Circumpolar Arctic Vegetation Unit G2

 

Hierarchy of Geobotanical Vegetation Map Units (Walker DA 2002)


Enlarge image

map legend color for unit G2G2. Graminoid, prostrate dwarf-shrub, forb tundra

Moist to dry tundra, with open to continuous plant cover. Sedges are dominant, along with prostrate shrubs <5 cm tall. Subzone C, some Subzone B.

Detailed Description

Moist to dry tundra in Subzone C and warmer parts of Subzone B on fine-grained, often hummocky circumneutral soils with moderate snow. This is the zonal vegetation on nonacidic soils of Subzone C. Plant cover is moderate (40-80%) and 5-15 cm tall. The diversity of plant communities is much greater than in Unit G1 and includes Cassiope tetragona snowbeds, well-developed mires, and streamside plant communities.
Area: 429 x 1000 km2.

Representative Syntaxa

Communities of the class Carici-Kobresietea, e.g., Carici-Dryadetum integrifoliae Dan. 1982 (Greenland).

Dominant Plants

Sedges, rushes, and prostrate dwarf-shrubs are common. Other common plants include grasses, forbs, mosses, liverworts, and lichens.

    1. Sedge: Carex misandra; Carex lugens; Carex rupestris; Eriophorum triste; Kobresia myosuroides; Carex aquatilis ssp. stans;
    2. Rush: Luzula nivalisa; Luzula confusaa;
    3. Prostrate dwarf shrubs: Salix polaris; Salix rotundifolia; Salix arctica; Salix reticulata; Dryas;
    4. Grass: Alopecurus alpinus; Puccinellia vahliana; Puccinellia wrightii; Poa arctica;
    5. Forb: Potentilla hyparcticaa; Cardamine bellidifoliaa; Draba nivalis; Saxifraga cernua; Saxifraga hirculus; Stellaria; Pedicularis capitata; Papaver;
    6. Moss: Racomitrium lanuginosuma; Oncophorus wahlenbergii; Campylium stellatum; Aulacomnium turgidum; Warnstorfia sarmentosa; Hylocomium splendens; Polytrichum;
    7. Liverwort: Tetralophozia setiformisa; Anastrophyllum minutuma;
    8. Lichen: Sphaerophorus globosusa; Cladina rangiferinaa; Cladonia pyxidata; Thamnolia; Dactylina arctica; Flavocetraria; Masonhalea richardsonii;

a=acidic, n=non-acidic