Natural Resources
Conservation Service
Maritime Scrubland Peat Plain Depression Kodiak
Circle-spoke model
Scenario model
Current ecosystem state
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Management practices/drivers
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-
No transition or restoration pathway between the selected states has been described
Target ecosystem state
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State 1
Reference State
Reference State
Description
The concave positions on the slopes and plains hold runoff from upslope and are a catchment of snowpack. The ground water that is near the surface for much of the growing season supports a hydrophilic community of vegetation. The bull's eye or transitional pattern formed from the lower curve of the bowl where water tends to pond, moving up and out from the bowl creates gradient of vegetation in response to the wetness of the soil.
Characteristics and indicators
The communities blend together with the drier edges supporting a stunted spruce community. Alders colonize the transition towards the central areas of the muskeg and the spruce drop out. The wettest community is willows, sedges and other hydrophytic grasses, forbs and shrubs.
Resilience management
The varied vegetation dynamics and mix of species creates a resilient community, able to respond to fluctuating water levels. However, degradation of the soil from traffic or removal of the hydrologic inputs will have a significant impact. At this time, no documentation was available to detail this type of disturbance within the specified soils within this ecological site.
Dominant plant species
Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis), tree
Sitka alder (Alnus viridis ssp. sinuata), shrub
dwarf birch (Betula nana), shrub
bog blueberry (Vaccinium uliginosum), shrub
tealeaf willow (Salix pulchra), shrub
black crowberry (Empetrum nigrum), shrub
bluejoint (Calamagrostis canadensis), grass
water sedge (Carex aquatilis), grass
boreal bog sedge (Carex magellanica), grass
looseflower alpine sedge (Carex rariflora), grass
tall cottongrass (Eriophorum angustifolium), grass
red cottongrass (Eriophorum russeolum), grass
sphagnum (Sphagnum), grass
splendid feather moss (Hylocomium splendens), grass
heartleaf saxifrage (Saxifraga nelsoniana ssp. insularis), grass
beachhead iris (Iris setosa), grass
dwarf marsh violet (Viola epipsila ssp. repens), grass
Submodel
Model keys
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Ecological sites
Major Land Resource Areas
The Ecosystem Dynamics Interpretive Tool is an information system framework developed by the USDA-ARS Jornada Experimental Range, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, and New Mexico State University.
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