Alpine Forest

Vermont Fish and Wildlife Habitat Fact Sheet

True alpine areas, where the The sun beats down directly, the plants-such as mountain sandwort, conditions and vegetation are winds whip across steadily. The Bigelow's sedge, and black Arctic-like, are few and small in year-round temperatures are colder crowberry-grow in dense mats and Vermont. They include two than at lower elevations (the highest have tiny, narrow leaves: these different kinds of places: small recorded temperature to date on colonies soak up water like a tundra areas on the summits of only Mount Mansfield is 85 degrees sponge, at the same time offering two high peaks, and a few cliffs Fahrenheit). The soils are sparse, little total leaf surface exposed to where the ecosystems differ from acidic, sterile, and prone to erosion the sun and wind. tundra. Both kinds of alpine areas in on the steep slopes. Though water is Vermont are clinging to a plentiful from frequent rain, snow, Animals precarious existence. and clouds, most of it the plants cannot make use of, since quick A few insects are true tundra The largest expanse of tundra in the runoff and high soil acidity render it inhabitants. One species of ground state-close to 250 acres-occurs on unavailable to them. Thus, these beete, Nebria suturalis, is found the long ridge of Mount Mansfield. 4,000-foot peaks are in many ways only above 4,000 feet in mountains, The summit of Camel's Hump, 15 near-deserts. Nevertheless, the and in Vermont is restricted to a miles south of Mount Mansfield plants that do exist above the tree few yards on Mount Mansfield. along the main ridge of the Green line are well prepared to survive Mountains, supports the only other these arctic conditions. The occasional tundra mammal is tundra, of but 10 acres. Although small and secretive, inhabiting true Arctic tundra is one of the Plants tunnels through the vegetation. In a largest vegetation zones on the study of small mammals on Camel's North American continent, the The alpine plants are low-lying and Hump a researcher found only three Arctic-like areas of Vermont should creeping, taking advantage of the species above the tree line: the be considered endangered more protected recesses where the hardy boreal red-backed vole, the communities, since they are so winds cannot tear at them. Most are deer mouse, and the meadow vole. uncommon here and almost all the evergreen, perennial, and early The red-backed vole is a mouselike plants are either threatened with bloomers, all adaptations that rodent that one would expect in the extinction or else extremely rare. permit them to "get under way" as tundra, since all across the continent Ironically, these regions are early in the spring as possible and it lives in wet, northern probably among the most not waste precious time or energy in environments and high elevations-it appreciated place in the state, such a short season. Most are able is even known to breed under snow. visited by thousands upon to retain water or restrict its loss The deer mouse is a widespread, thousands of people, who come to much in the way desert plants do; in adaptable seed eater, and so not a look at the views or else hike across fact, many superficially resemble surprise in the mountains. The the areas. This very appreciation desert succulents. Mountain presence of the meadow vole is threatens the tundra plants. cranberry, for example, has thick, somewhat perplexing, however, fleshy leaves coated with wax, because it is normally a field Where the arctic plants live in these which effectively store water and mammal of low elevations and not mountainous regions the climate is reduce evaporation. Alpine bilberry, even found in the forests of Camel's much like that of the true Arctic, far a close relative of blueberries, has Hump. It is likely that it reached the to the north. The frost-free growing hard, leathery leaves that in another mountaintop following a fire that season is only 90 days or shorter. way resist water loss. Many of the cleared a path through the forest to mountaintops do not rival other the summit. more famous places in New England and the East as vantage No mammal is exclusive to these points for the hawk spectacle, they tundra regions. All live at lower do let one observe these fascinating elevations and some, such as the and graceful bids as they glide and meadow vole, are more accustomed fly south, flashing parallel to the to grasslands than the to tundra. An ranges or spiraling up the thermal infrequent visitor such as the currents. snowshoe hare wanders in to nibble on leaves and twigs, or to take the Stretching across North America, seeds and berries as they ripen. Europe, and Russia is an immense Even a moose has been seen, forest of evergreens-coniferous clomping across the ridge under the trees, which are also called light of a full moon. softwoods because their wood is generally not so hard as that of Birds broad-leaved trees. It is a forest primarily as spruce and fir, and is Even the more mobile birds are quite similar the world over. In scarce in Vermont's alpine peaks. North America this circumboreal forest occurs between the tundra to Both Mount Mansfield and Camel's the north and the prairies and broad- Hump have small flocks of nesting leaved (deciduous) forest to the ravens, which remain through the south. It comes into Vermont, but winter. This large scavenging bird, its distribution here is controlled by native to the Arctic from Greenland two factors: latitude and altitude. to Alaska, is impressive in its size, shining coat of black, and graceful riding of the air above the Excerpted from Charles Johnson’s book mountains. It is heard often in flight Nature of Vermont around the mountain, with a sonorous, metallic "grawk-grawk." Most hikers to these regions have seen ravens, but few people have managed a glimpse of their nests, tucked in the ledges or in the crowns of the denser, trackless forest below.

The dark-eyed junco and white- throated sparrow are small seed eating finches that nest directly among the tundra plants but migrate south before winter sets in. Hikers often see their young hopping about the rocks or attempting to fly from some low perch nearby.

In addition, the peaks are good place to watch for hawks, especially during the fall migration period, from late August to early November. Though these