Arctic Dwarf Scrub-Lichen Sandy Soil

Description

The reference state supports three community phases, grouped by the structure and dominance of the vegetation (e.g., shrubs and lichens) and their ecological function and stability. The reference plant community is characterized by a closed lichen-dwarf shrub community. The presence of this and related communities are dictated temporally and spatially by the presence of sandy soils, water table depth, and dune erosion. All community phases in this report are characterized using the Alaska vegetation classification system (Viereck et al., 1992).

Resilience management

This ecological site and the communities within it are very susceptible to wind erosion. Natural disturbances that remove the vegetation, such as wind, fire, and grazing, create a positive feedback loop of continued wind erosion. Disturbances from ATVs and snowmachines act in the same way.

Dominant plant species

1. black crowberry (Empetrum nigrum), shrub

2. dwarf birch (Betula nana), shrub

3. marsh Labrador tea (Ledum palustre ssp. decumbens), shrub

4. bog blueberry (Vaccinium uliginosum), shrub

5. Bigelow's sedge (Carex bigelowii), grass

6. witch's hair lichen (Alectoria nigricans), grass

7. (Flavocetraria cucullata), grass

8. reindeer lichen (Cladina mitis), grass

9. reindeer lichen (Cladina stygia), grass

10. bryocaulon lichen (Bryocaulon divergens), grass

11. greygreen reindeer lichen (Cladina rangiferina), grass

Submodel