Shrub Tundras Finland Sweden O 0 Iceland B1

Circumpolar Arctic Vegetation

Barrens Prostrate-shrub tundras Finland Sweden o 0 Iceland B1. Cryptogam, P1. Prostrate dwarf- herb barren shrub, herb tundra Dry to wet barren Dry tundra with patchy landscapes with very B1 vegetation. Prostrate P1 sparse, very low-growing North Atlantic Ocean shrubs < 5 cm tall (such as plant cover. Scattered Dryas and Salix arctica) herbs, lichens, mosses, and are dominant, with liverworts. Subzone A and B, Norway graminoids and forbs. some C at higher elevations. Lichens are also common. Eskimonaesset, North Greenland, C. Bay Bunde Fjord, Axel Heiberg Island, Canada. D.A. Walker Bunde Fjord,

45 o Subzones B and C. o W Russia E 45 B2. Cryptogam barren P2. Prostrate/ complex (bedrock) Hemiprostrate Areas of exposed rock and dwarf-shrub tundra lichens interspersed with B2 Moist to dry tundra lakes and more vegetated P2 dominated by prostrate areas, as found on the and hemiprostrate shrubs Canadian Shield. Subzones Barents Pechora R. Greenland < 15 cm tall, particularly C and D. Sea Canada Cassiope. Subzone C. Daring Lake vicinity, Canada. D.A. Walker Daring Lake vicinity,

Svalbard Zackenberg, East Greenland, H.H. Christiansen Bafﬁ n B3. Noncarbonate Island B3a mountain complex B3b Mountain vegetation on Erect-shrub tundras Ob R. noncarbonate bedrock. The S1. Erect dwarf- B3c variety and size of plants decrease with elevation and shrub tundra B3d latitude. Hatching color and Tundra dominated by erect code indicate the bioclimate dwarf-shrubs, mostly < 40 Novaya S1 B3e subzone at the mountain cm tall. Subzone D. base. B3a through B3e Daniëls Qingertivaq Fjord, SE Greenland. F.J.A. Zemlya Bafﬁ n Bay B3n indicate subzones A through E; B3n indicates noncarbonate nunatak Daring Lake, Canada. D.A. Walker areas. For more explanation Franz Josef see reverse side. S2. Low-shrub Land tundra B4. Carbonate Tundra dominated by B4b Kara low shrubs > 40 cm tall. mountain complex Hudson Bay S2 Sea Subzone E. B4c Mountain vegetation on carbonate bedrock. The B4d variety and size of plants decrease with elevation and Yenisey R. B4e latitude. Hatching color and Ellesmere Alaska. D.A. Walker Seward Peninsula, code indicate the bioclimate o Island 90 E 90o W B4n subzone at the mountain

Brooks Range, Alaska. D.A. Walker Brooks Range, Wetlands base. B4b through B4e indicate subzones B through E; B4n indicates W1. Sedge/grass, Severnaya carbonate nunatak areas. moss wetland

For more explanation see Zemlya R. Wetland complexes in the

son reverse side. l colder areas of the Arctic, W1

Ne dominated by sedges, grasses, and mosses. Graminoid tundras Subzones B and C. Arctic Ocean Canada

G1. Rush/grass, forb, Russia Resolute, Cornwallis Island, Canada. D.A. Walker cryptogam tundra Moist tundra with W2. Sedge, moss, dwarf-shrub wetland G1 moderate to complete cover of very low-growing Wetland complexes in the plants. Mostly grasses, Reindeer milder areas of the Arctic, Lake W2 rushes, forbs, mosses, Laptev Sea Victoria dominated by sedges, lichens, and liverworts. Island grasses, and mosses, but Subzones A and B. including dwarf shrubs < 40 Amund Ringnes Island, Canada. D.A. Walker o N cm tall. Subzone D. A r 80 Lake ctic Banks New Siberian Island Athabasca Alaska. D.A. Walker North Slope coastal plain, Cir Islands Great Slave W3. Sedge, moss, G2. Graminoid, c Lake le Slave R. low-shrub wetland prostrate dwarf-shrub, Lena R. forb tundra Great Bear Wetland complexes in the Lake warmer areas of the Arctic, W3 Moist to dry tundra, a R. G2 c s dominated by sedges and with open to continuous

