoho are describe dand defined in terms of Subgroups in the Canadian System o fSoil Classification (Canada Soil Survey Committee 1978) .Conceptually, the map units were defined in terms of slope ,texture, calcareousness, coarse fragment and drainage phase sof Subgroups . Many separations were precise enough to confor mto the limits of the soil series category . However ,establishing, defining and naming series is very tim econsuming and should be undertaken only in the context o fextensive areas . Establishment of soil series concepts wa snot considered essential to the full use of the soil surve yinformation from Yoho National Park and therefore was no tundertaken . Soil mapping concepts were established b ysubdividing broad taxonomic groupings rather than groupin gsoils identified at low taxonomic levels .

1 0

Mapping of Yoho Soil s

An understanding of the relationships between changes i nsoil, vegetation and landform is mandatory when mapping soil sin mountainous wildiands . The most useful tool to extrapolat esite information over an extended area is the aeria lphotograph . Since the ground can seldom be seen through th evegetation cover, and even then it is impossible to "see" th eprofile morphology . Consequently it is necessary to correlat ethe non-soil information of vegetation and landforms to soi linformation such as horizon sequence, reaction, paren tmaterial, and texture .

Aerial photographs taken in August 1973 at a scale o f1 :25,000 were used as the basic field tool for delineatingsoilscape areas . Initially a brief reconnaissance was used t oestablish a tentative legend to identify soilscape map units .Using the tentative legend, areas were then delineated an didentified on the aerial photographs . Field checking, usin gsoil pits and any other available exposure, allowed refinin gof the aerial photographic interpretations and the legend . Asthe differentiating characteristics for individual map unit swere finalized, the legend was altered to fit those concepts .

The landscape was first divided on the basis o flandforms (Table 2) . Thus, for example, moraines wer eseparated from glaciofluvial deposits, floodplains, fluvia lfans, glaciolacustrine deposits and colluvial deposits . Thelandforms were then subdivided on the basis of materials ;calcareous versus non-calcareous and medium versus coars etexture . The resulting terrain units were then furthe rsubdivided into soilscape groups' on the basis of soi ldevelopment and climate as indicated by vegetation . Thesesoilscape group concepts were identified on the maps by loca lgeographic names (Coen et al .1977) .

The soilscape map units, 2 as delineated on the aeria lphotographs, were continuously updated as the map uni tconcepts evolved . When the map unit concepts were finalized ,the map unit boundaries as delineated on the aeria lphotographs were representative of those final map uni tconcepts . Representative pedons (soil profiles) wer edescribed and sampled to characterize the map units . Thus ,

----------------- -'Soilscape group - A defined and named aggretate of soil bodie sgrouped together on the basis of similar parent materials ,drainage, soil and profile development (Coen et al . 1977 ,glossary) .2 Map unit, soilscape - A defined and named aggregate of soi lbodies occurring together in an individual and natura lcharacteristic pattern over the land surface . A subdivision o fsoilscape groups based on variations in texture, coars efragments, and depth to bedrock (lithic vs . non-lithic) . Takenfrom Glossary in Coen et al .(1977) .

Slopes

textûred

Orthic Eutric Brunisols &

Sometimes developed on non-calcareous residua lSlopes

cobbly

Float

FL1

GSiL-GL

10 to 30%

D2

Subalpinebouldery and 0 rthi__Humo_Ferric_Podzols material_ near ridge tops . ________________________ _gravelly

Lithic Orthic Eutric Brunisols SiL-L

Subalpine &

Shallow slopewash and unconsolidated residua lNiles

N11

less than 50$

Dl-D 2colluvium & Regosols

R Montane material (less than 50 _ cm toto bedrock)_ ___this Orthic --

- an 50

Orthic Regosols & some

GSiL GL

20 to 50%

D1 D2

Subalpine &

Unstable colluvial slopes with fewer coars eOrthic Eutric Brunisols

Montane

fragments than BG2 .Cumulic Regosols & Orthic

GSiL GSL more than 20%

D2 D3

Subalpine &

Non-turfy, dark colored Ah ; snow avalanchedGenerally

Regosols

Montane

areas ; coarse fragments variable .calcareous coarse

BG5

Orthic Regosols & Cumulic

SiL

less than 20%

D2

Subalpine

Derived from medium textured shales and schists .and some medium Regosols -------------------------------------------------------------------- -

Burgess BG 3

BG 4

Table 2 - Major characteristics of soilscape map units (from Coen et al . 1977 )

SOILSCAPE

SOILSCAPE

SOIL SUBGROUP

COARSE

DRAINAGE

VEGETATIO NGROUP

MAP UNIT

CLASSIFICATION

FRAGMENTS

ZON ETEXTURE COMMENT S

HRI

Eluviated Eutric Brunisols

LS

less than 10%

D1-D2

Subalpine

Outwash sand ; intergrade to Humo-Ferric Podzols .Coarse fragments generally less than 5% ; mainl yHaygarth gravels .

SiL

Subalpin eHR2


SL .

10 to 20%

D2

&Montane

Ice contact stratified drift ; valley train deposit .------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -Calcareous SiL 0 to 20 %stratified Takakkaw TM Eluviated Eutric Brunisols

& Humo-Ferric Podzols GSL more than 20% D1 D2 Subalpin eG & VGLS

Orthic Regosols & Cumulic FSL-SiL 0 to 20 %Calcareou sstratifie dFSL-SiL

Kicking HorseK1 1

K12

Regosol s

Gleyed Orthic Regosols &

GS L

FSL-SiL

more than 20 %

0 to 20%

D 3

D4

Montan e

Montan eover GSL Gleyed Cumulic Regosols GSL more than 20%

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -Otterhead

OT1


FSL SiL

0 to 20$

D2

Montane

Generally less than 25 cm to gravels, some D3 .VGSL-VGLS more than 20 %------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -D6

Montane

Possibly some D5, frequently flooded .D6

Montane

Possibly some D5, frequently flooded .

D5-D6

Montane

Some areas artificially drained .

D2

Montane & Effervescent to the surfac eSubalpin e

Subalpine &

Steeply sloping ; cobbles & boulders common ; dar kD1-D2

colored, non-turfy Ah ; often mechanical mixtureMontane

of raw organic matter and mineral matter .Often few coarse fragments near surface ;D2

Montane

gravelly below .

D 3

Montane

Deep medium textured ; calcareous to surface ;few coarse fragments .

Clawson

C01*

Orthic Eutric Brunisol s

Hoodoo

HO1*

Rego Gleysols & Orthi cGleysols

stratified coarsetextured gravelly Mollison

M01*

Orthic Humo-Ferric Podzols

GSL-GLS

20 to 50%

D2-D3

Montane

Coarse fragments are mainly granitic gravel sand cobbly

yand cobbles . Ice River Vall ealluvium

Wiwaxy

W11*


L approx .5$ D3

Upper Subalpine Subalpine meadow below tree line ; frost hollow.VGLS

more than 50%

Meadow "

Calcareou sLacustrine well sorted

Dennis

DS1


SiL-SiCL

less than 10%

D2

Montane &

Small glaciolacustrine pockets often approx . 75 c mveneer

silts

Subalpine

thick over till .

OL1

Eluviated Eutric Brinisols

SiL

10 to 20%

D2

Montane

"Washed till", lime at 40 to 75 cm ; warmer an ddrier climate than OG1 .

medium

Orthic Humo-Ferric Podzols &textured

OG1


SiL

less than 20%

D2

Subalpine

Mainly at higher elevations in the side valleys .stony till

OgdenOG2


SiL

less than 5$

D2

Subalpine

Silty surficial deposit over silt loam till . _ a-ppro .__2_(Tocher

T01

Cumulic Regosols

L-SiL

less than 50%

D2

Sûbalpiné &

Eroding steep slopes ;calcareous to mineral surface .Montan e------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -

Rego Humi cCalcareous

Vanguard

VA1

SiL-SL

5 to 20%

D5-D6

Subalpine

Poorly drained associate of OG1, CM1, and OH Lnon-stratified Gleysol_(eatymedium and

Odaray

OD1


SiL-SL

20 to 50%

D2

Upper

Subalpine larch, subalpine fir, heather ; thincoarse textured Subalpine

turfy"_Ah _ 2000 --to- -2-1-50- -m--

-a--.s- -.l .----------------- -stony till

Sombric Humo-Ferric

Alpine &

"Turfy" Ah ; generally above 2150 m a .s .l . ;Schaffer

SKI

SiL-GSL

less than 50%

D2-D 3 s holz"__ complex & va &vegetation patterns ._

coarse textured

Cathedral

CM1

Brunisols & Orthic

SL-GSL

10 to 25%

D2-D3

Subalpine

Creek valleys ; occasional seepage inclusions .stony_till Humo_-Ferri_ Podzols ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -Non-calcareous

Some imperfectly drained soils as inclusions ;coarse textured

O'Hara

OH1

Orthic Humo-Ferric Podzols & GLS-SL

15 to 30%

D2

Subalpine

boulders common ; surface 20 to 25 cm i still

Eluviated Dystric Brunisols

FSL-SiL .Boulder field plus some

SL L

boulders

D1 D2

Subalpine

Rock slide areas ; soil covers 10 to 20% of th eOrthic Regosols

2 to 20 m diam .

area ; the rest is covered with large boulders .Cumulic Regosols and

V .Cobbly more than 50%

D1 D2

Subalpine &cobble land

VGSiL

Montan e

S11


SiL SL

less than 50%

D2

Upper

"Turfy" Ah, generally 2000 to 2150 m a .s .l . ,& Orthic Ferro-Humic Podzols

Subalpine

often modified residual parent material .

512

Lithic Humo-Ferric Podzols

SiL-SL

less than 50%

D2

Uppe r &_I .ithi_ Eutric Brunisols R Subalpine to k

Sombric Humo-Ferri cPodzol s

Lithic Sombri cHumo-Ferric Podzols

D6

Subalpine

Organic soil areas around Narao Lake .

D6

Montane

Organic soil areas in the Beaverfoo tRiver area .

* These soilscape map unit descriptions describe soils in approximately the mid-fan position . Almost every fan can vary from cobbly sand through thin sandy loam over gravel to fine sandy loam or sil tloam, and drainage classes from rapidly to poorly or very poorly drained .

SPECIAL LAND UNITS

SOIL TEXTURAL CLASSES

DRAINAGE CLASSES

TERRAIN UNI TLANDFORM MATERIALS

Calcareou sstratifie dLS-Si L

Glaciofluvia lterrace

Occasionally hummocky glaciofluvial included ;less gravel near surface .Often droughty because of low water table if n orain ; generally less than 75 cm to gravelly o rvery gravelly strata .Generally less than 75 cm to gravelly or ver ygravelly strata

Floodplain

Calcareous

BC1

Rego Gleysols (peaty)

FSL-Si Lstratified SL &

Beaverfoot

BC2

Orthic & Rego Gleysols

Si LSiL alluvium

BC3

Rego Gleysols

less than 5%less than 5%0 to 20%more than 20 %

SL-FS LGS L

Orthic Regosols and

GSL-GLS

20 to 50 %Cumulic Regosol sWR1 *

Calcareou sstratified coars etextured gravell yand very gravell yalluviu mFan*

WR2 *

WatchtowerWR3 *

WR4 *

WRS*

Gleyed Orthic Regosols

GFSL GSiL 20 to 50$

D 4 Montne 5$ coarse fragments

GSiL

20to50$ D2

Montane

Represents the few stable fans in Yoho .VGSL

a rox 50 $

SiL FSL

less than 10%

D5

Montane

Few coarse fragments, especially nea rsurface .-------------- --------------------------------- ------- -

Cumulic Regosols &Orthic Regosols GL-GSL

more than 40 %

Orthic Regosols &

SiL

less than 20 %Cumulic Regosols

GSL

20 to 50 %Gleyed Orthic Regosols &

SiL

less than 20 %Gleyed Cumulic Regosols&

G d t f WR ; l yne v e ener ess a nt

Opabin

OP1*

Cumulic Regosols

VGSL-SiL 20 to 50%

D3

Subalpine

Coarse fragments are mainly quartzite (Co gNon calcareous formation) ; Lake O'Hara area . ake

Calcareous

OL2

Gleyed Melanic Brunisols E

SiL

less than 5% D4

Montane &

Some members of this map unit have gravels a tnon-stratified

___ _

Gleyed_ Eutric Brunisols

20 to 50$

Subalpine

or near the surface .----------------------------------------- -

Ottertai l

Moraine

Calcareous

Eluviated Dystric

Mainly the Cataract Brook and the Porcupin e

BG 1

BG2 Steep vegetated slopes ; often below cliffs .

Silverslope

Same as SI1 except shallow (less than 50 cm )

Otto00 1

002

SiL -S L

L-S LR

D 2less than 50% Alpine &"K rummhol z "

D 2less than 50% Alpine &"K rummhol z"

"Turfy" Ah, generally more than 2150 m a .s .l . ,often modified residual parent material .Same as 001 except shallow (less than 50 cm)o nrock benches and ridge tops, & often o n undifferentiated parent materials .

NA1

Terric Mesisols sedge derivedNarao

NA2

Terric Mesic Fibrisols moss derived

D1 - Rapidly drainedD2 - Well drainedD3 - Moderately well drainedD4 - Imperfectly draine dD5 - Poorly draine dD6 - Very Poorly Draine d

A

Used as a suffix to indicate modification of soilscape by repeated snow slides or avalanche sx( ŸxA if greater than 25% and 4 +A if less than 25% of the map area is affected) .

Bp Borrow Pit .

Er Eroded areas where soil creep and erosion is so active as to prevent vegetation growth .

m

Recent moraine, unvegetated .

SC Cobble land associated with stream channels .

T

Talus and coalescing talus cones .

R

Rock, bedrock and fractured bedrock stable enough to that talus cones are not evident .

W

Water body .

Percentages of clay and sand in the main textura lclasses of soils ; the remainder of each class is silt .Some of the abbreviations used in the table are give nin parentheses in the triangle . Other abbreviation sinclude :

G - gravell yVC - very coarse san dC - coarse san dF - fine san dVF - very fine sandCF - coarse fragment s

(2 mm to 25 cm )

1 3

each map unit concept is a composite of the informatio nobtained from the aerial photographs, the field analyses an dthe chemical and physical analyses conducted in thelaboratory .

When all the polygons corresponding to soilscape ma punit concepts had been satisfactorily delineated they wer etransferred by J .C . Sproule and Associates Ltd . onto the samebase map as was used for vegetation maps . Table 2 (from Coe net al . 1977) provides a definition of the soilscape map unit sused on the soils maps from which the derived biophysica lmaps were synthesized .

BIOPHYSICAL CLASSIFICATION AND MAPPIN G

Philosophy

Because the biophysical map is a synthesis of the tw oindependent inventories (Kuchar 1978, Coen et al . 1977) theforegoing discussion provides an understanding of the dat abase from which this compilation began . Data analysis fromseveral independently prepared resource sector maps all o ndiffering base maps and at differing scales as experience dduring the planning activities undertaken in Waterton Lake sNational Park proved to be a complex and difficult task . I norder to simplify the use of resource inventory data fo rplanning, an integrated (Biophysical) approach to resourc einventory was adopted for the soils, landform, and vegetatio nsectors of the Yoho National Park resource inventories . Thi saggregate of information is shown by a set of map uni tdelineations on a single map and the biophysical map uni tconcepts generally recur in different parts of the projec tarea .

Overview of Biophysical Relationship s

A consistent relationship between soil profil edevelopment (soil genesis) and vegetation occurs o nlandscapes where the vegetation is at or near climax . Thekind of soil profile development we see today is a nintegration of the soil forming factors to which it has bee nexposed over time . Thus the profile development will bes trelate to the vegetation established on the site for themajority of the time since deglaciation, which appears, i nmany cases, to be the climax vegetation .

In the Montane zone, white spruce and Douglas fi rforests are consistently associated with Eluviated Eutric an dOrthic Eutric Brunisols (Fig . 4) . At higher elevations in th eLower Subalpine zone, spruce-fir forests are consistentl yassociated with Eluviated Eutric Brunisol and Orthi cHumo-Ferric Podzol soils (Fig . 5) . At still higher elevations

1 4

in the Upper Subalpine zone open canopied (less than 30 %cover) spruce-fir forests are associated with Orthi cHumo-Ferric Podzol soils (Fig . 6) . These latter sites usuall yhave heathers as an understory component and a thin (les sthan 10 cm) Ah horizon on the soil surface . In the Alpinezone heath-tundra communities are generally associated wit hSombric Humo-Ferric Podzols with thicker Ah horizons (Fig .7) . All of the above associations are contingent upo ngeomorphically stable landforms . If the landforms ar eunstable because of steep slopes, Regosolic soils ar edeveloped and may be associated with a broad spectrum o fvegetation appropriate to the zone in which it is located . I fthe landforms are unstable because of flooding, Regosolic an dGleysolic soils are again associated with a wide range o fvegetation appropriate to the moisture regimes and vegetatio nzones in which they are found . Specific relationships ar eelaborated upon in the map unit descriptions which compris ethe main portion of this report .

Mapping of Biophysical Concept s

To develop the biophysical legend and map, atransparent copy of the 1 :25,000 vegetation map wasregistered to an opaque copy of the soils map at the sam escale . This allowed confirmation of tentative soil andvegetation relationships developed by Kuchar and Coe nthrough field observations and subsequent discussions . Bygeneralizing the soils concepts to the soilscape grou plevel (Table 2), which eliminated separation of soilscapemap units based on texture within a given landform, an dby grouping some similar vegetation types, it wa spossible to develop the basic concept of a biophysica lmap unit 3 and a legend with 64 map unit concepts . At ascale of 1 :50,000, and assuming that most uses of th ebiophysical map will entail studying a portion of avalley, the resource analyst will seldom need to wor kwith more than about 18 map units, which is an acceptabl enumber (Simonson 1971) .

Conceptually the resulting map units represen tfairly consistent, ecologically distinct landscap esegments . As Jenny (1941) has noted there is a functiona lrelationship between soils, vegetation, climate ,topography and parent materials providing sufficient tim ehas elapsed for the factors to influence each other .Thus, on stable landforms with near climax vegetation th ebiophysical map unit concepts are predictable an d

----------------- -3 Biophysical map unit - A conceptual aggregate of soil bodies ,associated landforms and vegetation types occurring together in anatural and characteristic pattern'over the land surface . Soi lseparations are made at the level of parent material, drainag eand slope phases of Subgroups, and vegetation at the level o fgroupings of similar vegetation types .

1 5

Figure 4 - Components of the Montane zone, Lodgepole pin eforests (right) are frequently associated with Orthi cEutric Brunisol sors (left )

Figure 5 - Components of the Lower Subalpine zone . Spruce-fi rforests (right) are frequently associated with Orthi cHumo-Ferric Podzol soils (left)

1 7

O" n

6"-

12"-

18"-

Figure 6 - Components of the Upper Subalpine zone . Ope nspruce-fir forests (right) are frequently associated wit hOrthic Humo-Ferric Podzol soils (left )

6"-

12"-

18"

Figure 7 - Components of the Alpine zone . Heath-tundr avegetation (right) is frequently associated with Sombri cFerro-Humic Podzol soils (left)

1 9

uniform . Where fire has produced lodgepole pine stand sover a fairly large area, current vegetation does no treflect inherent variations in climate, topography, an dparent materials . Thus, one type of vegetation i sassociated with several different kinds of soil sresulting in several distinct biophysical map units . Onsteep slopes subjected to continuous soil creep, soi lhorizons are prevented from forming and yet th evegetation will be very similar to adjacent slopes whic hare subjected to less creep, allowing the formation o fdistinctly different soils . Because of the practica limplications of the above soil-vegetation combinations ,they have each been treated as distinct and separabl ebiophysical map unit concepts .

Where the National Topographic Series base map sprovided only a few features which could also be locate don the aerial photographs, independent transfer of th esoils and vegetation information from the annotate dphotographs to the base maps occasionally resulted i nlack of agreement between the vegetation and soils maps ,even though the information was in agreement on th eannotated photographs . For the most accurate compariso nof the spacial distribution of soils and vegetation i twas necessary to refer to the separate sets of annotate daerial photographs .

