Circumpolar Arctic Vegetation Map

Vegetation Units

Introduction - Barrens: B1B1. Cryptogam, herb barren - B2B2. Cryptogam barren complex (bedrock) - B3B3. Noncarbonate mountain complex - B4B4. Carbonate mountain complex || Graminoid Tundras: G1G1. Rush/grass, forb, cryptogam tundra - G2G2. Graminoid, prostrate dwarf-shrub, forb tundra - G3G3. Non-tussock sedge, dwarf-shrub, moss tundra - G4G4. Tussock-sedge, dwarf-shrub, moss tundra
Prostrate-shrub Tundras: P1P1. Prostrate dwarf-shrub, herb tundra - P2P2. Prostrate/hemiprostrate dwarf-shrub tundra || Erect-shrub Tundras: S1S1. Erect dwarf-shrub tundra - S2S2. Low-shrub tundra || Wetlands: W1W1. Sedge/grass, moss wetland - W2W2. Sedge, moss, dwarf-shrub wetland - W3W3. Sedge, moss, low-shrub wetland

Daring Lake, Canada (Photo: D.A. Walker).
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S1. Erect dwarf-shrub tundra

Tundra dominated by erect dwarf-shrubs, mostly <40 cm tall. Subzone D.

Detailed Description

Moist to dry tundra in Subzone D on acidic soils, dominated by hemiprostrate and erect dwarf shrubs <40 cm tall. This is the zonal vegetation in acidic and oceanic areas of Subzone D in Greenland and the Canadian Shield. Drier, lichen-rich dwarf-shrub tundras are common in many areas, e.g., the sandy soils of the Yamal and Gydan peninsulas in Russia, and in a matrix with lichen-covered bedrock on the Canadian mainland and Baffin Island. Plant cover is continuous (80-100%) on zonal sites to sparse (5-50%) on dry ridges.

Representative syntaxa

Communities of the class Loiseleurio-Vaccinietea, Phyllodoco-Vaccinionmyrtilli Nordh. 1936, e.g., Phyllodoco-Salicetum callicarpaeae (Böch. 1933) Dan. 1982 and Empetrum-Vaccinium community Dan. 1982 (Greenland).

Dominant plants

Dwarf-shrubs, mosses, and lichens are common.

^a=acidic, ⁿ=non-acidic