Nearctic Temperate Rainforest - Code: Ne1BJ

Nearctic temperate rainforest, a towering forest laden with epiphytes, hugs a narrow strip along the Pacific coast of North America from c. California to Alaska. It is dominated by a few massive conifer species and has little mid-story and a thick understory layer of ferns, mosses, and evergreen shrubs. Temperate rainforest grows in a wet, stable climate, rarely colder than 32°F (0°C) and only occasionally warmer than 75°F (25°C) in a given year. Average precipitation is around 80 in. (2,000 mm) per year, but some areas, such as the Olympic Peninsula of Washington, receive upwards of 170 in. (4,300 mm) annually. This region has two distinct seasons—a long, wet rainy season from October to May, and a short, dry, foggy summer from June to September. During the dry season, this forest receives 7–12 in. (170–300mm) of precipitation from fog alone. Despite the heavy fog, this region is best visited from April to September, outside the worst of the winter rains.

The temperate rainforest is perhaps the most dramatic of the Nearctic habitats. The multilayered canopy, regularly soaring upwards of 300 ft. (90m), is dominated by Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menzeisii), Sitka Spruce (Picea sitchensis), Western Hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla), Alaska Cedar (Callitropsis nootkatensis)and Western Red Cedar (Thuja plicata). From the Oregon border south, Coast Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) is co-dominant with Douglas-fir. The massive Coast Redwood can reach 380 ft. (115.8m) in height and 29.2 ft. (8.9m) in diameter, placing it among the largest trees on earth. The towering canopy trees are often laden with epiphytic mosses, lichens, and ferns. Infrequently, small trees will sprout from the soils harbored in massive limbs high in the canopy. 

Underneath is a sparse mid-story layer made up of conifer saplings and smaller shade-tolerant deciduous trees like Bigleaf Maple (Acer macrophyllum), Vine Maple (Acer circinatum), and dogwoods (Cornus spp.). The forest floor usually supports a dense assemblage of Sword Fern (Polystichum munitum), Lady Fern (Athyrium filix-femina), rhododendrons (Rhododendron spp.), Salmonberry (Rubus spectabilis), Evergreen Huckleberry (Vaccinium ovatum), Devil’s Club (Oplopanax horridus), Salal (Gaultheria shallon), mosses, and fallen logs. This thick, often saturated understory is mostly 3–6 ft. (1–2m) tall and can be difficult to walk through. 

These forests very rarely burn. In the drier Coast Redwood dominated forests low intensity fires would periodically clear out the understory. Redwood germination is associated with these fires but they are not fire obligates.