Combining vegetation and soil information an dgeneralizing both the legend and the map resulted in th eloss of some information on small areas, and about coars efragments and soil texture . Table 3 provides informationon the attributes of the biophysical map units . It alsoindicates the corresponding soil map units from Coen e tal . (1977) and vegetation map units from Kuchar (1978) .Consequently, when addressing site specific problems ,analysts should refer to the reports by Coen et al .(1977) and Kuchar (1978) for more detailed explanation sand in many cases reference to the annotated aeria lphotograph would be of value .

Map Symbol Convention

In order to retain a connotative relationshi pbetween the primary data sets (Coen et al . 1977 ; Kucha r1978) the first element of the hyphenated symbol is thesymbol for the dominant soilscape group making up th ebiophysical map unit concept . The second element ,following the hyphen, is a connotative symbol for thevegetation type or a grouping of two vegetation type s(Table 3, Table 4) . Thus, the symbol OL-P has the soil sand landform characteristics of the Ottertail soilscap egroup and the vegetation characteristics of the lodgepol epine vegetation type . More detailed information about th emap unit concepts can be obtained from the map uni tdescriptions in the next section .

Table 3 - Biophysical map unit concepts and their respective soil and vegetation components

VegetationZone

BiophysicalMap Unit

Textural DrainageClass Class

GLACIOFLUVIAL

Subgroup Classification SoilscapeDominant

Map Unit*Significant Vegetation Grouping Vegetation_

DominantMap Units

Significant

TA-DSP ~ILLGL Well drained Eluviated Eutric Brunisols TA1 White spruce, Douglas

fir, lodgepole pine DS PD, SDP

TA-P SiL-SL Well drained Eluviated Eutric Brunisols TA1 OT1, HR2 Lodgepole pine, white P PSVGSL-LS spruce -

FLUVIAL

KI-PSj ESLGSL

Imperfectly Gleyed Cumulic Regosols K12 KI1 Lodgepole pine, white ES-j_ PS,P,Se,zdrained spruce,on floodplain

FLUVIAL FAN

WR-SC SiL Moderately Gleyed Orthic Regosols WR4 WR3 White spruce, western SC -well drained red cedar

WR-SPDT GL Well drained Orthic & Cumulic Regosols WR1 WR3,WR2K11,K12

White spruce, Douglasfir, lodgepole pine SDP SD,SP,ST

WR-STGFSL- Imperfectly Gleyed Orthic Regosols WR5 HO1,WR3 White spruce, poplar ST PS,PT,DS,TGSiL drained

WR-P a ILL Well drained Orthic & Cumulic Regosols WR3 WR1,HR2, Lodgepole pine, white & P PS,5GL TA1 hybrid spruce

GLACIOLACUSTRINE

DS-PS SiLSiCL Well drained Eluviated Eutric Brunisols DS1 - White & hybrid spruce,

lodgepole pine PS PD,w,Se

MORAINE

imperfectlyWhite spruce, subalpine

OL-SFDy SiL Cleyed Eutric Brunisols OL2 - fir, Douglas fir, western SFDy SDPdrained yew

OL-SDC SiL SIL Well drained Eluviated Eutric Brunisols HR2 OLT,OG1 White spruce, Douglas fir, SDC SDPGSL western red cedar

OL-SPD SiL Well drained Eluviated Eutric Brunisols OL1 OL2,OG1,T01

White spruce, Douglas fir,lodgepole pine

SDP SD, PD, PS

OL-SPD(b) SiL Well drained Eluviated Eutric Brunisols OLIRecently burned Montane rec(D) SDP, SPterrain

w TO-PD L-SiL Well drained Cumulic Regosols T01 Er Lodgepole pine, Douglas PD PS,Gz firazz OL-P SiL Well drained Eluviated Eutric Brunisols OLI TO1,N11 Lodgepole pine _PD _PS,PD,POg

CM-TS L-SL Well drained Orthic Eutric Brunisols CM1 Er,BG3 Aspen, balsam poplar, TS A,Gwhite spruce -

OL-PT SiL Well drained Orthic Eutric Brunisols OLI - Lodgepole pine, poplar _PT -

OL-D SiL-SL Well drained Eluviated Eutric Brunisols OLI CM1,T01 Douglas fir, Iodgepole D DP, DTpine, poplar -

COLLUVIAL

BG-SD(LS) SL-L Rapidly Boulder field & Orthic BG1 - White spruce,Douglas fir,drained Regosols western red cedar,lodgepole _SDP SDC

pine

BG-P GSiL- Rapidly Orthic Regosols & some BG3 BG2,N11, Lodgepole pine P B DS,PTGL drained Orthic Eutric Brunisols BGS

FL-PD GSIL- Well drained Orthic Eutric Brunisols FL1 Nil Lodgepole pine, Douglas P PD, PSF95GL fir, white spruce

FL-D GSIL- Well drained Orthic Eutric Brunisols FL1 - Douglas fir, white spruce, DP D, DSGL lodgepole pine

BG-DP GSIL- Rapidly Orthic Regosols & some BG3 BG5,R Lodgepole pine, Douglas PD SDPGL drained Orthic Eutric Brunisols fir, white spruce

BG-TDVerycobbly Rapidly Orthic Regosols BG2 BG3,N11 Aspen, Douglas fir TO BDS,A,TSSiL drained

BG-TS GSL- Rapidly Orthic & Cumulic Regosols BG3 BG4A,BG5 Aspen-balsam poplar, TS PTSiL drained white spruce - -

BG-TB GL-GSL Rapidly Cumulic & Orthic Regosols WR2 BG2,BC3 Paper birch, aspen, BT BDS,A,drained Douglas fir DS, z

BG-SDverycobbly Rapidly Cumulic & Orthic Regosols BG2 BC 3,N11, White & hybrid spruce, SD,DS D,ASiL drained BGS Douglas fir

BG-SD(b) SiL Rapidlydrained Cumulic Regosols BGS - dMontane terrain rec(D) SP

BG-DN GL-GSL Rapidly Cumulic & Orthic Regosols BG2 WR2,Nl1, Douglas fir, limber pine DN Vt,Adrained R

wzaJQm

wwzQFZO

ORGANIC

NA-w Very poorly Terric Mesisols,drained Terric Mesic Fibrisols

FLUVIALPoorly and

BC- . . SL-SiLGSL very poorly Orthic & Rego Gleysols

drained

BC-Se SL-SiL Poorly & veryGSL poorly drained Orthic & Rego Gleysols

FLUVIAL FAN

CO-SDP GSiLVCSL Well drained Orthic Eutric Brunisols

WR-GSd GSL-GLS Well drained Orthic & Cumulic Regosols

NAi

BC1,BC2,BC3

BCl

Col

WR1

NA2

K12,H01,KII,VA1

BC2,BC3,HO1,VA1

MO1

KII,K12,WR5,SC

Wetland scrub, sedgemeadows & bog communities w

Wetland scrub, sedgemeadows Se

White spruce on poorlydrained soil Se

White spruce, Douglasfir, lodgepole pine SDP

Open white & hybridspruce, lodgepole pine_ Sd,G

w,G

w,G

PD, SDC,_PS -F

S,Se

GLACIOFLUVIAL

TA-SF SiL Well drained Eluviated Eutric Brunisols & TA1 Lodgepole pine, spruce, PSF SFGSL Orthic Humo-Ferric Podzols fir

TA-SF(b) SiL Well drained Eluviated Eutric Brunisols & TAI WRIRecently burned

GSL Orthic Humo-Ferric Podzols Subalpine forest rec(SF)

KI-SF FSL-SiL Moderately Orthic & Cumulic Regosols K11 K12,WR5 Engelmann spruce, SFGSL well drained subalpine fir

FLUVIAL FAN

WR-SF GSL-GLS Well drained Orthic & Cumulic Regosols WRt WR2,WR3 Engelmann spruce, SF PSF,SF,Asubalpine fir

CO-SF GSiL Well drained Orthic Eutric Brunisols Col Engelmann spruce, SF SF, TSVSL subalpine fir

GLACIOLACUSTRINE

Well &DS-SF SiL- moderately Eluviated Eutric Brunisols DS1 Engelmann spruce, SF PSF

SiCL well drainedsubalpine fir

MORAINEwz OL-SF SiL imperfectly Gleyed Melanic Brunisols & OL2 Engelmann spruce, SF SF,PSFa drained Gleyed Eutric Brunisols subalpine firJQm OH-SF GLS-SL Well drained Orthic Humo-Ferric Podzols& OH1 Engelmann spruce, SF -7 Eluviated Dystric Brunisols subalpine firVIo: CM-SF SL-GSL Well drained Eluviated Dystric Brunisols

PocizolsCM1 VA1 Engelmann spruce,fir SF PSF

w &Orthic Humo-Ferric subalpine3O OG-SF S(L Well drained Orthic Humo-Ferric Podzols & OC1 OG2 Engelmann spruce, SF PSF

Eluviated Eutric Brunisols subalpine fir

OG-SF(b) SiL Well drained Orthic Humo-Ferric Podzols OG2 Recently burnedSubalpine forest rec(SF) -

TO-SF L-SiL Well drained Cumulic Regosols TOI Engelmann spruce, SF SPsubalpine fir

COLLUVIAL

FL-SF CSiL-CL Well drained Orthic Eutric Brunisols & FL1 NI1,BG3 Engelmann spruce, SF PSF,A,PSOrthic Humo-Ferric Podzols subalpine fir

FL-SF(b) GSiL-GL Well drained Orthic Eutric Brunisols & FL1 - recently burned rec(SF)Orthic Humo-Ferric Podzols Subalpine forest

BG-SF Cobbly Well drained Cumulic & Orthic Regosols BG3, BG4A,BG5, Engelmann spruce, SF PSF,A,SP& GSIL BG2 Nil subalpine fir

BG-SF(LS) SLrL Well drained Boulder field plus some B01 _ Engelmann spruce,SF PSF

Orthic Regosols subalpine fir

BG-SF(b) Cobbly Well drained Cumulic & Orthic Regosols BG3 BG2,BG5, Recently burned rec(SF) A& GSiL Nil Subalpine forest

Cobbly Avalanche scrub & meadow,BG-A & GS(L Well drained Cumulic & Orthic Regosols BG4A BG2,BG3 En elmann spruce, A SF, PSF

subalpine fir

FLUVIALImperfectly & Rego Gleysols & WR1,W11, Upper Subalpine forbKI-Hm FSL-GSL moderately Cumulic Regosols K12 BC1,VA1 meadows & snowbeds Hm SFwell drained

MORAINE

OD-F SiL-SL Well drained Orthic Humo-Ferric Podzols ODI S11 Subalpine fir F HF,SF

w OD-F(b) SiL Well drained Orthic Humo-Ferric Podzols OD1 _ Recently burned Upper rec(F) -z Subalpine foresta

OD-al- SiL-SL Well drained Orthic Humo-Ferric Podzols OD1 - Subalpine larch aL A,HaLmN COLLUVIAL

SI-F SiL-SL Well drainedwOrthic & lithic S11, BG4A,BG2, Subalpine fir F A,HF,SFHumo-Ferric Podzols SI2 BC3a

SI-F(b) SiL-SL Well drained Lithic & Orthic SI2 SI1,NI1 Recently burned Upper rec(F) -Humo-Ferric Podzols Subalpie forest

SI-aL SiL-SL Well drained Orthic & lithicHumo-Ferric Podzols S11 SI2,BG2 Subalpine larch aL HaL, A

SI-aL(LS) SL-L Well drained Boulder field plus some BG1 - Subalpine larch aL HaL,aLrOrthic Regosols

SI-whP SiL-SL Radrained

idl Orthic & lithic EutricBrunisols & Orthic S11 S12,BG2, Whitebark pine whP A,HF,FHumo-Ferric Podzols

MORAINE

Well toSK-H SIL-GSL moderately Sombric Humo-Ferric SKI 001 Heath tundra, sparse H HF,HaL,Hm

n. well drained Podzols Subalpine firJ

COLLUVIAL

00-H SIL-SL Well drainedLithic Sombric Humo-FerricPodzols & Sombric Humo-

002,S11,SK1 Heath tundra, sparse

H HF,Hm,HaLFerric Podzols

001 Subalpine fir

SPECIAL LAND UNITS

G Cobbleland associated with stream channels (SC in Soil survey of Yoho) which is unvegetated or sparsely covered with yellow dryad & willows .

R + H A mosaic of rock plus heath tundra supported by very shallow soils (generally less than 10 cm to bedrock) .

R-F Rock with a sparse cover of subalpine fir supported directly on the rock or by very shallow soils (generally less than 10 cm to bedrock) .

R-F(D)Rock with a sparse cover of scrub Douglas fir supported directly on the rock or by very shallow soils (generally less than 10 cm to bedrock) .

R-whP Rock on south facing dry exposures with a cover of scattered whitebark pine supported directly on the rock or by very shallow soils(generally less than 10 cm to bedrock) .

R-alSteep rock cliffs, generally with a thin cover of colluvial rubble which supports sparse patchy stands of scrubby subalpine larch .Confined to the southeast quadrant of the Park .

X Lichen tundra comprised mainly of dark epipetric lichens on acid rock in the vicinity of Lake O'Hara .

R Unvegetated rock and colluvial rubble, generally at high elevations .

T Unvegetated talus and coalescing talus cones generally at high elevations .

M Unvegetated recent moraine generally associated with existing glaciers .

I Glaciers, ice and permanent snow fields .

z Grossly disturbed soil and vegetation .

* As defined in Coen et al . (1977) .

** As defined in Kuchar (1978)

Table 4 - Attributes of the biophysical map unit concepts arranged in alphabetical orde r

BIOPHYSICAL VEGETATION LANDFORM & TEXTURAL DRAINAGE SUBGROUP VEGETATIO N

MAP UNIT ZONE MATERIALS CLASS CLASS CLASSIFICATION GROUPING

BC-Se Montane & Fluvial SL-SiL Poorly & very Orthic & Rego Gleysols White spruce on poorly drained soil .Subalpine GSL poorly draine d

BC-w Montane & FluvialSL-SiL Poorly & very Orthic & Rego Gleysols Wetland scrub, sedge meadows .

Subalpine GSL poorly drained

Lower Cobbly & Avalanche scrub & meadow ,BG-A Subalpine Colluvial GSiL

Well drained Cumulic & Orthic Regosols Engelmann spruce, subalpine fir .

BG-DN Montane Colluvial GL-GSL Rapidly drained Cumulic & Orthic Regosols Douglas fir,

limber pine .

Orthic Regosols & some Lodgepole pine, Douglas fir ,BG-DP Montane Colluvial GSiL-GL Rapidly drained Orthic Eutric Brunisols white spruce .

Orthic Regosols & som eBG-P Montane Colluvial GSiL-GL Rapidly drained Orthic Eutric Brunisols

Lodgepole pin e

BG-SD Montane Colluvial Very cobbly Rapidly drained Cumulic & Orthic Regosols White and hybrid spruce, Douglas fir .Si L

Colluvial Boulder field & Orthic White spruce, Douglas fir, westernBG-SD(LS) Montane landslide SL-L Rapidly drained Regosols red cedar, lodgepole pine .

BG-SF Lower Colluvial Cobbly & Well drained Cumulic & Orthic Regosols Engelmann spruce, subalpine fir .Subalpine GSi L

BG-TB Montane Colluvial GL-GSL Rapidly drained Cumulic & Orthic Regosols Paper birch, aspen, Douglas fir .

BG-TD Montane Colluvial Very cobbly Rapidly drained Orthic Regosols Aspen, Douglas fir .SiL

BG-TS Montane Colluvial GSL-SiL Rapidly drained Orthic & Cumulic Regosols Aspen-balsam poplar, white spruce .

Eluviated Dystric Brunisol sCM-SF Lower Moraine SL-GSL Well drained & Orthic Humo- Ferric Engelmann spruce, subalpine fir .

Subalpine Podzol s

CM-TS Montane Moraine L-SL Well drained Orthic Eutric Brunisols Aspen, balsam poplar, white spruce .

Montane & GSiL White spruce, Douglas fir, lodgepol eCO-SDP Fluvial fan Well drained Orthic Eutric Brunisol s

Subalpine VGSL pine .

CO-SF Lower Fluvial fan GSiL Well drained Orthic Eutric Brunisols Engelmann spruce, subalpine fir .Subalpine VGSL

White and hybrid spruce, lodgepoleDS-PS Montane Glaciolacustrine SiL-SiCL Well drained Eluviated Eutric Brunisols pine .

DS-SF Lower Glaciolacustrine SiL-SiCL Well & moderately Eluviated Eutric Brunisols Engelmann spruce, subalpine fir .Subalpine well drained

Douglas fir, white spruce, lodgepoleFL-D Montane Colluvial GSiL-GL Well drained Orthic Eutric Brunisols pine .

Lodgepole pine, Douglas fir, whiteFL-PD Montane Colluvial GSiL-GL Well drained Orthic Eutric Brunisols spruce .

FL-SFUpper Colluvial GSiL-GL Well drained Orthic Eutric Brunisols & Engelmann spruce, subalpine fir .Subalpine Orthic Humo-Ferric Podzols

Imperfectly &Upper Rego Gleysols & Cumulic Upper Subalpine forb meadow s

KI -Hm Subalpine Fluvial GSL-GSL moderately well Regosols and snowbeds .drained

FSL imperfectly Lodgepole pine, white spruce onMontane Fluvial Gleyed Cumulic RegosolsKI-PSj GSL drained floodplain .

KI -SF Lower Fluvial FSL-SiL Moderately well Orthic & Cumulic Engelmann spruce, subalpine fir .Subalpine GSL drained Regosol s

Montane & Very poorly Terric Mesisols, Terric Wetland scrub, sedge meadows an dNA-w Subalpine

Organic drained Mesic Fibrisols bog communities .

OD-F Upper Moraine SiL-SL Well drained Orthic Humo-Ferric Podzols Subalpine fir .Subalpine

OD-aL Upper Moraine SiL-SL Well drained Orthic Humo-Ferric Podzols Subalpine larch .Subalpine

Orthic Humo-Ferric PodzolsOG-SF Lower Moraine SiL Well drained and Eluviated Eutric Engelmann spruce, subalpine fir .

Subalpine Brunisol s

Orthic Humo-Ferric PodzolsOH-SF Lower Moraine GLS-SL Well drained and Eluviated Dystric Engelmann spruce, subalpine fir .

Subalpine Brunisols

OL-D Montane Moraine SiL-SL Well drained Eluviated Eutric Brunisols Douglas fir, lodgepole pine, poplar .

OL-P Montane Moraine SiL Well drained Eluviated Eutric Brunisols Lodgepole pine .

OL-PT Montane Moraine SiL Well drained Orthic Eutric Brunisols Lodgepole pine, poplar .

SiL White spruce, Douglas fir ,OL-SDC Montane Moraine GSL-SiL Well drained Eluviated Eutric Brunisols western red cedar .

Lower Imperfectly Gleyed Melanic Brunisol sOL-SF Moraine SiL Engelmann spruce, subalpine fir .

Subalpine drained & Gleyed Eutric Brunisol s

Imperfectly White spruce, subalpine fir ,OL-SFDy Montane Moraine SiL Gleyed Eutric Brunisol s

drained Douglas fir, western yew .

White spruce, Douglas fir ,OL-SPD Montane Moraine SiL Well drained Eluviated Eutric Brunisols lodgepole pine .

Lithic Sombric Humo-Ferri c00-H Alpine Colluvial SiL-SL Well drained Podzols & Sombric Humo - Heath tundra, sparse subalpine fir .

Ferric Podzol s

Orthic &

lithic Humo-Ferri cSI-aL S

Upper Colluvial SiL-SL Well drained Subalpine larch .ubalpine Podzols

Orthic &

I ithic Humo- Ferri cSI-F S

Upper Colluvial SiL-SL Well drained Subalpine fir .ubalpine Podzols

Orthic &

I ithic EutricSI-whP Upper Colluvial SiL-SL Rapidly drained Brunisols & Orthic Humo- Whitebark pine .

S ubalpine Ferric Podzols .

SK-H Alpine Moraine SiL-GSLWell to moderately Sombric Humo-Ferric Podzols Heath tundra, sparse subalpine fir .well drained

SiL White spruce, Douglas fir ,TA-DSP Montane Glaciofluvial GSL

Well drained Eluviated Eutric Brunisols lodgepole pine .

