Component Projects-Alaska Arctic Tundra Vegetation Map

Alaska Arctic Tundra Vegetation Map

Moist tundra component of unit W2.2; Community No. 9 on nonacidic soils, near Camden Bay, Arctic coast, Alaska

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Moist tundra component of unit W2.2; Community No. 9 on nonacidic soils, near Camden Bay, Arctic coast, Alaska. (Photo: D.A. Walker.)

Vegetation Units

W3.6 Wet nonacidic complex (warmer parts of NW Alaska)

Wet sedge, moss communities (comm. 77) on nonacidic sites, with moist communities (G3.3, comm. 75) on higher microsites. NW Alaska and Seward Peninsula, Subzone E.

(See G3.3)

Plant Communities:

Community 75

Northern Beringian Islands: Dryado integrifoliae-Caricetum bigelowii, moist calcareous tundra (Walker et al. 1994) (Toolik Lake).

Beringian Alaska: Vegetation type Bigelow's sedge tussock dwarf-shrub tundra (Racine and Anderson 1979); Releves R6,7a,33,37,57,58 (Raynolds et al. 2002) (Seward Peninsula).

Vegetation type Bigelow's sedge tussock dwarf-shrub tundra (Racine and Anderson 1979); Releves R6,7a,33,37,57,58 (Raynolds et al. 2002) (Seward Peninsula).


Sedges: Carex bigelowii, Eriophorum angustifolium ssp. triste, Carex membranacea, E. vaginatum;
Prostrate dwarf shrub: Dryas integrifolia, Salix reticulata, Arctous rubra;
Erect dwarf shrub: Salix richardsonii, S. glauca, Vaccinium uliginosum, Rhododendrum lapponicum;
Forb: Lupinus arcticus, Oxytropis maydelliana, Pedicularis capitata, Lagotis glauca, Eutrema edwardsii, Tephroseris frigida, Bistorta vivipara, Packera cymbalaria, Pedicularis lanata, Tofieldia pusilla;
Horsetail: Equisetum arvense, Equisetum variegatum;
Moss: Tomentypnum nitens, Hylocomium splendens, Aulacomnium turgidum;
Lichen: Thamnolia subuliformis, Flavocetraria spp., Dactylina arctica

Community 77

Eriophorum angustifolium-Carex aquatilis comm., nonacidic marshes (Walker and Barry 1991) (Toolik Lake).


Sedge: Carex aquatilis, Carex chordorrhiza Carex spp., Eriophorum angustifolium spp.;
Moss: Drepanocladus brevifolius, Scorpidium scorpioides, Cinclidium latifolium, Meesia triquetra, Catascopium nigritum, Distichium capillaceum