The White Mountains Biophysical Region is part of the Adirondack-New England Mixed Forest-Coniferous Forest-Alpine Meadow Province and the White Mountains Ecoregion Section. There are 3 Forest Provinces, 6 Ecoregion Sections, and 19 Biophysical Regions in Maine.
Province: Adirondack-New England Mixed Forest-Coniferous Forest-Alpine Meadow
The Adirondack-New England Mixed Forest-Coniferous Forest-Alpine Meadow Province has a modified continental climatic regime with long, cold winters and warm summers. Annual precipitation evenly distributed. Landscape is mountainous and was previously glaciated. Forest vegetation is a transition between boreal on the north and broadleaf deciduous to the south.
Ecoregion Section: White Mountains
The White Mountains Section has a maturely dissected, irregular highland characterized by clusters of low, rounded mountains and scattered monadnocks with many glacial features. Rock formations include sedimentary quartzite, slate, and schist with extensive area of igneous rocks including granites, diorite, gabbro, and basalt. Forest vegetation consists of spruce-fir, maple-beech-birch, and aspen-birch cover types.
Biophysical Region: White Mountains
The White Mountains is the smallest subsection in Maine, with only 77 thousand acres of forest, but it is still 98% forested. The maple-beech-birch forest type dominates the forestland acreage with a 71% share.
The top three tree species in this region (based on the stocking of live trees per average forested acre) are:
- Red Spruce (39 trees per acre)
- Eastern Hemlock (36 trees per acre) and American Beech (35 trees per acre)
- Red Maple (30 trees per acre)
This graph shows major tree species/species groups, live tree stocking (trees/acre), and how much they contribute to the overall stocking for the White Mountains Biophysical Region:
* All data are based on the Maine Forest Inventory & Analysis, 2015 (United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service)
Check out the other 6 bioregions in the Adirondack-New England Mixed Forest-Coniferous Forest-Alpine Meadow Province and the White Mountains Ecoregion Section:
- International Boundary Plateau
- Saint John Upland
- Maine Central Mountains
- Mahoosuc Rangeley Lakes
- Connecticut Lakes
- Western Maine Foothills