TA-P Montane Glaciofluvial SiL-SL Well drained Eluviated Eutric Brunisols Lodgepole pine, white spruce .VGSL-LS

Eluviated Eutric Brunisol sTA-SF

Lower Glaciofluvial SiL Well drained & Orthic Humo-Ferric Lodgepole pine, spruce, fir .Subalpine GSL Podzols

TO-PD Montane Moraine L-SiL Well drained Cumulic Regosols Lodgepole pine, Douglas fir .

TO-SF Lower Moraine L-SiL Well drained Cumulic Regosols Engelmann spruce, subalpine fir .Subalpin e

Montane Open white and hybrid spruce ,WR-GSd and Fluvial fan GSL-GLS Well drained Orthic & Cumulic Regosol s

Subalpine lodgepole pine.

SiL Lodgepole pine, white an dWR-P Montane Fluvial fan GSL Well drained Orthic & Cumulic Regosols hybrid spruce.

WR-SC Montane Fluvial fan SiL Moderately Gleyed Orthic Regosols White spruce, western red cedar .well drained

WR-SF Lower Fluvial fan GSL-GLS Well drained Orthic & Cumulic Regosols Engelmann spruce, subalpine fir .Subalpine

SiL White spruce, Douglas fir ,WR-SPDT Montane Fluvial fan GSL

Well drained Orthic & Cumulic Regosols lodgepole pine .

WR-ST Montane Fluvial fan GFSL-GSiLImperfectly Gleyed Orthic Regosols White spruce, poplar .drained

SPECIAL LAND UNIT S

G

Cobbleland associated with stream channels (SC in Soil survey of Yoho) which is unvegetated or sparsely covered with yello wdryad and willows .

R + H

A mosaic of rock plus heath tundra supported by very shallow soils (generally less than 10 cm to bedrock) .

R-F

Rock with a sparse cover of subalpine fir supported directly on the rock or by very shallow soils (generally less than 10 cm to bedrock) .

R-F(D)

Rock with a sparse cover of scrub Douglas fir supported directly on the rock or by very shallow soils (generally less than 10 cm to bedrock) .

R-whP

Rock on south facing dry exposures with a cover of scattered whitebark pine supported directly on the rock or by very shallow soil s(generally less than 10 cm to bedrock) .

R-aL

Steep rock cliffs, generally with a thin cover of colluvial rubble which supports sparse patchy stands of scrubby subalpine larch .Confined to the southeast quadrant of the Park .

X

Lichen tundra comprised mainly of dark epipetric lichens on acid rock in the vicinity of Lake O'Hara .

R

Unvegetated rock and colluvial rubble, generally at high elevations .

T

Unvegetated talus and coalescing talus cones generally at high elevations .

M

Unvegetated recent moraine generally associated with existing glaciers .

I

Glaciers, ice and permanent snow fields .

z

Grossly disturbed soil and vegetation .

2 5

BIOPHYSICAL MAP UNIT DESCRIPTION S

Detailed descriptions of each map unit concept used on th eaccompanying maps are provided in this section . Table 4 provide sa key to the attributes of the biophysical map unit concept sarranged in alphabetical order, with the special land unit sgrouped at the end . The detailed descriptions expand upon th einformation in Table 4 and provide information relative t osystematic variation in map unit concepts and information abou texceptions and inclusions in map unit concepts .

BIOPHYSICAL MAP UNIT S

BC-Se

Poorly drained, medium and coarse textured ,calcareous Gleysolic soils associated with whit espruce canopy and Labrador tea-willow understor ygrowing on stratified level fluvial landforms .

Map Unit Concept

This map unit is characterized by white spruc egrowing on Gleysolic soils . The vegetation type consist sof three community types : Labrador tea, horsetail, andwillow-dwarf birch . Small areas of w (wetland scrub sedg emeadows and bog communities) and G (yellow dryad o nrecently deposited fluvial gravels and sand) are include din the areas mapped as BC-Se . The floodplain and gentl ysloping fan (H01 soilscape map units) landforms ar ecomprised of deep, medium to coarse textured material sover stratified gravelly fluvial materials . A small are anear Clawson Creek is located on a morainic landform (VA 1soilscape, map unit) with silty material near the surface .

Differentiating Characteristics

Within the Montane zone, the BC-Se map unit i sseparated from most others because it occurs on gentl ysloping fluvial landforms with a high water table . I tdiffers from KI-PSj which/ has a fluctuating water tabl eand droughty periods . _The occurrence of a white spruceforest differentiates BC-Se from BC-w which i scharacterized by a heterogeneous assemblage of severa lshrub and herb communities .

Specific soil and landform characteristics can beobtained from Coen et al . 1977 (pp . 52 to 57, 77 and 135)

2 6

and detailed information about the vegetation can b efound in Kuchar 1978 (p . 120) .

BC-w

Poorly drained, medium and coarse textured ,calcareous, Gleysolic soils associated with aheterogeneous assemblage of shrub and herbcommunities growing on saturated stratified leve lfluvial landforms .

Map Unit Concep t

This map unit is characterized by level, wet fluvia lareas generally of small size, supporting an unmappabl eheterogeneous assemblage of several shrub and her bcommunities . The largest areas occur in the Ottertai lflats and the Leanchoil-Beaverfoot areas . Gleysolic andpeaty Gleysolic soils, and occasionally in areas wher ethe organic layer is greater than 40 cm thick, Organi csoils dominate this map unit . Soil textures are generall ymedium to coarse, with occasional gravel lenses . Thesoils remain at or above field capacity throughout mos tof the summer and are usually flooded in the spring an dearly summer . Small areas of better drained soils an dsmall areas covered with white spruce and/or subalpinefir are also included . Several of the BC-w map unit soccur in the Subalpine zone near Takakkaw Falls ,Sherbrooke and Wapta Lakes and the McArthur valley .

Differentiating Characteristic s

Within the Montane zone, BC-w is separated from mos tother map units because it occurs on gently sloping an dlevel fluvial floodplains and fans with a high wate rtable . The KI-PSj map unit differs from BC-w because of afluctuating water table and both KI-PSj and BC-Se diffe rbecause they contain trees rather than only herbs an dshrubs .

Specific soil and landform characteristics can beobtained from Coen et al . 1977 (pp . 52 to 57, 77, 85 and135) and detailed vegetation information can be found i nKuchar 1978 (pp . 167-177) .

BG -A

Well drained, angular cobbly and angulargravelly, medium textured, calcareous, Regosoli csoils developed on snow avalanched colluvial slopes

2 7

and associated with avalanche scrub and meado wvegetation .

Map Unit Concept

This map unit is characterized by slopes which ar esubject to snow avalanches at sufficiently frequen tintervals to prevent the re-establishment of a fores tcanopy and in many cases avalanches occur nearly ever yyear . Soil materials vary from angular, very cobbly t overy gravelly, medium textured, colluvial materia ldistributed in variable sized tracts throughout th eentire Park at elevations of approximately 1500 to 2000 masl . Vegetation characterizing this map unit is made upof eight communities (Kuchar 1978) distributed in afairly predictable pattern throughout each avalanch etrack . In general, snowbed communities occur near the topof the track and in the upper half, coniferous-deciduou sscrub communities occur . In the lower sections of thetrack the scrub is comprised of mainly deciduous species ,often dominantly willows but in some cases green alder .At the lower end of many avalanched slopes is a her bmeadow dominated by grasses and some forbs usuall yimportant to ungulates . There are frequently undisturbedislands of spruce-subalpine fir vegetation sitting in anavalanche track . Soils are characterized by Cumulic andOrthic Regosols and in situations where the avalanchingsnow does not disturb the soil nor deposit minera ldebris, Brunisolic soils may occur .


The BG-A map units can be distinguished from manyothers in the Lower Subalpine because it is characterizedby colluvial landforms . Some tracts of FL-SF and BG-S Fmay have up to 25% of the terrain affected by avalanchin gsnow whereas BG-A usually has 75 to 100% of the terrai naffected by avalanching snow . Tracts of FL-SF(b) an dBG-SF(b) lack a forest canopy and thus superficially loo ksimilar to BG-A . An examination of the vegetation allow sthe recently burned terrain of the former to b edistinguished from the avalanched terrain of the latter .

Specific soil and landform characteristics can b eobtained from Coen et al . 1977 (pp . 60 to 67) anddetailed vegetation information can be found in Kucha r1978 (pp . 127 to 137, 101 and 106) .

2 8

BG-DN

Rapidly drained (dry) coarse textured ,calcareous, Regosolic soils developed on shallo wcolluvium over bedrock, and open stands of smal lDouglas fir and l i mber pine .

Map Unit Concep t

This map unit is characterized by warm dry rock ycolluvial and talus slopes . The two areas on Mt . Burgessand Mt . Field are on mid to lower slope positions where asufficient detrital mantle has accumulated to permit th edevelopment of Cumulic and Orthic Regosols . Vegetation i scharacterized by a sparse cover of trees and shrubs ,mainly small Douglas fir, and limber pine .


The BG-DN map unit differs from most Montane ma punits because it is associated with rocky colluvia llandforms . The closed forests and Brunisolic soils o fFL-PD and FL-D separate them from the BG-DN . In general ,the very sparse cover of Douglas fir and limber pine ,both being stunted and scrubby, separates BG-DN fromother Montane BG- map units . The BG-DN map unit is theonly one which is characterized by limber pine .

Specific soil and landform characteristics can b eobtained from Coen et al . 1977 (pp . 60, 143 and 195) an ddetailed vegetation information can be found in Kucha r1978 (p .97) .

BG -DP

Rapidly drained, cobbly and gravelly, mediumtextured, calcareous, Regosolic and some Brunisoli csoils developed on colluvium and associated wit hlodgepole pine, Douglas fir and white spruce forests .

Map Unit Concep t

This map unit concept is characterized by colluvia lslopes which are being continuously affected by soi lcreep . It is widely distributed on steeply sloping (50 t o70%) warm (west and south) aspects . Soil materials var yfrom very cobbly to gravelly and only slightly gravelly,

2 9

medium textured, calcareous colluvium, depending upon th egeologic material of the colluvial source . Elevationranges from 1200 to 1600 m and occasionally up to 2000 masl . Vegetation is characterized by lodgepole pine and/o rDouglas fir as canopy dominants . Most are even-agedpost-fire stands with spruce co-dominant in some stands .Some stands are characterized by large Douglas fi ramongst the post-fire lodgepole pine . A depauperat eunderstory includes buffaloberry, showy aster an dtwinflower or perhaps in slightly moister situation sbunchberry, feathermosses and leafy lichens (Peltigeraspp .) . Because of the influence of soil creep, the soil scharacterizing this map unit are dominantly Orthi cRegosols and occasionally weakly developed Orthic Eutri cBrunisols .


The BG-DP map unit differs from many Montane ma punits because it is associated with colluvial landforms .The FL-PD and FL-D map units differ from BG-DP becaus ethey occur on sufficiently stable landforms tha tBrunisolic soils are able to develop . The presence o fsignificant amounts of aspen in BG-TS, BG-TB and BG-T Ddifferentiates them from BG-DP . The lack of appreciabl eDouglas fir in BG-P separates it from BG-DP . Very stuntedDouglas fir and the occasional limber pine separate BG-D Nfrom BG-DP . The large, fairly old trees of white spruc eand/or Douglas fir, with a few lodgepole pine distinguis hBG-SD from the even-aged lodgepole pine and Douglas fi rforests of BG-DP .

Specific soil and landform characteristics can beobtained from Coen et al . 1977 (pp . 60 and 62) anddetailed vegetation information can be found in Kucha r1978 (pp .93 and 116) .

BG-P

Rapidly drained, cobbly and gravelly mediumtextured, calcareous, Regosolic and some Brunisoli csoils developed on colluvium and associated wit hlodgepole pine forests .

Map Unit Concept

This map unit is characterized by colluvial slope swhich are being continuously affected by soil creep . I tis scattered throughout the Park on steeply sloping (5 0to 70%) valley walls along the Kicking Horse Valley . Soil

3 0

materials vary from very cobbly to gravelly and onl yslightly gravelly, medium textured, calcareous colluvium ,depending upon the geologic material of the colluvia lsource . Vegetation is characterized by generally large ,even-aged tracts having lodgepole pine as a dominant i npure stands or mixed in varying proportions with whit eand hybrid spruce . In general, increasing amounts o fspruce indicate increasing moisture . Most stands are 7 0to 120 years old . Aspen and Douglas fir'are mino rcomponents, increasing in dominance and number in drie rstands . Total understory vascular cover is generall yaround 50%, higher in some clearings but decreasing tovirtually nil under very dense canopy . Buffaloberry i sthe dominant understory species along with prickly rose ,meadowsweet and common juniper . Because of the influenc eof soil creep, the soils characterizing this map unit ar edominantly Orthic Regosols and occasionally weakl ydeveloped Orthic Eutric Brunisols .


The BG-P map unit differs from many Montane map uni tconcepts because it is associated with colluvia llandforms . The FL-PD and FL-D map units differ from th eBG-P concept because they occur on sufficiently stabl elandforms that Brunisolic soils are able to develop . Thepresence of significant amounts of aspen in the canopy o fBG-TS, BG-TB and BG-TD map units differentiates them fromBG-P . The presence of significant amounts of Douglas fi rand lack of lodgepole pine distinguishes BG-SD and BG-DNfrom BG-P . Douglas fir in appreciable amounts als oseparates BG-DP from BG-P .

Specific soil and landform characteristics can beobtained from Coen et al . 1977 (pp . 62, 60 and 64) anddetailed vegetation information can be found in Kucha r1978 (pp . 97 and 116) .

BG -SD

Rapidly drained, angular cobbly and angulargravelly, medium textured, calcareous, Regosoli csoils developed on colluvium and associated withwhite-hybrid spruce and Douglas fir-lodgepole pin eforests .

Map Unit Concep t

This map unit is characterized by colluvial slopesbeing continuously affected by soil creep . It is widely

3 1

distributed on steeply sloping (50 to 70%) warm (west an dsouth) aspects . Soil materials vary from very cobbly t ogravelly and to only slightly gravelly medium textured ,calcareous, colluvium depending upon the geologi cmaterial comprising the colluvial sources . Elevation srange from 1400 to 2000 m, the majority of the tract sforming a discontinuous band between 1600 and 1900 m o nwest aspects . Vegetation is characterized by white an dhybrid spruce with Douglas fir as a co-dominant o runderstory species . Many stands are old (250 to 30 0years) with large trees . A west facing tract in the lowe rportion of the Kiwetinok valley is strongly affected b ysnow avalanching . Occasional dry, rocky, steeply slopingtracts supporting Douglas fir stands are also included i nthis map unit concept . Because of the influence of soi lcreep the soils are characterized by Cumulic and Orthi cRegosols .


The BG-SD map unit concept differs from many Montan emap unit concepts because it is associated with colluvia llandforms . The FL-PD and FL-D map units differ from BG-S Dbecause they are sufficiently stable landforms so tha tBrunisolic soils are able to develop . Also BG-SD differ sfrom BG-DP and BG-P because both of the latter ar echaracterized by even-aged, fairly young post-fire stand shaving lodgepole pine as a canopy co-dominant or dominan trespectively . The BG-SD map unit differs from BG-TS ,BG-TB and BG-TD because of the significant to dominan tamounts of aspen in the canopy of the latter three . Thedrier and rockier members of the BG-SD map unit concep tare similar to the BG-DN map unit concept but the latte ris distinguished because of the stunted Douglas fir andthe occasional limber pine .

Specific soil and landform characteristics can beobtained from Coen et al . 1977 (pp . 60, 62, 95 and 64 )and detailed vegetation information can be found i nKuchar 1978 (pp . 84, 86, and 95) .

BG-SD(b)

Rapidly drained, angular cobbly and angula rgravelly, medium textured, calcareous, Regosoli csoils developed on colluvium and associated withrecently burned Montane terrain .

32

Map Unit Concep t

This map unit concept is essentially the same a sBG-SD except that the existing vegetation is made up o fcharacteristic pioneer species regenerating after arecent forest fire . The main colonizers are fireweed an dasters . The lone example of this map unit concept is o nthe northwest corner of Mount Hurd .

Detailed vegetation information can be found i nKuchar 1978 (p . 138) .

BG-SD(LS)

Boulder field comprised of varying amounts ofboulders 2 to 30 m in diameter mixed with some mediumtextured, Regosolic soils and associated with whit espruce, Douglas fir and western red cedar forests .

Map Unit Concept

This map unit is characterized by large calcareou sboulders and associated fine materials accumulated at th ebase of a large ancient landslide originating from th eCathedral Crags . Elevation ranges from 1300 to 1400 masl . The vegetation characteristic of this single ma punit delineation is fairly old open canopied white spruc estands . The understory has an abundant composition o fsubalpine fir saplings mixed with the distinctly Montan especies Douglas fir and western red cedar, both a sscattered trees and saplings . The shrub layer i scharacterized by menziesia and tall bilberry indicativeof a moist habitat . Bunchberry and five-leaved brambl echaracterize the herb-dwarf shrub layer . A dense surfacelayer of feathermosses is also characteristic . Thelandform has an irregular hummocky surface typical o flandslides . Where sufficient soil material is presen tOrthic Regosols characterize the landscape between th eboulders .


The BG-SD(LS) map unit differs from all othe rMontane map units because it is characterized by alandslide landform . The vegetation characterizing thi smap unit is indicative of moister sites than characteriz ethe other Montane colluvial map units .

Specific soil and landform characteristics can b eobtained from Coen et al . 1977 (p . 58) and detailed

3 3

vegetation information can be found in Kuchar 1978 (p .76) .

BG -SF

Well drained, angular cobbly and angula rgravelly, medium textured, calcareous, Regosoli csoils developed on colluvium and associated wit hEngelmann spruce and subalpine fir forests .

Map Unit Concep t

This map unit concept is characterized by slope sbeing continually affected by soil creep . It is widel ydistributed throughout the Park at elevations o fapproximately 1550 to 2000 m . The lower limit of th eextent of this map unit is much higher on south and wes taspects and grading into the BG-SD map concept at lowe relevations on these warm aspects . Soil materials var yfrom angular, very cobbly to gravelly, medium textured ,calcareous, colluvium depending upon the geologi cmaterial comprising the colluvial sources . Vegetation i scharacterized by an Engelmann spruce and subalpine fi rforest canopy . Menziesia is the usual dominant shru balthough any given tract may be dominated by other shrubspecies such as grouseberry, green alder and twinflower .Feathermosses are ubiquitous . Included in this concep tare areas in which fires have disturbed the climax (o rnear climax) spruce-fir vegetation and a canopy o flodgepole pine has regenerated with varying amounts o funderstory and/or co-dominant Engelmann spruce andsubalpine fir . The BG-SF map unit concept i scharacterized by Cumulic and Orthic Regosol soils .

Differeritiating Characteristics

The BG-SF map unit concept can be distinguished frommany other Lower Subalpine map units because it i scharacterized by colluvial landforms . Brunisolic soil sserve to distinguish FL-SF and FL-SF(b) from BG-SF . Thelandslide landform associated with BG-SF(LS )distinguishes it from the uniform colluvial slope scharacterizing the BG-SF map unit concept . Both BG-SF(b )and BG-A lack a forest canopy, the first because of fir eand the second because of snow avalanche destruction ,either of which distinguishes them from the wel ldeveloped forests of BG-SF .

Specific soil and landform characteristics can beobtained from Coen et al . 1977 (pp . 57 to 67 and 95) and

3 4

detailed vegetation information can be found in Kucha r1978 (pp . 101, 106, 97 and 127) .

BG-SF(b)

Well drained, angular cobbly and angula rgravelly, medium textured, calcareous, Regosoli csoils developed on colluvium and associated withrecently burned Subalpine terrain .

Map Unit Concep t

This map unit concept is characterized by slope sbeing continuously affected by soil creep . It i sessentially similar to the BG-SF map unit concept excep tfor the effects of relatively recent forest fires on thevegetation . Soil materials vary from angular, very cobbl y .to gravelly, to nearly coarse fragment-free (on Moun tHurd) colluvial material depending upon the geologi cmaterial comprising the colluvial sources . Rock cliff sare a frequent inclusion within this map concept, notabl ya large cliff on the northeast corner of Mount Hurd . Theassociated vegetation, as exemplified by the recentl yburned tracts in the upper Amiskwi, and mid Porcupin eValleys and on the north corner of Mount Hurd, i scharacterized by the lack of forest cover . Shrub and herbspecies which were regenerating were quite variable ,fireweed being the predictable exception . The BG-SF(b )map unit concept is characterized by Cumulic and Orthi cRegosol soils .


