The study area was part of the Slave Lake Forest located 200 km north of Edmonton, Alberta, and just 6 km west of the small town of Hondo. The precise geographical description is northeast section 30, range 2, township 70, west of the 5th meridian (50°06'N, 114°08'W). Sites occurred on well-drained, loamy sand mineral soils with coarse and fine sand under layers. Average elevation was 590 m. Study sites occurred on slopes of less than 10%, but topography was strongly undulated.