Vi aba low shrubs > 40 cm tall. plant cover. Sedges are h ly t

uy A Subzone E. dominant, along with R. M prostrate shrubs < 5 cm ackenzie R.

tall. Subzone C, some B. Talbot Alaska. S.S. Delta, Yukon-Kuskokwim Eureka vicinity, Ellesmere Island, Canada. D.A. Walker Eureka vicinity, East Siberian Beaufort Sea Sea 135 Liar o d R. G3. Nontussock W Circumpolar Arctic Vegetation Map sedge, dwarf-shrub, Ald CAVM Mapping Team: moss tundra en R. Canada: William A. Gould, Lawrence C. Bliss, Sylvia A. Edlund, o E Canada Moist tundra dominated by Lena R. Martha K. Raynolds, Stephen C. Zoltai Greenland: Fred J. A. Daniëls, Christian Bay, Maike Wilhelm G3 135 Glossary sedges and dwarf shrubs Wrangel Iceland: Eythór Einarsson, Gudmundur Gundjónsson < 40 cm tall, with well- Arctic bioclimate zone: The region of this map; the bioclimate Herb: A fl owering plant with no signifi cant woody tissue above Norway/Svalbard: Arve Elvebakk, Bernt E. Johansen Island zone north of the climatic limit of trees that is characterized by ground. Herbaceous plants include forbs and graminoids. Russia: Galina V. Ananjeva, Dmitry S. Drozdov, Adrian E. Katenin, developed moss layer. an Arctic climate, Arctic fl ora, and tundra vegetation. It includes Nunatak: A nonglaciated area surrounded by glaciers, often a Sergei S. Kholod, Lyudmila A. Konchenko, Yuri V. Korostelev, Evgeny S. Melnikov, Natalia G. Moskalenko, Alexei N. Polezhaev, Olga E. Ponomareva, Barren patches due to all the arctic tundra regions with an Arctic climate and Arctic mountain peak taller than the surrounding glaciers. fl ora, but it excludes tundra regions that have a boreal fl ora such Elena B. Pospelova, Irina N. Safronova, Raisa P. Shelkunova, Boris A. Yurtsev frost boils and periglacial Kolyma R. Chukchi United States/Alaska: Martha K. Raynolds, Michael D. Fleming, Carl J. Markon,