The BG-SF(b) map unit concept can be distinguishedfrom many other Lower Subalpine map unit concepts becaus eit is characterized by colluvial landforms . Also BG-SF(b )can be distinguished from most other Lower Subalpine mapunits developed on colluvium because of the lack o fforest canopy associated with recent forest fires . TheBG-SF(b) map unit can be distinguished from the FL-SF(b )because the latter has evident horizon developmen tassociated with Brunisolic and Podzolic soils while th eformer is characterized by Regosolic soils .

Specific soil and landform characteristics can b eobtained from Coen et al . 1977 (pp . 60 to 67 and 95) anddetailed vegetation information can be found in Kucha r1978 (pp . 139 and 127) .

35

BG-SF(LS)

Boulder field comprised of varying amounts o fboulders 2 to 10 m in diameter mixed with some mediumtextured, Regosolic soils on landslide landforms an dassociated with an Engelmann spruce and subalpine fi rforest canopy .

Map Unit Concep t

This map unit concept is exemplified by larg ecalcareous boulders and associated fines on landslid elandforms north of Cathedral Crags and on the west valleywall south of Narao Lakes in the Cataract Brook valley .The valley wall, prior to the catastrophic slide, appear sto have been mantled with till some of which move ddownslope intact providing small areas of till-lik ematerials within the slide perimeter . Associatedvegetation, where not affected by recent disturbances, i scharacterized by Engelmann spruce and subalpine fi rforest canopy . Where regeneration is occurring afterdisturbance (north of Cathedral Crags) lodgepole pine ma yform the canopy with spruce and fir as understory and/o rco-dominant species . Orthic Regosols characterize thos eareas between the boulders where there is sufficien tmaterial to be considered soil .


The BG-SF(LS) map unit concept can be distinguishe dfrom other Lower Subalpine map unit concepts because i tis characterized by a colluvial landslide landform . TheMontane vegetation of BG-SD(LS) separates it fro mBG-SF(LS) . The subalpine larch of the Upper SubalpineSI-aL(LS) map unit concept also distinguishes it fro mBG-SF(LS) .

Specific soil and landform characteristics can b eobtained from Coen et al . 1977 (p . 58) and detailedvegetation information can be found in Kuchar 1978 (pp .101 and 106) .

BG -TB

Rapidly drained, very cobbly and gravelly ,coarse textured, calcareous, Regosolic soil sdeveloped on steep, fluvial and co l l uv i a l landformswith associated paper birch, aspen and some Dougla sfir vegetation .

3 6

Map Unit Concep t

This map unit concept is characterized by steepcolluviating fluvial fans and aprons which are intimatel ymixed with colluvial landforms . The sometimes stratified ,very cobbly and gravelly, coarse textured, calcareou smaterials are associated with landscapes which frequentl yhave portions subjected to snow avalanching . Elevation srange from about 1200 to about 1650 m . Vegetation i scharacterized by paper birch and/or aspen as canopydominants in stands up to 15 m tall and from fairly denseto open . A few small Douglas fir are usually present a swell . The understory is exceedingly variable i ncomposition and percent cover . Some stands have a hig hpercent cover of large shrubs especially mountain mapl eand red osier dogwood along with dry-slope species suc has shrubby cinquefoil, bearberry and snowberry . The lowerportions of the slopes sometimes grade into a BDS (pape rbirch-Douglas fir-white spruce) type . Snow avalanchingacross these map units commonly provides a swath offrequently disturbed vegetation of variable compositionand referred to as avalanche scrub and meadow . Because o fthe influence of soil erosion, deposition and creep ,these soils are characterized by Cumulic and Orthi cRegosols .


The BG-TB map unit concept differs from many Montan emap unit concepts because it is associated with stee pcolluviating fluvial and colluvial landforms . The FL-P Dand FL-D map units differ from BG-TB because they are onsufficiently stable landforms to allow Brunisolic soil sto develop . The WR-ST and WR-GSd map units differ fro mthe BG-TB because they both are associated with fairl ygentle (<15%) sloping landforms, also WR-ST i scharacterized by imperfectly drained sites and WR-GSd ha sappreciable dryas as ground cover . The lack of eithe rpaper birch or aspen separates the BG-SD(LS), BG-SD ,BG-DP, and BG-DN map unit concepts from the BG-TB . Thelack of appreciable paper birch and the presence of whit espruce and Douglas fir respectively separate BG-TS andBG-TD from the BG-TB map unit concept .

Specific soil

and

landform characteristics can beobtained from Coen et al .

1977

(pp .

143,

60,

62 and 95 )and detailed vegetation information can be foun dKuchar

1978

(pp .

90,

87

and

126) .in

3 7

BG-TD

Rapidly drained, cobbly and gravelly, mediumtextured, calcareous` Regosolic soils developed oncolluvium and associated with aspen and Douglas fi rforests .

Map Unit Concept

This map unit concept is characterized by colluvia lslopes which are being continuously affected by soi lcreep . The two areas identified as BG-TD are located o nsteep valley walls (30 to 70%) in the lower Porcupinevalley . Elevations range from 1300 to 1600 m asl . Soi lmaterials vary from very cobbly to gravelly, mediumtextured, calcareous, colluvium . Vegetation i scharacterized by young, post-fire open-canopied, mixe dstands of Douglas fir and aspen in varying proportions .Some spruce and lodgepole pine are scattered throughout .The understory is typical of the warmer and drier Montan eforests providing an intermediate amount of ground cover .Species such as buffaloberry, showy aster and twinflowe rtypify the understory . Next to the valley bottoms, nea rthe base of the dry slopes on the south aspect of thePorcupine valley there is a stand of paper birch-Dougla sfir-white spruce on very loose unstable dry surface ssometimes subject to snow avalanching . Because of theinfluence of soil creep the soils are characterized byOrthic Regosols .


The BG-TD map unit concept differs from many Montanemap units because it is associated with colluvia llandforms . The FL-PD and FL-D map units differ from th eBG-TD concept because they are sufficiently stabl elandforms so that Brunisolic soils are able to develop .The BG-P, BG-DP, BG-DN and BG-SD map units differ fromBG-TD because they lack a significant aspen component .The BG-SD(LS) map unit concept is moister, contains somewestern red cedar and is characterized by a colluvia llandslide landform which differentiates it from the BG-T Dconcept . The significant proportion of paper birch, i nsometimes nearly pure stands, characterizes the BG-BT ma punit concept and serves to distinguish it from the BG-T Dmap unit concept . The BG-TS map unit is characterized byslightly moister sites on cooler north and northwes taspects and lacking significant Douglas fir which allow sseparation from BG-TD .

3 8

Specific soil and landform characteristics can b eobtained from Coen et al . 1977 (pp . 60, 62, and 97) anddetailed vegetation information can be found in Kucha r1978 (pp . 91, 87, 89 and 1271 .

BG -TS

Rapidly drained, cobbly and gravelly, mediumtextured, calcareous, Regosolic soils developed onsteep colluvial landforms and associated with an openforest of 50 year old aspen and spruce .

Map Unit Concep t

This map unit concept is characterized by colluvia lslopes which are being continuously affected by soi lcreep . The areas of BG-TS found in the Porcupine valley ,near Clawson Creek and the northwest side of Mount Hur dare on the lower slope positions and somewhat moiste rthan BG-TD or similar habitats . Soil materials ar ecalcareous and vary from cobbly and gravelly, mediumtextured, colluvium to nearly stone-free, mediu mtextured, colluvium (the latter on Mount Hurd) .Elevations range from 1400 to 1600 m (except for theMount Hurd tract which is lower, drier and contain slittle spruce, and more lodgepole pine) . Vegetation i scharacterized by open stands of approximately 50 year ol daspen and spruce with smaller amounts of balsam poplar ,subalpine fir, lodgepole pine and Douglas fir . The openshrub layer, with species from both Montane and Subalpinezones, has among others, tall bilberry, bristly blackcurrant, and willows . The herb-dwarf shrub layer i sfairly sparse with no dominants although bunchberry andtwinflower are fairly abundant . Disturbance by snowavalanching is present in the Porcupine valley tract sresulting in vegetation of variable composition andreferred to as avalanche scrub and meadow . Because of theinfluence of soil creep the soils are characterized b yOrthic and Cumulic Regosols .


The BG-TS map unit concept differs from many Montanemap unit concepts because it is associated with colluvia llandforms . The FL-PD and FL-D map units differ from BG-T Sbecause they are on sufficiently stable landforms so tha tBrunisolic soils are able to develop . Also BG-P, BG-DP ,BG-DN and BG-SD differ from BG-TS because they lack asignificant aspen component . The moister BG-SD(LS) ma punit contains some western red cedar and is characterized

3 9

by colluvial landslide landforms which differentiates i tfrom the BG-TS . The occurrence of significant proportion sof paper birch and Douglas fir in BG-TB and BG-T Drespectively distinguishes these somewhat drier map uni tconcepts from BG-TS .

Specific soil and landform characteristics can b eobtained from Coen et al . 1977 (pp . 62 to 64) anddetailed vegetation information can be found in Kucha r1978 (pp . 89 and 93) .

CM-SF

Well drained, medium to coarse textured ,Brunisolic and Podzolic soils developed o ncalcareous, morainic landforms associated wit hEngelmann spruce and subalpine fir forests .

Map Unit Concept

This map unit concept is characterized by valle ywall and valley bottom morainic landforms which ar esomewhat coarser and less calcareous than most moraini clandforms in Yoho . Occasional seepage areas occur o nvalley bottom landforms, particularly in the Wapta Lak eregion . These map units are physically located mainly i nthe eastern part of the Park where the tills areinfluenced by extensive outcroppings of non-calcareou squartzites . The exception is a few tracts in the uppe rPorcupine Valley . Soils at the surface are somewhat fine rtextured than are the tills below . Associated vegetatio nis characterized by Engelmann spruce and subalpine fir .Menziesia and in some areas white rhododendron ar echaracteristic understory species . Tree throw mounds ar ecommon, contributing to a complex mosaic of Eluviate dDystric Brunisols and Orthic Humo-Ferric Podzols both o fwhich tend to be transitional to each other .


The CM-SF map unit concept can be separated fro mmany other Lower Subalpine map units because it i sassociated with morainic landforms . The TO-SF map uni tcan be distinguished from CM-SF because of its steepl ysloping landforms and associated Regosolic soils . TheOL-SF, OG-SF and OG-SF(b) map units are finer texture d(SiL) and have shallower carbonates, less than 1 m fromthe surface, than does CM-SF which is coarser texture d(SL) and generally has carbonates which are greater than1 m from the surface . The OH-SF map unit is distinguished

4 0

from CM-SF mainly because it is developed onnon-calcareous very stony and bouldery till .

Specific soil and landform characteristics can beobtained from Coen et al . 1977 (pp . 67 and 135) anddetailed vegetation information can be found in Kucha r1978 (pp . 101 and 106) .

CM-TS

Well drained, medium to coarse textured ,Brunisolic soils developed on till and associatedwith an open forest canopy of 50 year old aspen andspruce .

Map Unit Concept

This map unit concept is characterized bycalcareous, dense, medium to coarse textured till a tabout 1400 to 1600 m asl in the lower Porcupine Valley .The single tract is characterized by an open forest of 5 0year old aspen and spruce, with smaller amounts of balsa mpoplar, subalpine fir, lodgepole pine and Douglas fir .The open shrub layer, with species from both Montane an dSubalpine zones has, among other species, tall bilberry ,bristly black currant and willows . The herb-dwarf shru blayer is fairly sparse, with no dominants althoug hbunchberry and twinflower are fairly abundant . The steep(45 to 60%) valley wall till landforms are characterize dby Orthic Eutric Brunisol soils, some of which are losin ghorizons through erosion .


The CM-TS map unit concept differs from many Montan emap unit concepts because it is characterized by til lmaterials on steep (45 to 60%) valley walls . In genera lOL-SPD, OL-SFDy, OL-SDC and TO-PD are moister and th eoccurrence of western red cedar and/or moist understor yspecies such as blueberries or menziesia distinguishe sthem from CM-TS . The CM-TS map unit differs from OL- Dbecause the latter has vegetation which is usuall ydominated by Douglas fir . Lodgepole pine dominates OL- Pwhich effectively differentiates it from the spruce andpoplar dominated vegetation in CM-TS . The OL-PT and CM-T Smap units are fairly similar except that lodgepole pin eis the consistent dominant species in the former, wherea saspen and spruce, in a mosaic pattern, are usually th edominants in the latter . Also the soils in CM-TS ar esomewhat coarser .

4 1

Specific soil and landform characteristics can beobtained from Coen et al . 1977 (p . 67) and detailedvegetation information can be found in Kuchar 1978 (p .89) .

CO-SDP

Well drained, gravelly, coarse textured ,calcareous, Brunisolic soils with associated whit espruce, Douglas fir and lodgepole pine forest sgrowing on moist fluvial fan l andf orms .

Map Unit Concep t

This map unit is characterized by whit espruce-Douglas fir-lodgepole pine communities growing ongently to moderately sloping (<20%) fluvial fans whic hhave Orthic Eutric Brunisol soils developed on gravelly ,coarse textured materials . The streams are entrenched ,preventing them from overflowing their banks and floodin gthe surface . The vegetative growth on most sites mappe das C0-SDP indicates ample groundwater moisture i savailable to maintain a moist forest habitat . The twoareas west of Emerald lake are somewhat finer texturedthan the other areas mapped as CO-SDP (although they dohave abundant coarse fragments) . The soils in the Ic eRiver area mapped as C0-SDP are developed onnon-calcareous fan materials and have Orthic Humo-Ferri cPodzol soils . The area south of Emerald lake and west o fMount Burgess, as well as portions of one area in th eBeaverfoot valley, have a drier forest type (PD) .


This map unit is separated from most others in theMontane zone because it has Brunisolic soil developmen ton fluvial fan material and is associated with Dougla sfir in a moist habitat . Both WR-SC and WR-SPDT ar echaracterized by moist habitat but can be differentiatedfrom C0-SDP by Regosolic soils . Even though moist, C0-SD Psites do not flood and thus are distinguishable fromKI-PSj, BC-Se and BC-w even after the vegetation may havebeen disturbed .

Specific soil and landform characteristics can beobtained from Coen et al . 1977 (pp . 70 and 89) anddetailed information about, the vegetation can be found i nKuchar 1978 (pp . 116, 93 and 76) .

42

CO-SF

Well drained, coarse textured, Brunisolic soil sdeve l oped on calcareous, fluvial fan materials an dassociated with Engelmann spruce and subalpine fi rforest .

Map Unit Concep t

This map unit concept is characterized by fairl ystable fluvial fan landforms located near Takakkaw Falls ,in the mid Porcupine Valley and along the lower McArthu rCreek . These landforms, probably coincidentally, all fal lvery near 1500 m asl . The coarse textured, calcareous ,fluvial materials frequently have a gravelly silt ysurficial deposit on the surface into which the uppe rsolum has developed . Associated vegetation i scharacterized by an Engelmann spruce and subalpine fi rforest canopy . Menziesia and feathermosses comprise th emajor proportion of the understory cover . Deeply incisedstreams at the fan apex appear to prevent the channe lfrom shifting allowing the development of Orthic Eutri cBrunisol soils .


The CO-SF map unit concept is separated from mos tLower Subalpine map unit concepts because it i sassociated with fluvial landforms . Both KI-SF(b) andKI-Hmcan be distinguished from CO-SF because of the lac kof forest in the former two . The KI-SF and WR-SF ma punits are characterized by Regosolic soils with littl ehorizon development whereas CO-SF is associated wit hBrunisolic soils with evident pedogenic horizons .


DS-PS

Well drained, medium to fine textured ,Brunisolic soils with associated lodgepole pine ,white spruce and occasionally some Douglas fir o nshallow glaciolacustrine landforms .

4 3

Map Unit Concept

This map unit concept is characterized by smal lsized areas of calcareous, silty, glaciolacustrinematerials, shallow (often less than 1 m) to till .Vegetation characteristic of this map unit is lodgepolepine forests with a varying component of white spruce a sa subdominant and in the understory . Some sites als osupport modest amounts of Douglas fir . Typically theseglaciolacustrine deposits occur on benches well above th eriver level near the steep valley walls of major valleys .Small seepage areas occur associated with these benches .Thus many areas mapped as DS-PS have, as an integral par tof that map concept, very small sized areas that had the ybeen larger, would have been mapped as BC-w (Coen et al .1977, p . 72, Fig . 39) . This is especially true of theDS-PS area mapped along the south side of the lowe rAmiskwi valley . A small tract in the Leanchoil area wa smapped as DS-P(z) indicating that a large proportion o fthe vegetation on that tract had been grossly disturbed .Silt loam to silty clay loam, stone-free Eluviated Eutri cBrunisol soils with thin solumscharacterize this ma punit .


The DS-PS map unit is differentiated from other mapunit concepts in the Montane because it is characterize dby glaciolacustrine materials . The dominantlyspruce-subalpine fir vegetation in the Lower Subalpinezone differentiates DS-SF from DS-PS .

Specific soil and landform characteristics can beobtained from Coen et al . 1977 (p . 72) and detailedinformation about the vegetation can be found in Kucha r1978 (pp . 97 to 101 and 167) .

DS-SF

Well and imperfectly drained, medium textured ,Brunisolic soils developed on shallow, calcareous ,nearly coarse fragment-free glaciolacustrin ematerials and associated with Engelmann spruce andsubalpine fir forests .

Map Unit Concep t

This map unit concept is characterized by smal lsized areas of shallow (often less than 1 m) calcareous ,silty glaciolacustrine materials over till . These map

44

units occur on benches near the valley bottoms in th eGoodsir Valley, near Takakkaw falls and east of Wapt aLake at elevations of 1500 and 1600 m . Associatedvegetation at Takakkaw falls is a stand of matureEngelmann spruce part of which has been disturbed by asnow avalanche . East of Wapta Lake the spruce-fi rvegetation has been replaced by post-fire lodgepole pin eserial to a spruce-fir forest . In the Goodsir Valley muc hof the area is affected by seepage and has an unusua lspruce-fir-Labrador tea community described by Kucha r1978 (p . 122) . The somewhat heterogeneous mixture o fvegetation is grouped together to allow recognition o fthe somewhat uncommon and significant glaciolacustrin ematerials upon which are developed thin Eluviated Eutri cBrunisols and some associated Gleyed members especiall yin the Goodsir Valley .


The DS-SF map unit concept is separated from al lother Lower Subalpine map units because it is associate dwith shallow glaciolacustrine landforms which have dens esilty nearly stone-free calcareous materials .

Specific soil and landform characteristics can beobtained from Coen et al . 1977 (p . 72) and detailedvegetation information can be found in Kuchar 1978 (pp .101 and 106) .

FL-D

Well drained, angular gravelly, medium textured ,Brunisolic soils developed on colluvium andassociated with Douglas fir forests .

Map Unit Concept

This map unit is characterized by angular gravelly ,calcareous, medium textured colluvium . There are severa ltracts located in the lower Yoho and Ice River valleys ,near Steep Creek and west of the Ottertail Flats .Vegetation is characterized by mature stands of Dougla sfir mostly on south and west facing slopes . A number ofsmaller mature stands occur in a mosaic with youn gpost-fire pine and spruce and/or poplar forest stands .Some of these post-fire stands have large Douglas fir i nsmall groups or as solitary individuals . White spruce i sa common secondary dominant throughout the canopy .Understory structure anc composition is rather variabl ebut generally poor in cover and species . Red osier

4 5

dogwood, buffaloberry and prickly rose are among th especies commonly associated with the understory .


