text: Northern hardwood forests These forests also go by the names: hemlock-northern hardwoods, and mixed forests. The northern hardwoods are located in the seaboard lowlands and south of the coniferous forests, but there is considerable blending of the two communities. These forests are typical of elevations below 700 m. Elements of these communities mix extensively with coniferous forest elements between 700 m and 900 m, and also from mid-latitude Vermont and New Hampshire north to central Maine where coniferous forest elements begin to dominate. Typically the richer the soils, and the more temperate the climate, the more dominant hardwoods will be. This forest type is considered the northern extension of the mixed mesophytic deciduous forest.
  The four dominant canopy species of the hemlock-northern hardwood forests are sugar maple (Acer saccharum), beech (Fagus grandifolia), yellow birch (Betula alleghaniensis) and hemlock (Tsuga canadensis). Other common canopy associates include white ash (Fraxinus americana), red maple (Acer rubrum), and northern red oak (Quercus rubra), which becomes less and less common northwards, dropping out almost entirely by mid-Vermont, New Hampshire, and inland Maine. White oak (Quercus alba) is also an important canopy species in southern New England's seaboard lowlands. White pine (Pinus strobus) and red pine (Pinus resinosa), are also an important part of this mixed forest. The pioneer trees of this forest are quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) and paper birch (Betula papyrifera).
  Wetlands
  Wetlands are defined anywhere by an abundance of water, hydric soils, and a unique flora. The wetland of the New England area exhibit considerable diversity across the range and elevations within the three category: bogs, swamps, and bottomlands. Swamps and bogs are specific habitats whereas bottomlands are any moist area including riparian zones, lake and pond banks, and the moist area surrounding bogs, marshes and swamps.