Ambarchik, Yakutia, Russia, D.A. Walker Ambarchik, Yakutia, as the boreal oceanic areas of Iceland and the Aleutian Islands, Physiognomy: The general outward appearance of a plant features are common. Sea and alpine tundra regions south of the latitudinal treeline. community, determined by the life forms of the dominant species, David F. Murray, Stephen S. Talbot, Donald A. Walker e.g., grassland, forest, tundra. Subzones D and C, some E. About the CAVM Bioclimate zone: A region of the Earth’s surface with Project Director: characteristic climate, fl ora, and vegetation. Bioclimate subzones Plant functional type: A category of plants based on factors Donald A. Walker The Circumpolar Arctic Vegetation Map (CAVM) shows the types of vegetation that occur are subdivisions based on a combination of fl oristic composition, such as growth form, size and taxonomic status. The tundra plant Compilation and Cartography by: Produced by: functional types used in the map-unit names include graminoids, G4. Tussock-sedge, across the Arctic, between the ice-covered Arctic Ocean to the north and the northern limit of dominant plant community structure (physiognomy), and the Martha K. Raynolds and Hilmar A. Maier Natalie G. Trahan (Johnson Controls Inc.), suite of plant communities in common habitats (See Table 1, forbs, shrubs of various stature, and cryptogams (mosses and Alaska Geobotany Center Tammy M. Charron, forests to the south. Environmental and climatic conditions are extreme, with a short growing on R. dwarf-shrub, moss United reverse side). The bioclimate subzones used here are adopted with lichens). (See these categories for further explanation.) Institute of Arctic Biology Beth A.Vairin, Susan M. Lauritzen Yuk tundra season and low summer temperatures. The region supports plants such as dwarf shrubs, herbs, States modifi cation from the phytogeographic subzones of Yurtsev (1994) Riparian: An intrazonal habitat pertaining to streamside University of Alaska Fairbanks USGS National Wetlands Research Center Fairbanks, Alaska 99775 USA 700 Cajundome Blvd. Moist tundra, dominated lichens and mosses, which grow close to the ground. As one moves southward (outward from and the bioclimate zones of the Panarctic Flora Initiative (Elvebakk environments. G4 et al. 1999). Lafayette, Louisiana 70506 USA by tussock cottongrass map’s center in all directions), the amount of warmth available for plant growth increases Shrub: A woody perennial plant differing from a tree by its lower Carbonate: Refers to limestone or dolomite bedrock. These stature and by producing several basal stems instead of a single Funded by: considerably. Warmer summer temperatures cause the size, abundance, and variety of plants U.S. National Science Foundation grant number OPP-9908-829, U.S. Fish and Wildlife (Eriophorum vaginatum) . bedrock types result in soils with high calcium content, trunk. This group includes: tall shrub, greater than 2 m tall (e.g., Service, U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Bureau of Land Management. and dwarf shrubs <40 cm to increase. Climate and other environmental controls, such as landscape, topography, soil dyr R high pH, and plant communities adapted to such conditions. Alnus crispus, Salix alaxensis); low shrub, between 0.4 and 2 Ana tall. Mosses are abundant. chemistry, soil moisture, and the available plants that historically colonized an area, also Noncarbonate refers to sandstone, granite, or other rock types m tall (e.g., Betula glandulosa, Salix glauca); and dwarf shrub, Suggested Citation: with few carbonates. less than 0.4 m tall. Dwarf shrubs are further divided into erect CAVM Team. 2003. Circumpolar Arctic Vegetation Map. Scale 1:7,500,000. Subzone E, some D. infl uence the distribution of plant communities. dwarf shrub, less than 0.4 m tall with erect stems (e.g., Vaccinium Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF) Map No. 1. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Imnavait Creek, Alaska. D. A. Walker Cryptogam: A plant that reproduces sexually without forming uliginosum, Ledum decumbens, Betula nana); hemiprostrate Service, Anchorage, Alaska. The colors on the map indicate the differences that occur in the general outward appearance seeds. This group includes many common tundra ground plants, dwarf shrub, very short, generally less than 0.15 m tall, with of vegetation (physiognomy). The CAVM team grouped over 400 described plant Gulf of such as lichens, symbiotic associations of algae and fungi, and a semi-erect or trailing stem (refers here mainly to Cassiope Web sites: www.geobotany.uaf.edu, www.caff.is Glaciers mosses, members of the class Musci. tetragona); prostrate dwarf shrub, lying fl at on the ground (e.g., communities into 15 physiognomic units based on plant growth forms. The insert diagram Alaska Dryas, Arctous rubra, Salix arctica). (upper left) shows the relationship between the map units (except for B2, B3, and B4, which Bering Sea Forb: A broadleaf herbaceous (nonwoody) fl owering plant. Does not include graminoids. Tundra: A physiognomic descriptor of low-growing vegetation are barren rock or mountain complexes), and the principal environmental controls, summer beyond the cold limit of tree growth, both at high elevation (alpine Graminoid: A grass-like herbaceous plant with leaves mostly tundra) and at high latitude (arctic tundra). Tundra vegetation types temperatures and site moisture. The total area of each map unit (in square kilometers) is o Riparian corridors - Complexes with mix of vegetation from bare gravel bars to 180 very narrow or linear in outline. This group includes grasses, are composed of herbaceous plants, shrubs, mosses, and lichens. fully vegetated areas. Characteristic plants range from herbs and cryptogams (Subzones summarized in the bar chart (upper right). members of the plant family Poaeceae; rushes, members of A and B) to dense tall shrubs (Subzone E). the plant family Juncaceae; and sedges, members of the plant Wetland: An intrazonal habitat where soil water saturation is the An international team of arctic vegetation scientists representing the six countries of the family Cyperaceae. Sedges are further divided into tussock dominant factor determining the nature of soil development and vegetation. Water sedges, those with a caespitose or bunch-forming habit (refers Arctic—Canada, Greenland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, and the United States—prepared the 0 100 200 300 400 500 km here mainly to Eriophorum vaginatum), and nontussock sedges, Zonal vegetation: Vegetation within a specifi ed bioclimate zone map. The methods used to create the map, more detailed descriptions of the map units, and those with other growth forms, usually growing from rhizomes, that ultimately develops on sites with moderate slope, soil, snow, Non-Arctic areas additional maps and information are on the reverse side. Lambert Azimuthal Equal-Area Projection stolons, or singly. site moisture, and disturbance. Scale 1:7,500,000