The FL-D map unit concept differs from many Montan emap unit concepts because it is characterized b ycolluvial materials . Most of the Montane map uni tconcepts developed on colluvium are characterized b yRegosolic soils (i .e . those designated at BG-) whichdifferentiates them from the FL-D map unit concept . Alsothe vegetation of the remaining colluvial Montane unit sdifferentiates them from the vegetation of the FL-D ma punit concepts . The FL-D map unit differs from FL-D Pmainly because of the admixture of lodgepole pine an doccasional white spruce on landforms with infrequent roc koutcrop in the latter, whereas the former is dominated b yDouglas fir canopy, generally where rock outcrops ar efrequent .

Specific soil and landform characteristics can b eobtained from Coen et al . 1977 (p . 75) and detailedvegetation information can be found in Kuchar 1978 (p .95) .

FL-PD

Well drained, angular gravelly, medium textured ,Brunisolic soils developed on calcareous colluviu mand associated with lodgepole pine and Douglas fi rforests .

Map Unit Concept

This map unit is characterized by angular gravelly ,calcareous, medium textured colluvium . There are severa ltracts located in the Amiskwi, Ottertail, Ice River an dKicking Horse valleys . Vegetation is characterized b yeven-aged post-fire stands with canopy dominants o flodgepole pine and Douglas fir . Small amounts of aspe nand paper birch can also be found in localized areas . I nthe drier stands, Buffaloberry, showy aster, an dtwinflower are common understory components whereas i nslightly moister stands bunchberry, feathermosses an dleafy lichens (Peltigera spp,) are more common . Thefairly uniformly steeply sloping (30 to 60%) landform sare generally located well above the valley floor and arecharacterized by Orthic Eutric Brunisol soils .

4 6


The FL-PD map unit concept differs from many Montanemap unit concepts because it is characterized b ycolluvial material . Most of the Montane map unit concept sdeveloped on colluvium are characterized by Regosoli csoils (i .e . those designated as BG-) which differentiate sthem from the FL-PD . Also, except for the BG-DP map uni tconcept, the vegetation differs sufficiently to allo wdifferentiation from the FL-PD map unit concept . TheFL-PD map unit differs from FL-D mainly because of apredominance of lodgepole pine with Douglas fir and som espruce generally on soils with infrequent rock outcrop sin the former whereas the latter tends to have apredominance of Douglas fir and occurs where roc koutcrops are more frequent .


FL-SF

Well drained, angular gravelly, medium textured ,Brunisolic and Podzolic soils developed on calcareou scolluvium and associated with an Engelmann spruce andsubalpine fir forest .

Map Unit Concept

This widespread and frequently ocurring map uni tconcept is characterized by angular gravelly, calcareous ,medium textured colluvium on generally steeply slopin glandforms without significant rock outcrops above th eslopes . Elevations range from approximately 1550 to 200 0m . Associated vegetation is characterized by Engelman nspruce and subalpine fir forests . Understory ranges froma fairly dense cover of menziesia to thinner menziesi aand thicker grouseberry especially at higher elevations .Common species include green alder, twinflower ,meadowsweet and arnica . Included in this concept ar eareas in which, in a significant number of instances ,fires have disturbed the climax (or near' climax )spruce-fir vegetation and a canopy of lodgepole pine ha sregenerated with varying amounts of understory and/o rco-dominant Engelmann spruce and subalpine fir . The FL-S Fmap unit concept is characterized by Orthic Eutri cBrunisols grading to Orthic Humo-Ferric Podzols .Occasional small sized areas of lithic soils and/o rRegosolic soils are included within this map unit

4 7

concept . .


The FL-SF map unit concept can be distinguished fro mmany other Lower Subalpine map unit concepts because i tis characterized by colluvial landforms . The FL-SF mapunit can be distinguished from BG-SF, BG-SF(LS), BG-SF(b )and BG-A because of the evident horizon developmen tassociated with Brunisolic and Podzolic soils in th eformer . Also FL-SF(b) can be distinguished from FL-S Fbecause of the lack of forest canopy associated wit hrecent forest fires .

Specific soil and landform characteristics can b eobtained from Coen et al . 1977 (pp . 75, 97 and 62) an ddetailed vegetation information can be found in Kucha r1978 (p . 101) .

FL-SF(b)

Well drained, angular gravelly, medium texture dBrunisolic and Podzolic soils developed on calcareou scolluvium and associated with recently burned Lowe rSubalpine terrain .

Map Unit Concept

This map unit concept is essentially similar to th eFL-SF map unit concept except for the effects of a recen tforest fire on the vegetation . It is characterized byangular gravelly, calcareous, medium textured colluviu mon generally steeply sloping landforms withou tsignificant rock outcrop above the slopes . Elevation srange from approximately 1550 to 2000 m . Typified bytracts in the upper Amiskwi and upper McArthur valley sthe vegetation is characterized by the lack of aprominent tree layer . Current vegetation is mainl yfireweed and various regenerating shrubs . The FL-SF(b )map unit concept is characterized by Orthic Eutri cBrunisols grading to Orthic Humo-Ferric Podzols .


The FL-SF(b) map unit concept can be distinguishe dfrom many other Lower Subalpine map unit concepts becauseit is characterized by colluvial landforms . It can bedistinguished from most other Subalpine map unit concept sdeveloped on colluvium because of the absence of forests

4 8

associated with recent forest fires . The BG-SF(b) mapunit can be distinguished from FL-SF(b) because th elatter has evident horizon development associated wit hBrunisolic and Podzolic soils while the former i scharacterized by Regosolic soils .


KI -Hm

Moderately well and imperfectly drained ,calcareous and noncalcareous, coarse textured soil sranging from Gleysols to Regosols on fluvial fan andfluvial terrace landforms and associated with Alpineand Upper Subalpine forb meadows and snowbeds .

Map Unit Concep t

The map unit concept is characterized by aheterogeneous grouping of fluvial terraces and fans i nthe Upper Subalpine to Alpine ecotone on generall yconcave slope positions . The soils tend to have ample t osurplus moisture throughout much of the growing season ;wet areas frequently have melting snowbeds as a wate rsource throughout most of the summer . Fluvial soil paren tmaterials are usually calcareous, but the concept i sbroad enough to allow non-calcareous materials a sexemplified by O'Hara Meadows and Amiskwi Pass, a smembers . Most of these areas are subject to what appear sto be very slow continual windblown additions of sand an dsilt sized materials which in aggregate comprise 10 to 3 0cm of nearly stone-free material . Elevations range from1900 to 2150 m . Associated vegetation is typically acomplex mosaic of herb meadow communities often includin gsubalpine fir and/or Engelmann spruce, both having akrummholz habit . Kuchar (1978) has identified 18 plantcommunities, any or all of which might be represented i na tract mapped as KI-Hm . Some very small wet communitie soccur adjacent to stream margins or others downslope fro msnowbeds . Exaggerated microrelief provides many smal lsized varied habitats for the myriad of generall ycolorful forb plant communities . Willows and occasionall yshrubby cinquefoil are the two shrubs that occasionall yprovide sufficient cover to be considered as shru bcommunities . In the very wet communities Rego Gleysol scan be identified . Where streams flood, seasonall yproviding detritus, Orthic Règosols and Gleyed Regosol soccur . On fairly stable landforms, as exemplified by

4 9

O'Hara Meadows or Amiskwi Pass, Orthic Humo-Ferric Podzo lsoils represent a portion of the map unit concept .


The KI-Hm map unit concept is separated from mos tUpper Subalpine map unit concepts because it i sassociated with fluvial landforms . The Engelmann spruceand subalpine fir forest canopy allows KI-SF, WR-SF andCO-SF to be easily separated from the forb meadowcommunities typifying KI-Hm . The KI-SF(b) map unit i scharacterized by a recently burned and regeneratin gforest community which separates it from the forb meado wcommunities typifying KI-Hm .

Specific soil and landform characteristics can b eobtained from Coen et al . 1977 (pp . 87, 140, 137, 138 an d52) and detailed vegetation information can be found i nKuchar 1978 (p . 146) .

KI-PSj

Moderately well and imperfectly drained ,calcareous, medium and coarse textured Regosoli csoils with associated lodgepole pine-white spruceforests on stratified recent fluvial landforms .

Map Unit Concep t

This map unit concept is characterized by the broa dfloodplains occurring along the Kicking Horse River nea rthe confluence with the Amiskwi, Porcupine and Beaverfoo tRivers . Vegetation is characteristic of sites with arapidly fluctuating watertable . Flooding may occur i nearly spring during snowmelt and again in July when ho tweather r 'esults in rapid melting of glacier ice . I nbetween high river levels the subsoils are coarse enoug hthat they quickly drain and have little water holdin gcapacity resulting in some fairly dry microsites . Thecanopy is usually comprised of post-fire stands of whit espruce and lodgepole pine . Lower vegetation is a mosai cof wet sites in channels and hollows and dry sites o nvery slight rises and around tree clumps . The Regosoli csoils characteristic of this map unit are generall ygleyed and are sandy loam near the surface with gravell ystrata at depth (generally >20 to 50 cm) .

5 0


Within the Montane zone the KI-Psj map units ar eseparated from most others because they occur o nfloodplains with a high water table . Both BC-Se and BC-woccur on areas with a high watertable throughout much o fthe summer rather, as in the case with the KI-PSj ma punits, than having wet and dry cycles and wet and dr ycontrasting microsites .

Specific soil and landform characteristics can b eobtained from Coen et al . 1977 (p . 87) and detailedinformation about the vegetation can be found in Kucha r1978 (pp . 122 and 97) .

KI -SF

Moderately well drained, calcareous, coarse andmedium textured, Regosolic soils developed on fluvia lmaterials and associated with an Engelmann spruce andsubalpine fir forest .

Map Unit Concep t

This map unit concept is characterized by th econfined linear floodplains along the Otterhead and Ott oCreeks and the Amiskwi River . The recently deposited ,stratified, calcareous, fluvial materials tend to hav eample to surplus moisture for some period of most years .Elevations range from 1500 to 1900 m . Associatedvegetation is characterized by Engelmann spruce andsubalpine fir forests . Menziesia and feathermosse scomprise the major portion of the understory cover .Because these areas are occasionally flooded, profil edevelopment seldom occurs and soils are mainly Orthic andCumulic Regosols .


The KI-SF map unit concept is separated from mos tLower Subalpine map unit concepts because it i sassociated with fluvial landforms and materials . TheWR-SF and CO-SF map units are characterized by fan shapedfluvial landforms whereas KI-SF is associated with linea rfluvial terrace landforms . In addition the CO-SFlandforms are typically sufficiently stable to allow th edevelopment of evident soil horizons . The lack of treesand the presence of forb meadows allows the KI-Hm concep tto be easily distinguished from the KI-SF map concept .The recently burned and regenerating forests allow the

5 1

KI-SF(b) concept to be easily distinguished from th eKI-SF concept .

Specific soil and landform characteristics can b eobtained from Coen et al . 1977 (pp . 84 and 147) anddetailed vegetation information can be found in Kucha r1978 (p . 101) .

KI-SF(b)

Imperfectly drained, calcareous, coarse andmedium textured, Regosolic soils developed on fluvia lmaterials and associated with recently burned Lowe rSubalpine terrain .

Map Unit Concep t

This map unit concept is characterized by confinedlinear floodplains along the upper Amiskwi River . Therecently deposited calcareous stratified fluvia lmaterials are frequently saturated with water for asignificant portion of the year . Elevations range from1500 to 1600 m. Vegetation, as exemplified by the Amiskw iburn, is characterized by the lack of a prominent tre elayer . Fireweed and willows are the most prominen tspecies . Gleyed Orthic and Gleyed Cumulic Regosol soil scharacterize this map unit .


The KI-SF(b) map unit concept is separated from mos tLower Subalpine map unit concepts because it i sassociated with fluvial landforms . Vegetation indicativeof a recently burned area separates this map unit fro mthe rest of the fluvial Lower Subalpine map uni tconcepts .

Specific soil and landform characteristics can b eobtained from Coen et al . 1977 (pp . 87 and 52) anddetailed vegetation information can be found in Kucha r1978 (p . 139) .

5 2

Very poorly drained Organic soils associatedwith wetland scrub, sedge meadow and bog communities .

Map Unit Concept

This map unit concept is characterized by flat bo gand horizontal fen landforms covered with greater than 4 0cm and less than 130 cm of heterogeneous organic materia lover calcareous, medium textured fluvial minera lmaterial . This map unit occurs in the Montane (Ottertai lFlats and Beaverfoot areas) and in the Lower Subalpin e(Narao Lakes and upper McArthur Creek areas) zones a televations of about 1100 to 1200 m in the former and 170 0to 1800 in the latter . Vegetation is characterized by apermanently high water table and flora quite distinc tfrom upland communities . The conceptual vegetationsequence within a mapped area grades from open-wate rcommunities to sedge meadows and then to scrub meadow snear the margins of the wet area . Each of thesemore-or-less concentric zones has a complex assemblage o fvegetation communities . Near the open water, sedges ar ecommon and near the margins, willows and/or bog birch ar efairly common . Soils grade from Typic Mesisols near th ecentre of the wet areas and then outward to Terri cMesisols and then peaty Gleysols in the lower elevatio nsites, and from Mesic Fibrisols near the centre to Terri cMesic Fibrisols and peaty Gleysols near the margins i nthe higher-elevation sites .


The NA-w map unit concept differs from all other ma punit concepts in that it is characterized by Organi csoils (i .e . >40 cm of organic material above a minera lhorizon) . Superficially the NA-w map units may be simila rto the BC-w map unit concept but the latter ar echaracterized by less than 40 cm of organic materia labove the mineral material .


5 3

OD-F

Well drained, medium and coarse textured ,Podzolic soils developed on generally calcareous ,morainic landforms and associated with open canopie dor ribbon stands of mainly subalpine fir and som eEngelmann spruce .

Map Unit Concept

This map unit concept is characterized by dense ,calcareous, medium and coarse textured tills a televations ranging from about 1900 to 2200 m . In theDutchesnay Creek area a tract designated as OD-F occur sas a variant on coarse textured, non-calcareous till .Landscapes mapped as OD-F occur on steeply sloping (30 t o60%) valley wall moraines throughout the Park . Vegetationcharacteristic of this map unit concept is a mosaic o rribbon forest of mainly subalpine fir with some Engelmannspruce and open patches between the ribbons comprised o fheath tundra and meadows . Mature trees are stunted with acrown height of 15 to 20 m and layering often occurs i ntrees at the ribbon margin . The shrub layer is open andhas very few species, usually only tall bilberry ,rhododendron and menziesia . The herb-dwarf shrub layer i sdominated by mountain heathers, grouseberry and lo wbilberry along with arnicas, mountain valerian andwestern anemone . Soils are characterized by Orthi cHumo-Ferric Podzols which often have a thin (0 to 5 cm) Hor turfy Ah-like horizon over well developed ligh tcolored Ae and bright Bf horizons .


The OD-F map unit concept differs from most Uppe rSubalpine map unit concepts because it is developed o nmorainic landforms . The OD-aL map unit concept differ sfrom the OD-F map unit concept because the former has asignificant component of subalpine larch whereas thelatter is dominated by mainly open canopied subalpine fi rstands . The OD-F(b) map concept differs because a recen tfire has destroyed most or all of the forests associatedwith the OD-F map unit concept . The SK-H map unit concep tdiffers because it is characterized by treeless Alpin evegetation and the occasional clump of subalpine fir andEngelmann spruce having a Krummholz habit .

Specific soil and landform characteristics can beobtained from Coen et al . 1977 (pp . 97 and 122) anddetailed vegetation information can be found in Kuchar

5 4

1978 (pp . 111, 144 and 101) .

OD-F(b)

Well drained, medium textured, Podzolic soil sdeveloped on calcareous, morainic landforms andassociated with recently burned Upper Subalpineforests .

Map Unit Concep t

This map unit concept is characterized by dense ,calcareous, medium textured till occurring in the uppe rPorcupine Valley and the mid Amiskwi Valley west o fKiwetinok Peak . Vegetation is characterized by a spars ecover of regenerating timberline herbs with very littl efireweed . In former forest sites where the fire was no ttoo intense it is revegetating rapidly throughresprouting of dwarf shrubs and some herbs . The tract i nthe Upper Porcupine Valley has an approximately 50 yea rold stand which has been designated OD-F(b) becaus erevegetation has been so sluggish that there is no rea lforest yet . Soils are characterized by Orthic Humo-Ferri cPodzols having well developed bright horizons .


The OD-F(b) concept differs from most UpperSubalpine map unit concepts because it is developed o nmorainic landforms . Both OD-F and OD-aL are associatedwith ribbon or open forests whereas in OD-F(b) thes eforests have been destroyed through fire . Evidence, suc has charred tree trunks and spars, stumps and standinglive trees all identify the OD-F(b) map unit concept a sbeing distinct from the SK-H which does not exhibit thes efeatures .


OD -aL

Well drained, medium and coarse textured ,Podzolic soils developed on generally calcareous ,morainic landforms and associated with open stands o fsubalpine larch and some subalpine fir .

5 5

Map Unit Concep t

This map unit concept is characterized by dense ,calcareous, medium and coarse textured tills . Elevation srange from 2000 to 2300 m with slightly lower tracts i nthe Mount Goodsir area . Slopes are seldom linear and ar eless than 60% and greater than 15% . The large tract i nMcArthur Pass is a variant of OD-aL in that it i sassociated with non-calcareous till having abundant larg eboulders 1 to 3 m across dotting the ground surface . Thi smap unit does not occur in the northern third of the Par kand is rare in the remainder other than the O'Hara an dGoodsir areas . Vegetation is characterized by stands o fsubalpine larch with sometimes co-dominant subalpine fir .Heathers are the dominant understory cover, but in som estands a high proportion of herbs especially arnicas ,mountain valerian and bracted lousewort is usual . Shrub sare usually very scarce . Soils are characterized byOrthic Humo-Ferric Podzols having well developed brigh tBf horizons below a thin (0 to 5 cm) H or turfy A hhorizon .


The OD-aL map unit concept differs from most Uppe rSubalpine map unit concepts because it is developed o nmorainic landforms . The lack of subalpine larch in theOD-F map unit concept allows it to be distinguished fro mthe OD-aL map unit concept . Evidence of a recent fire i nthe OD-SF(b) map unit concept distinguishes it from theOD-aL map unit concept . The lack of, or near lack of ,trees in the SK-H map unit concept distinguishes it fromthe OD-aL .

Specific soil and landform characteristics can b eobtained from Coen et al . 1977 (p . 97) and detailedvegetation information can be found in Kuchar 1978 (pp .114, 127 and 145) .

QG-SF

Well drained, medium textured, Podzolic an dBrun i so l i c soils developed on valley wall ,calcareous, morainic landforms and associated wit hEngelmann spruce and subalpine fir forests .

Map Unit Concept

This map unit concept is characterized by valle ywall morainic landforms in numerous fairly extensive

5 6

tracts in all except the Cataract-O'Hara Valley and th ePorcupine Valley . Elevations range from about 1550 to2000 m . The tills are compact, strongly calcareous ,medium textured and stony . Non-stony silty surficia ldeposits from 10 to 50 cm thick are common, especially i nthe Amiskwi Valley . Associated vegetation i scharacterized by an Engelmann spruce-subalpine fi rcanopy, with menziesia and feathermosses as the typica lunderstory along with green alder, grouseberry ,bunchberry and twinflower . Tree throw mounds are common ,contributing to a complex mosaic of Orthic Humo-Ferri cPodzols and Eluviated Eutric Brunisols both of which ten dto be transitional to each other .


The OG-SF map unit concept can be separated frommany other Upper Subalpine map unit concepts because i tis associated with morainic landforms . The TO-SF map uni tconcept can be distinguished from the OG-SF map uni tconcept because of its steeply sloping landforms an dassociated Regosolic soils . Imperfectly drained soil scharacterize OL-SF which distinguishes it from OG-SF . TheOH-SF and CM-SF map units are characterized by loamy san dand sandy loam textures which distinguish them from OG-S Fwhich is characterized by silt loam textures . TheOG-SF(b) map unit is defined as having recently burne dand regenerating vegetation which distinguishes it fro mOG-SF which has well developed forests .

Specific soil and landform characteristics can b eobtained from Coen et al . 1977 (pp .100 to 105) anddetailed vegetation information can be found in Kucha r1978 (pp . 101 and 106) .

