Nearctic Subarctuc Woodland - Code: Ne1A

South of the tundra, average midsummer temperatures rise to 54°F (12°C), warmer than the 50°F (10°C) limit for “tundra”, even though the climate still has a harsh (Koppen Ef) climate with average temperature -5ºC, very short summers between 8ºC to 11ºC, and very cold winters of -24.5ºC to -21.5ºC. With an annual precipitation ranges from 200 mm to 400 mm, some of these areas could be classified as arid terrain, but because evapotranspiration is so low, the landscape remains humid through much of the year.
In the southern zone of the SHRUBBY TUNDRA and where there birch and aspen groves of the SUBARCTIC RIPARIAN WOODLAND become widespread, the tundra starts to become dotted with stunted spruces, pines, and larches. This is the SUBARCTIC BOREAL WOODLAND, a habitat in the  zone (ecotone) between the more typical tundra and the forest proper. In some areas, such as east of Nome on the Seward Peninsula, the transition from nearctic rocky tundra to nearctic boreal forest  is rapid, but in other areas such as around Hudson Bay the transition is nebulous and this woodland is widespread. Subarctic Boreal Woodland has a mosaic of individual trees between boggy mires such as Black Spruce (Picea mariana) often associated with Red-stemmed feathermoss (Pleurozium schreberi) ,on the wetter areas, and  White Spruce (Picea glauca) in better drained areas. These also occur in groves along with other conifers such as Balsam Fir (Abies balsamea ) and the deciduous Tamarack Larch (Larix laricina), along with small patches of Eurasian subarctic riparian woodland dominated by sdwarf birch (Betula nana), quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) and balsam poplar (Populus balsamifera).   Permofrost is usually present in these woodlands, but the habitat can form in regions without permafrost.
 This region was covered in ice flow throughout the ice ages and only recently exposed and is still rising from isostatic rebound (the earth buckling because of a release of pressure from the thick sheets of ice). The landscape is dotted with evidence of the glacial scouring with lakes, eskers, tills and terminal moraines. Combined with the permafrost features such as pingos (mounds of earth formed through expanding ice over frozen permafrost), the drainage in the areas is often impeded, and rarely dendritic (the normal leaf patterned drainage typical of temperate regions). This creates the conditions for many bogs, where large hummocks of sphagnum mosses grow, with marsh grasses in the channels between them.