Arctic Scrub-Sedge Coastal Plain

Description

The reference state describes two distinct vegetative communities grouped by the structure and dominance of the vegetation (e.g., shrubs, forbs, and graminoids) and their ecological function and stability on the flood plain complex. The reference plant community is an open low scrubland comprised of ericaceous species with graminoids and forbs throughout. The presence of these and related communities are dictated temporally and spatially by hydric factors such as flooding frequency, post-flood ponding, water table depth and elevation.

This reference state is developed and characterized using available vegetation models, including Landfire BpS and the Alaska vegetation classification system (Landfire, 2009; Viereck et al., 1992) and field information collected in soil surveys AK630 and AK728.

Dominant plant species

1. black crowberry (Empetrum nigrum), shrub

2. dwarf birch (Betula nana), shrub

3. willow (Salix), shrub

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

5. bluejoint (Calamagrostis canadensis), grass

6. bluegrass (Poa), grass

7. beachhead iris (Iris setosa), grass

Submodel