OG-SF(b)

Well drained, medium textured, Podzolic soil sdeveloped on calcareous, valley wall moraini clandforms and associated with recently burned LowerSubalpine terrain .

Map Unit Concep t

This map unit concept is characterized by valle ywall morainic landforms which have greater than 25 cm o ffriable stone-free silty surficial material over th edense, calcareous, medium textured, stony till . Typifiedby tracts located at about 1650 to 2100 m in th eOtterhead and Upper Amiskwi Valleys this map unit

5 7

identifies portions of two recent forest fires .Vegetation, as exemplified by the Amiskwi burn, i scharacterized by the lack of a prominent tree layer .Fireweed and scattered other herbs and some areas wheretall bilberry and grouseberry are regeneratingcharacterize the current revegetation . The OG-SF(b) mapunit concept is characterized by Orthic Humo-Ferri cPodzol soils .


The OG-SF(b) map unit concept can be separated fro mmany other Lower Subalpine map unit concepts because i tis associated with morainic landforms . The OG-SF(b) mapunit concept is the only Lower Subalpine map concept tha toccurs on morainic landforms and does not have a fores tstand .


OH-SF

Well drained, coarse textured, Podzolic soil sdeveloped on non-calcareous, morainic landforms an dassociated with Engelmann spruce and subalpine fi rforests .

Map Unit Concep t

This map unit concept is characterized by bouldery ,coarse textured, noncalcareous morainic landforms derive dfrom glaciers having their headwalls in the thick ,non-calcareous quartzitic rock cliffs around Lake O'Hara .Elevations range from around 1800 to 2100 m . Associatedvegetation is characterized by an Engelmann spruce andsubalpine fir forest . Feathermosses dominate the groun dcover with open stands of menziesia throughout . Soils ar echaracterized by a thick L-F organic horizon and agenerally thick Ae horizon . Tree throw mounds are commo ncontributing to a microhummocky topography . Soils ar echaracterized by Orthic Humo-Ferric Podzols and EluviatedDystric Brunisols .

58


The OH-SF map unit concept can be separated frommany other Lower Subalpine map unit concepts because i tis associated with morainic landforms . The TO-SF map uni tcan be distinguished from OH-SF because of its steepl ysloping landforms and associated Regosolic soils .Imperfectly drained soils characterize OL-SF whic hdistinguises it from OH-SF . Medium textures andcalcareousness of OG-SF and OG-SF(b) distinguish the mfrom OH-SF . Map unit concepts defining CM-SF ar echaracterized by carbonates in the parent till at depth sgreater than 1 m whereas there are no carbonates in th edefinition of the OH-SF map unit concept .


OL -D

Well drained, medium textured, Brunisolic soil sassociated with Douglas fir forests which haveadmixed lodgepole pine and/or aspen growing o nsloping calcareous, morainic landforms .

Map Unit Concep t

This map unit is characterized by calcareous, mediu mtextured till near the outlets of Porcupine Creek an dSteep Creek . Associated vegetation is characterized b yyoung stands of Douglas fir mixed with lodgepole pine a tSteep Creek and with aspen at Porcupine Creek . Islands o fmature Douglas fir communities are present at bot hlocations . The west-facing area mapped between Talon andSteep Creek occurs up to nearly 1800 m whereas th eeast-facing areas in the Porcupine Creek are between 130 0and 1550 m . The landforms are fairly steeply sloping .Eluviated Eutric Brunisols with thin sola characteriz ethis map unit . Regosolic soils occur locally on steepslopes in the Porcupine Valley .


The OL-D map unit concept differs from many Montan emap unit concepts because it is characterized by til lmaterials . The occurrence of western red cedar and/o rwestern yew indicating moist sites distinguishes OL-SFD yand OL-SCD from OL-D . The lack of significant amounts of

5 9

Douglas fir in OL-P, .OL-PT and CM-TS distinguishes themfrom OL-D . The TO-PD map unit differs from OL-D becaus ethe former is characterized by Regosolic soils . The mai ndistinguishing characteristic between OL-SPD and OL-D i sthat the former is characterized by a fairly mois thabitat as indicated by species rich understor ycommunities providing a high percent cover, whereas th elatter is characterized by a species poor understor ywhich provides only sparse ground cover .

Specific soil and landform characteristics can b eobtained from Coen et al . 1977 (pp . 108, 67, 132) anddetailed vegetation information can be found in Kucha r1978 (pp . 95 and 91) .

Well drained, medium textured, Brunisolic soil sassociated with large even-aged tracts of lodgepol epine forest growing on sloping calcareous, moraini clandforms .

Map Unit Concep t

This map unit is characterized by calcareous, mediu mtextured till at elevations generally less than 1550 m i nfairly extensive tracts especially in the vicinity of theOttertail Flats . Associated vegetation is characterize dby even-aged post-fire stands of lodgepole pine wit htrees generally from 40 to 80 years of age . Theunderstory is dominated by buffaloberry with varyin gamounts of prickly rose, meadowsweet and bracte dhoneysuckle . In aggregate the vascular plants in th eunderstory provide from a trace to 50% cover dependin gupon the density of the canopy . Increasing amounts o fwhite and hybrid spruce occur as stands become older o ras sites are moister . The landforms are gently to steepl ysloping (15 to 50%) morainal blankets over incline dbedrock . Pockets of the till may have been reworked bywater during deposition giving spotty gravel deposits an doccasionally small areas of glaciolacustrine materials .Eluviated Eutric Brunisol soils with thin sol acharacterize this map unit .


The OL-P map unit concept differs from many Montanemap unit concepts because it is characterized by til lmaterials . In general OL-SPD, OL-SFDy, OL-SDC and TO-P Dare moister and. the admixtures of white spruce, Douglas

6 0

fir, western red cedar and western yew allow separatio nof these concepts from the OL-P map unit concept . Thesignificant occurrence of Douglas fir and aspen in OL-D ,OL-PT and CM-TS map unit concepts respectively separate sthese map units from the OL-P map unit concept .

Specific soil and landform characteristics can beobtained from Coen et al . 1977 (pp . 108 and 100) anddetailed vegetation information can be found in Kucha r1978 (p . 97) .

OL -PT

Well drained, medium textured, Brunisolic soil sassociated with a mosaic of lodgepole pine and aspe nforest stands growing on calcareous moraini clandforms .

Map Unit Concep t

This map unit is characterized by calcareous, mediu mtextured, dense till at elevations of generally less tha n1200 m . There is only one tract within the Park, near th ewest gates, but there appears to be fairly large area sfurther west . Associated vegetation is characterized b ylodgepole pine as a canopy dominant plus varying amount sof aspen, white spruce, Douglas fir, and possibly balsa mpoplar . Buffaloberry dominates the well developed shru blayer and pinegrass the herb layer . The characteristi clandform is ridged moraines in the valley bottom . Orthi cEutric Brunisol soils with thin sola characterize th esoils in this map unit .


The OL-PT map unit concept differs from many Montan emap unit concepts because it is characterized by til lmaterials . In general OL-SPD, OL-SFDy, OL-SDC and TO-P Dare moister and the occurrence of western red ceda rand/or moist understory species such as blueberries o rmenziesia rather than buffaloberry distinguishes thes emap unit concepts from OL-PT . The OL-PT map unit differ sfrom the OL-D because the latter has a canopy usuall ydominated by Douglas fir . The OL-P map unit concept doe snot have, as asignificant understory component, aspen o rDouglas fir which distinguishes it from OL-PT . The OL-P Tand CM-TS map units are fairly similar except tha tlodgepole pine is the consistent canopy dominant in th eformer whereas aspen and spruce in a mosaic pattern ar eusually the dominants in the latter . Also the soils in

6 1

CM-TS are somewhat coarser .


OL-SDC

Well drained medium and coarse textured ,Brunisolic soils on calcareous morainic landforms an dassociated with white spruce, Douglas fir and wester nred cedar .

Map Unit Concept

This map unit concept is characterized b ycalcareous, dense, medium textured till in the trac tnortheast of Field and by the same till plus a coars etextured fairly well sorted glaciofluvial Rame terrace i nthe Beaverfoot-Ice River tract . Elevations range fromabout 1250 to 1500 m . Associated vegetation i scharacterized by fairly old stands of white spruce wit han open canopy . The understory has an abundan tcomposition of subalpine fir saplings mixed with th edistinctly Montane species Douglas fir and western re dcedar, both as scattered trees and saplings . The shru blayer is characterized by menziesia and tall bilberryindicative of a moist habitat . Bunchberry and five-leavedbramble characterize the herb-dwarf shrub layer . A dens esurface layer of feathermosses is also characteristic .The landform in the tract northeast of field is a ninclined (45 to 60%) moraine and the landform in th eBeaverfoot-Ice River tract is a rolling (15 to 30% )terrace at low elevations changing to an inclined (30 to60%) moraine at the upslope positions . Eluviated Eutri cBrunisol 'soils characterize this map unit with mediumtextures associated with the inclined moraines and coars etextures associated with the rolling terrace in th eBeaverfoot-Ice River tract .


The steep, uniformly sloping landform of the mapunit concepts on colluvial landforms separates them fro mthe OL-SDC map unit concept . The OL-SDC map unit in theBeaverfoot-Ice River tract differs from the TA-DSP an dC0-SDP map unit concepts because the latter are drier ,supporting significant Douglas fir and failing to suppor twestern red cedar . The OL-P, OL-D, CM-TS and OL-PT map

6 2

units are all drier than OL-SDC and fail to suppor twestern red cedar . The generally moist habitat of OL-SDCcontrasts with the occurrence of seepage sites in th elower slope positions of the OL-SPD map unit concept . Thelatter also lacks western red cedar . The occurrence o fwestern yew as a characteristic species in the OL-SFD ymap unit concept separates it from the OL-SDC . The lackof western red cedar and the uniformly steep slopes o fTO-SDC separate it from OL-SDC .


OL -SF

Imperfectly drained, medium textured GleyedBrunisolic soils developed on lower valley ,calcareous, morainic landforms and associated wit hEngelmann spruce and subalpine fir forests .

Map Unit Concep t

This map concept is characterized by lower valleymorainic landforms which are subject to groundwate rdischarge resulting in saturated soils for significan tperiods early in most summers . Elevations in the Amiskw iand Otterhead Valleys are around 1350 to 1650 m and i nthe McArthur Creek area are around 1800 m . Many smal ltracts that might be mapped as OL-SF are too small to bedelineated at the 1 :50,000 scale of mapping and thus ar einclusions in delineations designated as OG-SF and CM-SF .Thick organic horizons (L-F-H) and silty slope was haccumulations are common occurrences over the til lassociated with this map unit concept . Associatedvegetation is characterized by Engelmann spruce andsubalpine fir . Thin stands of understory shrubs plus a nalmost complete cover of feathermosses characterize th eunderstory . Gleyed Melanic Brunisol and Gleyed Eutri cBrunisol soils characterize this map unit concept . Nea rthe Amiskwi burn an area of poorly drained soil sdeveloped on till has been included in tracts designate dOL-SF .


The OL-SF map unit concept can be separated frommany other Lower Subalpine map unit concepts because i tis associated with morainic landforms . The steeply

63

sloping landforms and associated Regosolic soils of TO-S Fdistinguish it from OL-SF . The CM-SF, OG-SF, OG-SF(b) andOH-SF map units are characterized by well drained soil swhereas OL-SF is characterized by imperfectly draine dsoils .


OL-SFDy

Imperfectly drained, medium textured, Brunisoli csoils associated with a heterogeneous fores tcomprised of white spruce, subalpine and Douglas fi rand some western yew growing on sloping, calcareous ,morainic landforms .

Map Unit Concep t

This map unit is characterized by calcareous, mediu mtextured till at one location northwest of Emerald Lake .The nature of both the soils and vegetation communitie sis strongly influenced by groundwater discharg ethroughout the landform . The forest has a strikingl yheterogeneous assemblage of thick tree clumps an dalternate woodland-like boggy sections . The tree layerhas large spruce, short subalpine fir, occasional ver ylarge Douglas fir and a sparse occurrence of lodgepol epine and paper birch . Western hemlock and western re dcedar are rare . A thick growth of western yew an dsubalpine fir saplings in localized locations comprises asignificant portion of the map unit concept . GleyedEutric Brunisol soils on 30 to 50% slopes with frequen tseepage spots and associated Gleysolic soils characteriz ethis map unit .


The OL-SFDy map unit concept differs from man yMontane map unit concepts because it is characterized b ytill materials . It also has the wettest moisture regim eof the Montane morainic map unit concepts . The OL-P ,DL-PT, OL-D and CM-TS map units are much drier tha nOL-SFDy as indicated by dominantly lodgepole pine o rDouglas fir and/or aspen with relatively spars eunderstories . The T0-PD and OL-SDC map units arecharacterized by few groundwater discharge areas and th eabsence of western yew, which separates them from

6 4

OL-SFDy . The prominent moist and dry areas of OL-SP Ddifferentiate it from OL-SFDY which has few non-mois tareas . Also the absence of western yew in OL-SPD servesto further distinguish it from all other map uni tconcepts in the Park .


OL-SPD

Well drained, medium textured, Brunisolic soil sdeveloped on sloping, calcareous, morainic landformsand associated with white spruce and Douglas fi rstands and having variable amounts of lodgepole pine .

Map Unit Concep t

This map unit is characterized by calcareous, mediu mtextured, morainic materials at elevations below 1500 m ,near the valley bottoms adjacent to the mouths of th emajor tributaries of the Kicking Horse River . Most of theareas mapped as OL-SPD have vegetation characterized b ywhite spruce, Douglas fir and lodgepole pine forests . Theupslope portion of this map unit is generall ycharacterized by fairly dry, mature white spruce-Dougla sfir forests, and in lower slope positions seepage may b eimportant resulting in an abundant cover of understor ycommunities indicative of moist to wet sites . Silt loam(often with a silty surficial layer) Eluviated Eutri cBrunisol soils with thin sola characterize this map unit .


The OL-SPD map unit concept differs from man yMontane map unit concepts because it is characterized b ytill materials . The lone area of OL-SFDy is located wes tof Emerald Lake . The wet soils and associated occurrenc eof western yew separate this map unit concept from th eOL-SPD map unit concept . The generally moist soils an dhabitat supporting western red cedar separate OL-SDC fro mOL-SPD . The lack of Douglas fir in OL-P, OL-PT and CM-T Sseparates these map unit concepts from OL-SPD . The OL- Dmap unit is characterized by drier sites with spars eunderstory cover, which allow its separation from th echaracteristically moister OL-SPD . Steep (50 to 60% )slopes which support even-aged post-fire stands of ofte nco-dominant lodgepole pine and Douglas fir characterize

6 5

TO-PD . This contrasts with OL-SPD which is generally les ssteeply sloping (<40%) and has a major component of whit espruce in older uneven aged stands .

Specific soil and landform characteristics can b eobtained from Coen et al . 1977 (pp . 108, 67 and 133) an ddetailed vegetation information can be found in Kucha r1978 (pp . 116 and 84) .

OL-SPD(b)

Well drained, medium textured, Brunisolic soil sdeveloped on calcareous morainic landforms an dassociated with recently burned Montane terrain .

Map Unit Concep t

The map unit concept is essentially the same a sOL-SPD except that the existing vegetation is made up o fcharacteristic pioneer species regenerating after arecent forest fire . The main colonizers are fireweed andaster . The lone example of this map unit concept is o nthe northwest corner of Mount Hurd .

Detailed vegetation informatio n. can be found i nKuchar 1978 (p . 138) .

00-H

Well drained, medium and coarse textured ,Podzolic soils developed on generally calcareous ,colluvial landforms and associated with heath tundr avegetation .

Map Unit Concep t

This map unit concept is characterized bycalcareous, flaggy, colluvial and residual material susually deposited as a veneer over bedrock . Lithic soil s(<50 cm to bedrock) are common . Vegetated colluvia lrubble occurring on rounded ridge crests is included a spart of this map unit concept . Elevations range fro mabout 2150 to 2400 m depending upon aspect, slope an dother environmental factors . This map unit occur sthroughout the Park in numerous, generally smal ldelineations sandwiched between the rock cliffs and th eforests below or where the cliffs are absent the heat htundra mantles the ridge tops above the tree line . Convex

66

ridge crests and steeply sloping (45 to 70%) unifor mslopes characterize the map unit concept . Evidence o fwind transported additions of fine sand and silt size dmaterials occurs throughout many of the landscapes i nthis map unit . Solifluction and evidence of frost action ,such as stone stripes, are also common attributes .Vegetation is characteristically made up of a larg enumber of distinct community types each one too small t obe cartographically distinct at a mapped scale o f1 :50,000 . The typifying vegetation is the mountai nheathers which occupy a median position along a moistur egradient . In moister sites, receiving snowmelt wate rthroughout much of the summer, forb meadows occur .Mountain heather dominated terrain may also have a noccasional subalpine larch and/or krummholz subalpine fi rand Engelmann spruce . Soils are characterized by dark Ahhorizons and reddish Bf horizons and classified a sSombric Humo-Ferric Podzols which are also frequentl ylithic .


00-H is the only Alpine map unit concep tcharacterized by colluvial landforms, which allow it sdistinction from SK-H . The presence of appreciable tree sseparates SI-F, SI-aL and SI-whP from 00-H .

Specific soil and landform characteristics can b eobtained from Coen et al . 1977 (pp . 114 and 122) anddetailed vegetation information can be found in Kucha r1978 (pp . 158, 144, 146 and 145) .

SI -aL

Well drained, medium and coarse textured ,Podzolic soils developed on calcareous, colluvia llandforms and associated with open stands ofsubalpine larch and some subalpine fir .

Map Unit Concep t

This map unit concept is characterized by stabl ecolluvial materials, often shallow to bedrock . Elevationsrange from approximately 1900 to 2200 m . Landscapesmapped as SI-aL occur on uniform steeply sloping (45 t o70%) valley walls generally without massive rock cliff sabove the tracts although outcrops may interrupt th eslope . Areas of snow avalanching and unstable soils whichare too small to show at a scale of 1 :50,000 ar econsistent components of this map concept . This map unit

6 7

does not occur in the northern third of the Park and i srare in the remainder other than in the O'Hara an dGoodsir areas . Vegetation is characterized by stands o fsubalpine larch with sometimes co-dominant subalpine fir .Heathers are the dominant understory cover but in som estands a high proportion of herbs, especially arnicas, •mountain valerian and bracted lousewort is usual . Shrubsare usually very scarce . Soils are characterized b yLithic and Orthic Humo-Ferric Podzols having wel ldeveloped bright colored Bf horizons below a thin ligh tcolored Ae horizon in turn below a thin turfy Ah (or H )horizon .


The SI-aL map unit concept differs from most Uppe rSubalpine map unit concepts because it is developed oncolluvial landforms . The lack of appreciable subalpinelarch in SI-F and SI-whP differentiates them from SI-aL .SI-F(b) differs because a recent fire has destroyed mos tor all of the forest . The landslide landform associate dwith SI-aL(LS) distinguishes it from the unifor mcolluvial slopes characterizing SI-aL . Heath tundr avegetation characteristic of 00-H differentiates it fro mSI-aL .

Specific soil and landform characteristics can b eobtained from Coen et al . 1977 (pp . 122 and 60) anddetailed vegetation information can be found in Kucha r1978 (pp . 114, 145 and 127) .

SI -aL(LS)

Boulder field comprised of varying amounts ofboulders 2 to 10 m in diameter mixed with some mediu mtextured, Regosolic soils on landslide landforms an dassociated with open stands of subalpine larch andsome subalpine fir .

Map Unit Concep t

This map unit concept is exemplified by larg ecalcareous boulders and associated fines on two landslid elandforms near Goodsir pass . The valley wall, prior t othe catastrophic slide, appears to have been mantled wit htill some of which has moved downs lope intact providin gsmall areas of till-like material within the slid eperimeter . Vegetation is characterized by stands ofsubalpine larch mixed with subalpine fir . Much of theland surface is covered with unvegetated boulders . Soils

6 8

are characterized by Orthic Regosols developed on a mino rproportion of the landscape .


The SI-aL(LS) map unit concept differs from mos tother map concepts in the Park because it is developed o na landslide landform . The distinctly Upper Subalpin eSI-aL(LS) map unit concept allows differentiation fromthe Lower Subalpine BG-SF(LS) and the Montane BG-SDC(LS )map unit concepts .

