It occurs in bogs, drier lichen covered sites and occasional rock outcrops. There are some jack pine stands mainly in the south and west parts of the study area. The kame deposits have closed to open stands of mainly pure jack pine with other species occurring on patches of clay or beach deposits. Forest stands are generally mature with some being over 100 years old. Heights vary from stunted black spruce in bogs areas to stands as tall as 15m.
Forest cover is broken by varying density, moisture conditions and especially open treed bogs.
Stands and uniform patches are small. No logging has occurred in the study area. Large 1989 burns occur in the western and northern sections of the study area. The effects of this will not be visible until newer satellite images are acquired. The NSA site lies within the Canadian Shield Province.