Guide to Ecological Sites of the Upper Boreal Highlands Subregion

The Upper Boreal Highlands subregion is found elevationally above the Lower Boreal Highlands subregion in the Birch Mountain, Buffalo Head Hills and Cameron Hills of Northcentral and Northwestern Alberta. It is dominated by closed canopied conifer forests (lodgepole pine–jack pine hybrids, white and black spruce) with locally extensive wetlands in low-lying portions of the plateaus. This subregion has moister and cooler summers than the adjacent Lower Boreal Highlands Natural subregion and soils are dominated by Orthic and Brunisolic Gray Luvisols with wetlands being dominated by Organic and Gleysolic soils. A number of the wetland soil types were also dominated by Organic Cryosols.