Specific soil and landform characteristics can beobtained from Coen et al . 1977 (p . 58) and detailedvegetation information can be found in Kuchar 1978 (pp .114 and 145) .

SI -F

Well drained, medium and coarse textured ,Podzolic soils developed on calcareous, colluvia llandforms and associated with open canopied or ribbonstands of mainly subalpine fir and some Engelman nspruce .

Map Unit Concep t

This map unit concept is characterized by stabl ecolluvial materials generally shallow to bedrock .Elevations range from approximately 1900 to 2200 m .Landscapes mapped as SI-F occur throughout the Park o nuniform, steeply sloping (45 to 70%) valley wall sgenerally without rock cliffs above the slopes . Areas o fsnow avalanching and unstable soils which are too smal lto map at 1 :50,000 are consistent components of this ma punit concept . Vegetation characteristic of this map uni tconcept is a mosaic of mainly subalpine fir with someEngelmann spruce and open patches between the ribbon scomprised of heath tundra and meadows . Mature trees ar estunted with a crown height of 15 to 20 m and layerin goften occurs in trees at the ribbon margin . The shrublayer is open and has very few species usually only tal lbilberry, white rhododendron and menziesia . Th eherb-dwarf shrub layer is dominated by mountain heathers ,grouseberry and low bilberry along with arnicas, mountai nvalerian and western anemone . Soils are characterized byfrequently lithic Orthic Humo-Ferric Podzols which oftenhave a thin turfy Ah (or H) horizon over well developedlight colored Ae and bright colored Bf horizons .

6 9


The SI-F map unit concept differs from most Uppe rSubalpine map unit concepts because it is developed oncolluvial landforms . The presence of appreciabl esubalpine larch in SI-aL and SI-aL(LS) differentiatesthem from SÎ-F . The occurrence of appreciable whitebar kpine in rather exposed rocky arid sites distinguishe sSI-whP from SI-F . The SI-F(b) map unit differs because arecent fire has destroyed most or all of the forest sassociated with the SI-F map unit concept . Heath tundr avegetation characteristic of 00-H differentiates it fro mSI-F .

Specific soil

and landform characteristics can beobtained from Coen et al .

1977

(pp .

122 and 58) anddetailed vegetation information can be found in Kuchar1978 (pp . 11, 127, 144 and 101) .

SI -F(b)

Well drained, medium and coarse textured ,Podzolic soils developed on calcareous, colluvia llandforms and associated with recently burned Uppe rSubalpine forest .

Map Unit Concep t

This map unit concept is characterized by stabl ecolluvial and undifferentiated materials generall yshallow to bedrock . Elevations range from approximatel y1900 to 2200 m . Landscapes mapped as SI-F(b) occur i nthree tracts in the upper Amiskwi Valley . Vegetation i scharacterized by a sparse cover of regeneratin gtimberline herbs with very little fireweed . In formerforest sites, where the fire was not too intense, rapi drevegetation is occurring through resprouting of dwar fshrubs and some herbs . Soils are characterized by ofte nlithic Orthic Humo-Ferric Podzols having well developedbright colored Bf horizons .


The SI-F(b) map unit concept differs from most Uppe rSubalpine map unit concepts because it is associated wit hcolluvial and undifferentiated landforms . The SI-F ,SI-aL, SI-aL(LS) and SI-whP map units differ from SI-F(b )because the latter is characterized by landscapes wher ethe forests have been destroyed by fire . Evidence such a scharred tree trunks and spars, stumps and standing liv e

7 0

trees all identify SI-F(b) as being distinct from 00- Hwhich does not exhibit those features .


SI -whP

Rapidly drained, medium and coarse textured ,Brunisolic and Podzolic soils developed o ncalcareous, colluvial landforms and associated wit hopen stands of whitebark pine mixed with varyingproportions of Engelmann spruce and subalpine fir .

Map Unit Concep t

This map unit concept is characterized by generall ystable colluvial materials, often shallow to bedrock .Rock outcrops and snow avalanche tracks are commonattributes of this map unit concept . The often cobbly andflaggy materials on steep (45 to 70%) slopes result i nmany very rapidly drained situations especially near th etimberline where the whitebark pine tend to be mos tprevalent . Elevations range from 1800 to 2200 m .Vegetation is characterized by an open and low (<15 m )canopied forest of whitebark pine co-dominant wit hEngelmann spruce and subalpine fir . If the canopy i staller than about 15 m whitebark pine is effectively a nunderstory species . Many stands are characterized by ashrub layer of common juniper, shrubby cinquefoil ,buffaloberry and willows with menziesia and rhododendro nin the moister sites . Soils are characterized by ofte nlithic Orthic Eutric Brunisols associated with the steep ,fairly dry sites . Lithic and Orthic Regosol soils ar ecommon below cliffs and in other unstable situation swhere horizons do not have an opportunity to develop .


The SI-whP map unit concept differs from many Uppe rSubalpine map unit concepts because it is developed o ncolluvial landforms . The presence of appreciabl ewhitebark pine allows distinction of SI-whP from th eremaining Upper Subalpine colluvial map unit concepts .

Specific soil and landform characteristics can beobtained from Coen et al . 1977 (pp . 122, 60 and 95) anddetailed vegetation information can be found in Kucha r1978 (p . 108, 127, 144 and 111) .

7 1

SK-H

Well drained, medium and coarse textured ,Podzolic soils developed on generally calcareous ,morainic landforms and associated with heath tundr avegetation .

Map Unit Concept

This map unit concept is characterized by dense ,calcareous medium and coarse textured, moraina llandforms . In the Lake O'Hara and Eagles Eyrie area sthere are non-calcareous coarse textured variants of th eSK-H map unit . Occasional areas of colluvial material toosmall to be separated at 1 :50,000 occur as part of thedelineation identified as SK-H . Elevations range fromabout 2150 to 2400 m depending upon aspect, slope an dother environmental factors . This map unit occur sthroughout the Park, in numerous, generally smal ldelineations on somewhat more gently sloping terrain tha nthe surrounding landforms and often associated with th eheads of valleys . There is usually 10 to 30 cm of nearl ycoarse fragment free wind transported silty surficia lmaterial over the tills in these high elevatio nsituations . Vegetation is characteristically made up of alarge number of distinct community types each one toosmall to be cartographically distinct at a mapped scal eof 1 :50,000 . The typifying vegetation is the mountai nheathers which occupy a median position along a moistur egradient . In moister sites forb meadows and snowbedsoccur . Mountain heather dominated terrain may also hav ean occasional subalpine larch or krummholz subalpine fi rand Engelmann spruce . Soils are characterized by Sombri cHumo-Ferric Podzols having a dark Ah colored horizon overa bright colored Bf horizon .


The SK-H map unit concept is the only Alpine ma punit occurring on morainic landforms . The presence o fappreciable trees separates OD-F and OD-aL .

Specific soil and landform characteristics can b eobtained from Coen et al . 1977 (pp . 125 and 114) anddetailed vegetation information can be found in Kucha r1978 (pp . 158, 144, 145 and 146) .

72

TA -DSP

Well drained Brunisolic soils developed oncalcareous, gravelly sandy loam, g l ac i of l uv i a lmaterials and associated with white spruce, Dougla sfir and lodgepole pine vegetation .

Map Unit Concep t

This map unit, where found in the Porcupine an dBeaverfoot Valleys, is characterized by dry open Dougla sfir stands with associated white spruce and lodgepol epine . The area mapped at the mouth of the OtterheadValley has somewhat moister white spruce-Douglas fi rvegetation indicative of seepage . Both areas ar edominated by Eluviated Eutric Brunisol soils with thi nsola developed on steep, calcareous, glaciofluvia lslopes .


The glaciofluvial landform separates this map uni tconcept from other map unit concepts in the Montane zon eexcept for TA-P . The TA-P map unit differs from TA-DS Pmainly because of the lack of Douglas fir as a componen tof the forest .

Specific soil and landform characteristics can b eobtained from Coen et al . 1977 (p . 129 and 81) anddetailed information about the vegetation component canbe found in Kuchar 1978 (pp . 86, 93 and 116) .

TA-P

Well drained Brunisolic soils developed oncalcareous, gravelly sandy loam, glaciofluvial an dfluvial landforms associated with even-aged lodgepol epine forests .

Map Unit Concep t

This map unit is characterized by post-fire ,even-aged stands of lodgepole pine growing on gentl ysloping fluvial terraces near the outlets of the Amiskw iand Ice Rivers and on more steeply sloping (30 to 45% )glaciofluvial terraces along the Ottertail and Porcupin eRivers . More spruce is evident in the understory in the

7 3

moister areas along the upper Ottertail Valley and in th eIce River area and aspen poplar is significant in thepost-fire stands in the Porcupine Valley . The soils ar echaracterized by Eluviated Eutric Brunisols with thi nsola on the fluvial terraces and by slightly deeper sol aon the glaciofluvial landforms .


The gravelly and cobbly, coarse textured soils o nfluvial landforms with Brunisolic development separate sthis map unit from all but those with "TA" designators i nthe Montane zone . The lack of Douglas fir in this ma punit separates it from the TA-DSP map units .

Specific soil and landform characteristics can b eobtained from Coen et al . 1977 (pp . 129, 120 and 81) anddetailed information about the vegetation component ca nbe found in Kuchar 1978 (pp . 97 and 89) .

TA-SF

Well drained Brunisolic and Podzolic soil sdeveloped on calcareous, gravelly sandy loam ,glaciofluvial materials and associated with lodgepol epine, Engelmann spruce and subalpine fir forests .

Map Unit Concep t

This map unit concept is characterized by smal lsized areas of gravelly, coarse textured, calcareous ,glaciofluvial materials, generally located in valle ybottom kame terrace positions adjacent to strea mchannels . Elevations range from 1450 to 1650 m with th eexception of a small area near Lake O'Hara which is a tabout 1750 m . Vegetation is characterized by Engelmannspruce and subalpine fir either as canopy dominants or a sunderstory components . Several areas have been burned andnow support 60 to 80 year old stands of lodgepole pine .There are several understory shrub species the most usua lbeing menziesia, bracted honeysuckle and tall bilberry .Dwarf shrubs and herbs include a sparse cover of arnicas ,bunchberry, bristly goundpine, low bilberry, wintergreen sand twinflower . In stands where lodgepole pine i sdominant the understory vegetation grades to that in th eMontane pine forests . Eluviated Eutric Brunisol andoccasionally Orthic Humo-Ferric Podzol soils characterizethis map unit concept .

7 4


The glaciofluvial landform separates this map uni tconcept from other map unit concepts in the Lowe rSubalpine zone except for the TA-SF(b) concept which ca nbe distinguished because it is characterized by recentl yburned terrain where there is no tree layer .


TA-SF(b)

Well drained Podzolic soils developed oncalcareous, gravelly sandy loam, glaciofluvia lmaterials and associated with recently burned LowerSubalpine terrain .

Map Unit Concep t

This map unit is characterized by calcareous ,gravelly, coarse textured Rame terrace and eske rlandforms as exemplified by a tract near Otto Creek i nthe mid Amiskwi Valley . Included also is a small area o fcoarse textured fluvial fan material . Elevations ar earound 1500 m . Vegetation, as exemplified by the Ott oCreek burn, is characterized by fireweed and a variety o fother herbs and shrubs especially menziesia and willows .Small conifers, pines and spruces, dot the landscape .Hollows and gullies have much denser cover than conve xslopes . Orthic Humo-Ferric Podzol soils are found on thesingle tract mapped as TA-SF(b) in Yoho National Park .


The glaciofluvial landform separates this map uni tconcept from other map unit concepts in the Lowe rSubalpine zone . The TA-SF(b) map unit is a recentl yburned variant of the TA-SF map unit concept .


7 5

TO-PD

Well drained, medium and occasionally coars etextured, Regosolic soils associated with lodgepol epine and Douglas fir stands on steep river banks .

Map Unit Concep t

This map unit concept is characterized b ycalcareous, medium textured till, with occasional pocket sof superimposed glaciofluvial gravels on steeply slopin g(60 to 70%) landforms along the lower Amiskwi Rive rValley . Elevations range from 1250 to 1500 m . Associatedvegetation is characterized by lodgepole pine and Dougla sfir as canopy dominants in even-aged post-fire stands .White spruce is common in the understory . Menziesia ,bunchberry and feathermosses predominate in th eunderstory . The steeply sloping landforms ar esufficiently unstable that the characteristic soils ar eCumulic Regosols .


The TO-PD map unit concept differs from many Montan emap unit concepts because is is developed on til lmaterials . The steep unstable slopes and associate dRegosolic soils separate this map unit from the remainin gmap unit concepts on morainic landforms . In general OL-P ,OL-D, OL-PT and CM-TS are drier and are not likely t ohave the high percent understory cover characteristic o fthe TO-PD map unit concept . The occurrence of significan twestern yew and/or western red cedar in the moist OL-SFD yand OL-SDC map unit concepts provides anothe rdistinguishing feature to separate these concepts fro mthe TO-PD map unit concept . The OL-SPD map unit i sgenerally less steeply sloping (<40%) and has a majo rcomponent of white spruce in older uneven aged stand swhich separates it from TO-PD .


TO-SF

Well and moderately well drained, mediu mtextured, Regosolic soils on steeply sloping (45 t o70%) valley wall morainal landforms and associatedwith Engelmann spruce and subalpine fir forests .

7 6

Map Unit Concep t

This map unit concept is characterized by steepl ysloping valley wall morainal landforms typified by thre etracts on the northeast corner of Mount Hurd and one o nthe northwest slope of Mount Burgess . Slope instabilit yresults from very steep slopes on Mount Burgess and fro mtemporary excess moisture because of smowmelt in th espring on Mount Hurd . Slumps, flow scars and curved tree sindicate slope instability on these tracts . Elevationsrange from about 1350 to 1800 m . Associated vegetation i scharacterized by Engelmann spruce and subalpine fi rforests . The tract on Mount Hurd, although in aspruce-fir environment, is characterized by post-fir elodgepole pine stands with regenerating spruce and fir .The unstable slopes result in sufficient soil creep t oprevent the development of soil horizons resulting i nCumulic Regosol soils being characteristic of the ma punit concept .


The TO-SF map unit concept can be separated frommany other Lower Subalpine map unit concepts because i tis associated with morainic landforms . There may be somedifficulty distinguishing TO-SF map units from BG-SF ma punits . Although unstable, the TO-SF map unit does no treceive debris from cliffs above, thus has fewer flag an dcobble sized coarse fragments and is denser and firme rwith depth than would be the BG-SF map unit concept . TheTO-SF map unit concept differs from the remaining Lowe rSubalpine morainic landforms because it is characterize dby Regosol, ic soils .


WR-GSd

Well drained, calcareous, gravelly, coars etextured, Regosolic soils associated with open stand sof white and hybrid spruce having yellow dryad as anunderstory growing on fluvial fan and floodplai nlandforms .

7 7

Map Unit Concep t

This map unit concept is characterized by gentl ysloping, calcareous, gravelly, sandy loam fluvial fan sand floodplains in both the Montane and the Lowe rSubalpine zones . The WR-GSd map unit north of Emeral dLake is in the Montane zone but the areas on th efloodplains of the Ice and Goodsir Rivers and near NaraoLake are more closely related to the Lower Subalpinezone . The map unit is characterized by open stands o fwhite and hybrid spruce (with some lodgepole pine)

andareas of recent alluvium covered with yellow dryad .

Thes esites are dry during much of the season but may flood inthe spring or at times of rapid glacier melting .Regosolic soils, lacking even Ah horizons, characterizethis map unit . The WR-GSd map units in the Takakkaw Fall sarea have significant portions with moister sites an dGleyed Regosolic soils included along with the seasonall ydry soils on the floodplain .


The occurrence of open white and hybrid spruce wit ha yellow dryad understory on seasonally dry, coars efluvial material separates the WR-GSd map unit from othe rmap units in the Montane and Lower Subalpine vegetationzones .

Specific soil and landform characteristics can beobtained from Coen et al . 1977 (pp . 141 to 148, and 85 )and detailed information about the vegetation can b efound in Kuchar 1978 (pp . 123 and 180) .

WR -P

Well drained, calcareous, coarse textured ,Regosolic soils associated dominantly lodgepole pin eforests growing on gently sloping fluvial fan andfloodplain landforms .

Map Unit Concept

This map unit is characterized by intermediate size dfans impinging upon the Kicking Horse floodplain and tosome extent, the floodplain itself . The vegetation i scharacterized predominantly by even-aged post-fir elodgepole pine forests with increasing amounts o funderstory white spruce in increasingly moister sites . A tthe moist end of the WR-P map unit concept white spruc eis sometimes a co-dominant with the lodgepole pine .

7 8

Buffaloberry, twinflower, and bunchberry are . the commonunderstory species . Two areas are designated as WR-P(z )indicating that the vegetation on these tracts has beenseverely modified by the development of a campsite andcabins on the fan near the confluence of the Yoho an dKicking Horse Rivers and a ranch on the floodplain wes tof Field . The dominant soils are gravelly sandy loa mRegosolics situated on calcareous, stratified, gentl ysloping fluvial deposits .


Within the Montane zone the occurrence of this mapunit on fluvial deposits separates it from map unit scharacterized by other geologic materials . The wel ldrained soils and associated mesic forests separate th eWR-P map units from the map units characterized by wette rsites such as KI-PSj, BC-Se, BC-w, C0-SDP, WR-SC, andWR-SPDT . The WR-GSd map unit is drier and characterize dby open stands of white spruce and/or lodgepole pine wit hyellow dryad and creeping juniper characteristic of th eunderstory, rather than vegetation as described above fo rWR-P . The presence of poplar species in the WR-ST ma punit differentiates it from the WR-P map unit .

Specific soil and landform characteristics can b eobtained from Coen et al . 1977 (pp . 141 to 145) anddetailed information about the vegetation can be found i nKuchar 1978 (pp . 97 to 101) .

WR -SC

Moderately well drained, calcareous, mediumtextured, Regosolic soils associated with whitespruce and western red cedar forests growing on mois tfluvial fan landforms .

Map Unit Concep t

This map unit concept is characterized by ol d(decadent) white spruce-western red cedar forests wit hthe odd Douglas fir as a minor component . The abundanceof devil's club in the understory is also very typical .The above vegetation community is associated with mediumtextured Regosolic soils on fluvial fan materials whic hhave ample moisture for good vegetative growth . There ar ethree areas mapped as WR-SC, two of which are located onthe east side of Emerald Lake and have deep, silt loamGleyed Cumulic Regosolic soils and appear to be slightl ymoister sites than the one north of the Field townsite .

7 9

This may, in part, be because the latter fan has soil swith a greater percentage of coarse fragments at dept hand thus they have a lower water holding capacity, o rperhaps because it is that the smaller groundwater suppl yis less dependable .


Within the Montane zone the WR-SC map units ar eseparated from most other units because of their mois tRegosolic soils on fluvial fans which flood infrequentl yand seldom have a high water table . The old (decadent )white spruce-western red cedar vegetation with a nunderstory of devil's club serves to distinguish WR-S Cfrom WR-SPDT, WR-ST and WR-GSd .

Specific soil and landform characteristics can b eobtained from Coen et al . 1977 (pp . 141 to 148) anddetailed information about the vegetation can be found i nKuchar 1978 (p . 118) .

WR -SF

Well drained, calcareous, coarse textured ,Regosolic soils on fluvial fan landforms an dassociated with Engelmann spruce and subalpine fi rforests .

Map Unit Concep t

This map unit concept is characterized by a fewfairly steep (15 to 30%) fluvial fan landforms located i nthe mid Ice River Valley, upper McArthur Creek, nea rNarao Lakes and near Takakkaw Falls . The recentl ydeposited, calcareous, cobbly, fluvial materials ar egenerally located at elevations between 1500 and 1800 mexcept for the tract at Narao Lakes which extend ssomewhat higher . Associated vegetation is characterizedby an Engelmann spruce and subalpine fir forest .Menziesia and feathermosses comprise the major proportio nof the understory cover . Periodic shifting of the strea mchannel and surface flow of silt-laden water results i nthe soils being characterized by Orthic and Cumuli cRegosols .


