DISTRIBUTION AND OCCURRENCE
SPECIES: Abies balsamea | Balsam Fir 



GENERAL DISTRIBUTION : 
Balsam fir is widely distributed in northeastern North America.  It
occurs from Newfoundland west across northern Quebec, northern Ontario,
central Manitoba, and Saskatchewan to northwestern Alberta, south about
400 miles (640 km) to central Alberta, southeast to northern Minnesota
and Wisconsin, and east to New England [21].  In the United States,
scattered populations occur in southern Minnesota, southern Wisconsin,
northeastern Iowa, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and northern Virginia.
The two varieties are distributed as follows [5]:

var. balsamea - from Newfoundland and Labrador west to northeastern
                Alberta and south to Minnesota, Wisconsin, southern
                Ontario, northern Pennsylvania, New York, and New
                England.  It is local in northeastern Iowa. 

var. phanerolepis - from Newfoundland and Labrador to Ontario and Maine
                    and in the high mountains of New Hamphire, Vermont,
                    and New York.  It is also common in the higher
                    mountains of Virginia and West Virginia.


ECOSYSTEMS : 
   FRES10  White - red - jack pine
   FRES11  Spruce - fir
   FRES18  Maple - beech - birch
   FRES19  Aspen - birch


STATES : 
     CT  IA  ME  MA  MI  MN  NH  NY  PA  VT
     VA  WV  WI  AB  LB  MB  NB  NF  NS  ON
     PE  PQ  SK


ADMINISTRATIVE UNITS : 
     ACAD  APIS  EFMO  ISRO  MORR  PIRO
     SHEN  SLBE  VOYA


BLM PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGIONS : 
NO-ENTRY


KUCHLER PLANT ASSOCIATIONS : 
   K093  Great Lakes spruce - fir forest
   K095  Great Lakes pine forest
   K096  Northeastern spruce - fir forest
   K107  Northern hardwoods - fir forest
   K108  Northern hardwoods - spruce forest


SAF COVER TYPES : 
     1  Jack pine
     5  Balsam fir
    12  Black spruce
    13  Black spruce - tamarack
    15  Red pine
    16  Aspen
    17  Pin cherry
    18  Paper birch
    21  Eastern white pine
    22  White pine - hemlock
    23  Eastern hemlock
    24  Hemlock - yellow birch
    25  Sugar maple - beech - yellow birch
    26  Sugar maple - basswood
    30  Red spruce - yellow birch
    31  Red spruce - sugar maple - beech
    32  Red spruce
    33  Red spruce - balsam fir
    35  Paper birch - red spruce - balsam fir
    37  Northern white cedar
    38  Tamarack
    39  Black ash - American elm - red maple
    60  Beech - sugar maple
   107  White spruce
   108  Red maple
   201  White spruce
   202  White spruce - paper birch
   204  Black spruce
   251  White spruce - aspen
   253  Black spruce - white spruce


SRM (RANGELAND) COVER TYPES : 
NO-ENTRY


HABITAT TYPES AND PLANT COMMUNITIES : 
Balsam fir is more commonly found in mixed than in pure stands.  It does
occurs as a dominant species in pure stands in Newfoundland, Ontario,
and Quebec.  Its importance as a major forest tree declines west of
Manitoba [5].  Balsam fir is a principal tree of boreal mixed stands in
Canada, where it occurs with paper birch (Betula papyrifera), aspen
(Populus tremuloides), black spruce (Picea mariana), and white spruce
(P. glauca) [46].

In the Lake States, climax stands of balsam fir are relatively uncommon
[21,45].  In Maine, balsam fir forms pure stands on flats between swamps
and uplands [5].  In the Adirondacks, balsam fir sometimes dominates
upper slopes above 3,200 feet (975 m) [5].  In New England and the Lake
States, balsam fir is more commonly found in mixed stands, especially in
forests dominated by black spruce, red spruce (Picea rubens), white
spruce, eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis), northern white-cedar (Thuja
occidentalis), paper birch, aspen, and red maple (Acer rubrum)
[5,30,45].

Balsam fir is listed as a dominant part of the vegetation in the
following community type (cts) and ecosystem (eas) classifications:

   Area                  Classification              Authority

PQ: Gaspe Peninsula    forest veg. cts           Zoladeski 1988
ON                     forest eas                Jones & others 1983

Related categories for Species: Abies balsamea | Balsam Fir