Project Components-CAVM Vegetation Units

Circumpolar Arctic Vegetation Map

Vegetation Units

G3. Nontussock sedge, dwarf-shrub, moss tundra

Ambarchik, Yakutia, Russia (Photo: D.A. Walker).
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G3. Nontussock sedge, dwarf-shrub, moss tundra

Moist tundra dominated by sedges and dwarf shrubs <40 cm tall, with well-developed moss layer. Barren patches due to frost boils and periglacial features are common. Subzone D and Subzone C, some Subzone E.

Detailed Description

Moist tundra mainly in Subzone D on peaty nonacidic soils; also found in Subzones C and E. Frost boils (barren patches of cryoturbated soil) are common on silty soils ("spotted tundra" in the Russian literature). This is the zonal vegetation for much of Subzone D. Plant cover varies from 50-100%. Plant heights are generally 10-20 cm. Hemiprostrate and erect shrubs, such as Salix richardsonii, S. reptans, S. glauca, S. pulchra, S. krylovii and Rhododendron lapponicum, are common but generally do not form a closed canopy, and some may grow up to 40 cm high at the southern Subzone D boundary. Low-shrub (40-200 cm tall) and some tall (>2 m) willow thickets occur along stream margins. Well-developed moss layers (5-20 cm thick) are common.

Representative syntaxa

Dryado integrifoliae-Caricetum bigelowii Walk. et al. 1994 (Alaska , Subzone D, nonacidic tundra); Carici arctisibiricae-Hylocomietum alaskani Matv. 1994 (Taimyr Peninsula) (Scheuchzerio-Caricetea nigrae) (Nordh. 1936) Tx 1937.

Dominant plants

Mainly sedges, prostrate and hemiprostrate dwarf shrubs, and mosses and liverworts. Other common plants include grasses, basiphilous forbs, and lichens.

a=acidic, n=non-acidic

Alaska Geobotany Center - Institute of Arctic Biology - University of Alaska Fairbanks
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Last modified: May 9, 2008