The WR-SF map unit concept is separated from mos tLower Subalpine map unit concepts because it is

8 0

associated with fluvial landforms . The KI-SF(b) and KI-Hmmap unit concepts can be distinguished from WR-SF becaus eof the lack of a forest canopy in the former two . TheCO-SF map unit is characterized by Brunisolic soils onstable landforms which differentiate it from WR-SF whic hhas little soil profile development . The KI-SF map uni tis associated with linear fluvial terrace landform srather than the fluvial fan landforms characterizin gWR-SF .

Specific soil and landform characteristics can b eobtained from Coen et ai . 1977 (pp . 140 to 146) anddetailed vegetation information can be found in Kucha r1978 (p . 101) .

WR-SPDT

Well drained, calcareous, coarse textured ,Regosolic soils associated with white spruce-Douglasfir-lodgepole pine canopy and associated understor ygrowing on gently sloping moist fluvial fan an dfloodplain landforms .

Map Unit Concep t

This map unit concept is characterized by slopin gfluvial fans and floodplains adjacent to the Kickin gHorse and Beaverfoot Rivers . These generally moist site sare characterized by a complex mixture of tree species ,the most abundant being white spruce, and Douglas fir i susually cofimon . Other species such as subalpine fir ,western red cedar, lodgepole pine, balsam poplar an dpaper birch occur in varying proportions . Three communit ytypes namely spruce-lodgepole pine-Dougla sfir/menziesia-green alder, spruce-Douglas fir/ wil dsarsaparilla and spruce-Douglas fir-lodgepol epine/Labrador tea-bunchberry characterize the understor yof the moist sites . The calcareous Regosolic soil scharacteristic of this map unit are gravelly sandy loamin texture, but seldom show gleying characteristic of ahigh water table . The small area near the confluence o fthe Yoho and Kicking Horse Rivers has dominantly pine (P )vegetation growing on floodplain materials and appears t obe somewhat less moist than the sites near th econfluences of the Porcupine and Beaverfoot Rivers . TheWR-SPDT map unit upstream from Field has an upslop ecomponent of fairly steep coarse fan material which i ssomewhat drier and supports mainly (SD) spruce-Dougla sfir vegetation .

8 1


Within the Montane zone the WR-SPDT map uni tconcepts are separated from most other map unit concept sby moist Regosolic soils on fluvial fans and floodplain swhich seldom flood . The old stands of whit espruce-western red cedar separate the WR-SC map unit sfrom the somewhat less moist white spruce-Dougla sfir-Lodgepole pine forests of WR-SPDT map units . TheWR-ST map units are similar in moisture to the WR-SPD Tunits except perhaps the soils might not be a scontinuously supplied with seepage and the vegetatio ndoes not have the Douglas fir component and lodgepole i sless evident or absent . Tracts mapped as WR-P an despecially WR-GSd are drier sites and easil ydistinguishable by the vegetation types .

Specific soil and landform characteristics can b eobtained from Coen et al . 1977 (pp . 14 to 148 and 85) anddetailed information about the vegetation can be found i nKuchar 1978 (pp . 116, 84 and 125) .

SPECIAL MAP UNIT S

WR -ST

Imperfectly drained, calcareous, coarse andmedium textured Regosolic soils associated with whit espruce-poplar forests growing on gently sloping mois tfluvial fan landforms .

Map Unit Concep t

This map unit concept is characterized by gentl ysloping, imperfectly drained, calcareous, fluvia lmaterials in the Kicking Horse River Valley . Vegetationis characterized by dominantly white spruce plus balsampoplar or in some cases dominantly balsam poplar wit hsome trembling aspen . The understory vegetation typicall yincludes willows and other species indicative of mois tsites . The soils of this map unit are characterized b ygravelly, fine sandy loam Gleyed Orthic Regosols .


Within the Montane zone the occurrence of this ma punit on fluvial deposits separates it from map unit scharacterized by other geologic materials . The

G

8 2

imperfectly drained soils and moist sites wit hsignificant poplars separate this map unit from WR-P an dWR-GSd map unit concepts . The BC-w and BC-Se map unit shave a high water table throughout a significant portio nof the summer which separates them from . WR-ST . TheDouglas fir component in WR-SPDT separates it from WR-ST .A significant presence of poplars separates WR-ST fro mthe remaining CO-SDP and WR-SC map units with simila rmoisture regimes .

Specific soil and landform characteristics can beobtained from Coen et al . (pp . 145 to 148 and 77) an ddetailed information about the vegetation can be found i nKuchar 1978 (pp . 125 and 126) .

SPECIAL LAND UNIT S

Cobbleland associated with stream channels ,unvegetated or sparsely covered with yellow drya dand/or willows .

Map Unit Concep t

This map unit concept is typified by the floodplai nof the Kicking Horse River up and downstream from Field .The coarse nature of the fluvial materials plus rapidl yfluctuating water table results in surplus moisture fo rvarying periods and a moisture deficit for other period sduring the growing season . These braided stream channel sresult in continued disturbance of the vegetation cove rthat does invade the fresh debris . Elevations range fromabout 1100 m near Wapta Falls to around 1800 m in th eupper Yoho Valley . This map unit is mapped only along th emajor rivers because the other valleys are too confine dto have areas falling within the G concept that are largeenough to be delineated at a scale of 1 :50,000 .Vegetation is characterized by yellow dryad andoccasionally white dryad at high elevations . Occasiona lwillows may also obtain a tenuous foothold in thes egravels . Cobbleland and poorly developed Regosolic soil scharacterized this map unit concept .


R + H

A mosaic of rock plus heath tundra supported b yvery shallow soils .

83

Map Unit Concep t

This map unit concept is typified by rock, talus an dcolluvial rubble landforms which are above the tree lin eand have sufficient weathered mantle to support a heat htundra vegetation . Elevations are generally above 220 0and below 2400 m . The mantle may occasionally be thicke rthan the 10 cm required to be considered a soil, and i nthese cases the soils are classified as Regosolic .Vegetation is characterized by heath tundra consistin gmainly of the mountain heathers . White mountain heathe rdominates the bulk of the stand with sometime sco-dominant grouseberry or yellow and red mountai nheather . Sparse numbers of herbs such as western anemoneand woolly pussytoes are consistently present as well .Drought resistant stands are characterized by ston ytundra on exposed or unstable sites . Plants occur in ver ysmall or prostrate forms in mats, cushions, rosettes an dtufts . White dryad is one of the more common plants wit ha few other species such as moss campion, little clubmos sand purple saxifrage also being present often as singl eclumps or plants in a protected microsite .

Detailed vegetation information can be found i nKuchar 1978 (pp . 158 and 146) .

Rock with a sparse cover of subalpine fi rsupported directly on the rock or by very shallowsoils .

Map Unit Concep t

This map unit concept is typified by rock, talus an doccasionally colluvial rubble landforms which are nearthe upper limit of the tree line . Elevations range from1900 to 2200 m . The mantle may occasionally be thicke rthan the 10 cm required to be considered a soil, and i nthese cases the soils are classified as Regosolic .Vegetation is characterized by slow growing, short, ope nfir stands on the steep cliffs and by dense scrub fir o nthe upper slopes of avalanche chutes . Engelmann sprucecan be seen as a companion or co-dominant tree in thi smap unit concept . Patches of sparsely vegetated cliffs

84

and talus as well as bare rock are part of this map uni tconcept . Avalanched talus chutes partially vegetated wit hdense scrub fir commonly interrupt the thin canopy of th erocky cliffs typical of this map unit concept .

Detailed vegetation information can be found i nKuchar 1978 (pp . 111, 127, and 183) .

R -F(b)

Rock associated with a recently burned Uppe rSubalpine terrain .

Map Unit Concep t

This map unit concept is essentially the same as R- Fexcept that the existing vegetation is made up o fcharacteristic regenerating pioneer species of timberlin eherbs, with very little fireweed .


R -whP

Rock on south and west facing dry exposures wit ha cover of scattered whitebark pine supporteddirectly on the rock or by very shallow soils .

Map Unit Concep t

This map unit concept is typified by rock andoccasionally colluvial rubble landforms on warm, dry ,generally south and west aspects at elevations of aroun d1800 to 2200 m, just below the tree line . Where th emantle is greater than 10 cm thick, the resulting soil sare classified as Regosolic and weakly developedBrunisolic . Vegetation is characerized by open canopie dstands of low growing (<15 m) whitebark pine co-dominan twith Engelmann spruce and subalpine fir . Many stands ar echaracterized by a shrub layer of common juniper, shrubb ycinquefoil and buffaloberry .


8 5

X

R-F(D)

Rock with a sparse cover of scrub Douglas fi rsupported directly on the rock or by very shallo wsoils .

Map Unit Concep t

This map unit is typified by south and west facin grock outcrop and rock cliffs at about 1500 to 2000 m . Thelone example of this map concept is the west facing clif fnorth of the Mount Hunter fire lookout . The vegetation i scharacterized by sparse stands of scrubby Douglas fi rwith a low cover of understory species . There are fewsites with sufficient weathered mantle (>10 cm) to b econsidered soil and these would be Regosolic .

R -aL

Steep rock cliffs, generally with a thin coverof colluvial rubble which supports sparse patchystands of scrubby subalpine larch .

Map Unit Concep t

This map unit concept is characterized by stee procky cliffs with patches of thin colluvial rubble at andnear the upper limit of the tree line . Elevations aremainly 2000 to 2300 m in the southeast quadrant of th ePark . Only rarely does the colluvial rubble mantl econtain sufficient fines to be considered a Regosoli csoil . Vegetation is characterized by a sparse cover o fsubalpine larch with little understory vegetation .

Detailed vegetation information can be found i nKuchar 1978 (pp . 114,aLr) .

Lichen tundra comprised mainly of dark epipetri clichens on acid rock in the vicinity of Lake O'Hara .

R

T

86

Map Unit Concep t

This map unit concept is characterized by "bare "acid rock outcrops generally above the tree line .Outcrops of the Gog Formation (Allan 1914) closel ycoincide with the areal distribution of this map uni tconcept . The vegetation characterizing this map uni tconcept is an abundance of rock lichens, in place sapproaching 100% cover . Other vegetation is nil o rextremely sparse, mainly tiny herbs rooted in crevice sand fissures or on small rock ledges with rock debris .The dominant lichens are green (Rhizocarpon geographicum )and black (Lecidea, Lecanora, Umbi1icariaceae) which at adistance results in a distinctive dark, greenish cast t othe rock surfaces . The lichen cover is very slow growin gand the rocks and colluvial rubble must remain stable fo rhundreds of years to have the dark greenish cast .


Unvegetated rock and colluvial rubble, generall yat high elevations .

Map Unit Concept

This map unit concept is characterized by al lnatural areas of rock outcrop in the Park where plan tlife is totally absent, or present but extremely sparse ,generally less than 0 .1% cover . Landforms include Alpin eand Subalpine bedrock and outcrops, exposed Alpinecolluvial rubble slopes and ridges, activ erock-avalanche, chutes and bare cliffs . In crevices andother stable sites which provide some moisture during th egrowing season there may be a few plants, mostly Alpin especies such as snow willow, mountain sorrel ,broad-leaved fireweed and several others .


Unvegetated talus and coalescing talus cones ,generally at high elevations .

M

I

8 7

Map Unit Concep t

This map unit concept is characterized by area sdominated by talus which is so active and/or at suc hextreme elevations that either or both preclude or ver ynearly preclude plant life . What vegetation that i spresent would provide less than 0 .1% cover . Snowavalanching is often active on these landforms . I nrelatively stable sites where some moisture is availabl eduring the growing season there may be a few solitar yplants, generally Alpine species such as snow willow ,mountain sorrel, broad-leaved fireweed and severa lothers .


Unvegetated recent moraine, generally associatedwith existing glaciers .

Map Unit Concep t

This map unit concept is characterized by area sdominated by recent moraines (including rock glaciers )generally associated with existing glaciers . Elevation sare generally higher than 2100 m and below 2600 m wit hoccasional lobes as low as 1900 m . The lateral moraini cridges are frequently so steep, and have such "knif eedged " crests, that erosion (as well as climate) prevent scolonization by plants . In relatively stable sites ther emay be a few solitary plants, generally Alpine specie ssuch as snow willow, mountain sorrel, broad-leave dfireweed and several others .


Glaciers, ice and permanent snow fields .

Map Unit Concep t

This map unit concept is characterized by area sdominated by glaciers and permanent snowfields whic hoccur near and above tree line in Yoho National Park .

z

88

Over a period of several years the ice front can be quit edynamic and result in relatively frequent changes in th earea which might be mapped as I . However, in terms o fareal extent, given a mapping scale of 1 :50,000 thesechanges over 10 to 50 years are not discernible on th emaps . Vegetation on the snowfields is limited to patcheswhich, during portions of the year, may support a fairl yextensive very thin layer of algae . In the Rockies thes epatches of "red snow" are caused by snow algae, mainl yChlamydomonas nivalis (Kol 1964) .

Grossly disturbed soil and vegetation .

Map Unit Concep t

This map unit concept is characterized by borrow an dgravel pits and other disturbances to the soil an dvegetation . There are of course many areas, especiall yalong roads and in the townsite, that fit the abov econcept but that cannot be shown on a map at a scale o f1 :50,000 . Areas where the vegetation but not the soil ha sbeen grossly disturbed by man's activities are indicate dby a z in brackets after a biophysical symbol on the map .For example, DS-P(z) indicates a site with th ebiophysical characteristics of DS-P with the vegetatio nbeing severely disturbed .

89

REFERENCES

Allan, J .A . 1914 . Geology of the Field Map-Area, B .C . andAlberta . Geol . Surv . Can . Mem . 55 .

Bostock, H .S . 1968 . Physiographic subdivisions of Canada . I nDouglas, R .J . W . . ed ., Geology and Economic Minerals of Canada .Geol . Surv . Can ., Economic Geology Report No . 1, 5th edition .Queen's Printer for Canada . 1970 .

Brady, N .C . 1974 . The nature and properties of soils . 8th ed .MacMillan Publishing Co ., New York . 639 pp .

Canada Soil Survey Committee, Subcommittee on Soi lClassification . 1978 . The Canadian system of soi lclassification . Can . Dep . Agric . Publ . 1976 . Supply andServices Canada, Ottawa, Ont . 164 pp .

Chapman, J .D . 1952 . The Climate of British Columbia . Transaction sof the fifth British Columbia Natural Resources Conference ,Feb . 27-29, 1952 .

Coen, G .M ., P .F . Epp, J . Tajek and L . Knapik . 1977 . Soil surveyof Yoho National Park . Alberta Institute of Pedology Report #S-77-37, Univ . of Alberta, Edmonton . 208 pp ., maps .

Cook, D .C . 1975 . Structural style influence by lithofacies in th eRocky Mountain main ranges of Alberta and British Columbia .Geol .Surv .Can . Bull .233 .

Daubenmire, R .F . 1952 . Forest vegetation of northern Idaho an dadjacent Washington, vegetation classification . Ecol . Monogr .22 : 301-330 .

Douglas, R .J .W ., H . Gabrielse, J .O . Wheeler, D .F . Scott and H .R .Belyea . 1968 . Geology of Western Canada . In Douglas, R .J .W .ed . Geology and Economic Minerals of Canada . Geol . Surv .Can ., Economic Geology Report No . 1 ., 5th ed . Queen's Printe rfor Canada . 1970 .

Drew, C .W . 1975 . Report on geology and landforms emphasizin gsurficial geology Yoho National Park, British Columbia .Prepared for Parks Canada, Calgary, by J .C . Sproule andAssociates Ltd ., Calgary (limited distribution) . 97 pp .

Fox, J .C . 1974 . Glacial Geomorphology of Cataract Brook Valley ,Yoho National Park, British Columbia . M .Sc . Thesis, Univ . o fAlberta . National Library of Canada, Ottawa, Microfiche #21816 .

.

Getty, I .A .L . 1972 . A historical guide to Yoho National Park .Mimeographed report prepared'for Parks Canada, Calgary .(limited distribution) 396 pp .

9 0

Heusser, C .J . 1956 . Postglacial environments in the Canadia nRocky Mountains . Ecol . Monogr . 26 : 263-302 .

Janz, B . and D . Storr . 1977 . The climate of the contiguou sNational Parks . Meteorological Applications Branch . Interna lReport #30 . Toronto .

Jenny, H . 1941 . Factors of soil formation . McGraw-Hill, New York .

Kol, E . 1964 . Cryobiological research in the Rocky Mountains .Arch . Hydrobiol . 60 : 278-285 .

Kuchar, P . 1978 . The vegetation of Yoho National Park . Repor tsubmitted to Western Region, Parks Canada, Calgary . (limiteddistribution) 385 pp .

Kuchler, A .W . 1967 . Vegetation Mapping . Ronald Press, New York ,472 pp .

Lacate, D .S . 1969 . Guidelines for biophysical landclassification . Dept . of Fisheries and Forestry, CanadianForestry Service . Publ . # 1264 .

Live, D . 1970 . Subarctic and alpine ; where and what? Arctic andAlpine Research, 2 : 63-73 .

Simonson, R .W . 1971 . Soil association maps and proposednomenclature . Soil Sci . Soc . Amer . Proc . 35 : 959-965 .

Soil Research Institute and Plant Research Institute Staff . 1972 .Soil climates of Canada (map only) . Information Division ,Agriculture Canada, Ottawa .

9 1

APPENDIX - Common and scientific names used in this report .

TREE S

Common Names Scientific Names

aspen (trembling )birch, papercedar, western redDouglas fi rfir, subalpinehemlock, wester nlarch, subalpinepinepine, limberpine, whitebar kpopla rpoplar, balsamsprucespruce, Engelmannspruce, hybri dspruce, whiteyew, wester n

SHRUB S

alder, greenbearberr ybilberr ybirch, dwar fblack currant, bristl yblueberr ybramble, five-leavedbuffaloberr ybunchberr ycinquefoil, shrubbydevil's-clubdogwood, red osie rdryad, yellowdryad, whit e

grouseberr yheather, yellowheather, purpl eheather, white mountai nhoneysuckle, bractedjuniper, commonjuniper, creepingLabrador teamaple, mountai nmenziesi arhododendron, whit erose, prickly

Populus tremuloidesBetula papyriferaThuja piicataPseudotsuga mensiesi iAbies lasiocarpaTsuga heterophyllaLarix lyalli iPinus spp .Pinus flexilisPinus albicauli sPopulus spp .Populus balsamiferaPicea spp .Picea engelmanni iP.icea glauca x engelmanni iPicea glaucaTaxus brevifolia

Alnus crispaArctostaphylos uva-urs iVaccinium membranaceumBetula glandulosaRibes lacustreVaccinium spp .Rubus pedatusShepherdia canadensi sCornus canadensi sPotentilla fruticosaOplopanax horridumCornus stoloniferaDryas drummondi iDryas octopetala var .hookerianaVaccinium scopariumPhyllodoce glandulifToraPhyllodoce empetriformi sCassiope mertensianaLonicera involucrataJuniperus communi sJuniperus horizontali sLedum groenlandicumAcer glabrumMenziesia ferrugineaRhododendron albiflorumRosa acicularis

snowberr ywillowwillow, snow

HERB S

anemone, wester narnic aaste raster, showyclubmoss, littl efireweedfireweed, broad-leavedgroundpine, bristl yhorsetai llousewort, bractedmoss campionpinegras spussytoes, wooll ysarsaparilla, wil dsaxifrage, purpl esedgesorrel, mountai ntwinflowe rvalerian, mountai nwintergreen

MOSSE S

feathermosses

92

Symphoricarpos sp .Salix spp .Salix nivali s

Anemone occidentalisArnica spp .Aster spp .Aster conspicuusSelaginella densaEpilobium angustifoliumEpilobium latifoliumLycopodium annotinumEquisetum spp .Pedicularis bracteosaSilene acauli sCalamagrostis rubescensAntennaria lanataAralia nudicauli sSaxifraga oppositifoli aCarex spp .Oxyria digynaLinnaea borealisValeriana sitchensi sPyrola spp .

Hylocomium splendensPleurozium schreber iPtilium crista-castrensis

Documents

Biophysical (ecological) inventory of Yoho National Park ... · Superintendent J.R . Pilon; K . Seel and G. Rutherford for assistance with drafting of the maps and R . Robertson for