Southern Alaska Herbaceous Silty Coastal Plain

Description

The reference state supports two community phases, grouped by the structure and dominance of the vegetation (e.g., shrubs, forbs, and graminoids) and their ecological function and stability. The reference plant community is characterized by a sedge-scrub wet meadow often comprised of salt-tolerant facultative to obligate wetland species. The presence of this and related communities are dictated temporally and spatially by local site topography responsible for shifts in hydric influences such as ponding and water table perseverance. All community phases in this report are characterized using the Alaska vegetation classification system (Viereck et al., 1992).

Dominant plant species

1. willow (Salix), shrub

2. sweetgale (Myrica gale), shrub

3. Lyngbye's sedge (Carex lyngbyei), grass

4. Ramensk's sedge (Carex ramenskii), grass

5. beach pea (Lathyrus japonicus var. maritimus), grass

Submodel