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Vegetation and Altitudinal Zonation in Continental West Greenland Vegetation and Altitudinal Zonation in Continental West Greenland Vegetation and Altitudinal Zonation in Continental West Greenland Birgit Sieg, Birgit Drees & Fred J.A. Daniëls Meddelelser om Grønland · Bioscience 57 · 2006 Birgit Sieg, Birgit Drees & Fred J.A. Daniëls. Vegetation and Altitudinal Zonation in Continental West Greenland. – Meddelelser om Grønland Bioscience 57. Copenhagen, The Commission for Scientific Research in Greenland, 2006. © 2006 by the authors and the Danish Polar Center Cover front: Relevé of the Phippsietum algidae-concinnae, 950 m a.s.l. and the analysis of altitudinal indicator values of the association and of two typical species. Cover back: Altitudinal indicator species Campanula uniflora (left) and Salix herbacea & Stereocaulon alpinum (middle). Mid and high altitudes (510-1070 m a.s.l.) in Angujârtorfik (right). No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without the written permission of the copyright owners. Publishing editor Kirsten Caning Printed by Special-Trykkeriet Viborg a-s Scientific Editor: Erik W. Born, Senior scientist, Greenland Institute of Natural Resources. P.O. Box 570, DK-3900 Nuuk, Greenland. Tel. +45 32880163, fax + 45 32880101, e-mail: [email protected] About the monographic series Meddelelser om Grønland Bioscience Meddelelser om Grønland, which is Danish for Monographs on Greenland, has published scientific results from all fields of research in Greenland since 1879. Bioscience invites papers that contribute significantly to studies of flora and fauna in Greenland and of ecological problems pertaining to all Greenland environments. Papers primarily concerned with other areas in the Arctic or Atlantic region may be accepted, if the work actually covers Greenland or is of direct importance to continued research in Greenland. Papers dealing with environmental problems and other borderline studies may be referred to any of the series Geoscience, Bioscience or Man & Society according to emphasis and editorial policy. For more information and a list of publications, please visit the web site of the Danish Polar Center http://www.dpc.dk. All correspondence concerning this book or the series Meddelelser om Grønland (including orders) should be sent to: Danish Polar Center Strandgade 100 H DK-1401 Copenhagen Denmark tel +45 3288 0100 fax +45 3288 0101 email [email protected] Accepted August 2006 ISSN 0106-1054 ISBN 87-90369-77-7 Contents Abstract 6 1. Introduction 7 2. Study area 8 3. Methods 10 4. Results and discussion 13 4.1. Vegetation types 13 4.1.1. Acidophytic dwarf-shrub heaths and related vegetation (Loiseleurio-Vaccinietea, Thlaspietea) 13 4.1.2. Salix glauca shrub vegetation (Loiseleurio-Vaccinietea, Salicetea purpureae) 19 4.1.3. Chionophytic graminoid and other snowbed vegetation (Salicetea herbaceae) 21 4.1.4. Dwarf-shrub heaths and graminoid vegetation on base-rich soils (Carici-Kobresietea) 23 4.1.5. Fen vegetation (Carici-Kobresietea, Scheuchzerio-Caricetea) 28 4.2. Characterization and delimitation of altitudinal vegetation belts 32 4.2.1. Altitudinal indicator species 32 4.2.2. Vegetation types as altitudinal indicators 34 4.2.2.1. Limited altitudinal distribution of vegetation types 35 4.2.2.2. Altitudinal substitution of vegetation types 36 4.2.2.3. Elevation forms of vegetation types 37 4.2.2.4. Vegetation types with change in habitat-type spectrum 38 5. Conclusion 40 Acknowledgements 40 Appendix Tables 4-18 41 References 90 5 Abstract Birgit Sieg, Birgit Drees & Fred J.A. Daniëls. Vegetation and altitudinal zonation in continental West Greenland. – Meddelelser om Grønland Bioscience 57. Copenhagen, The Commission for Scientific Research in Greenland, 2006, 93 pp. Following the principles of the Braun-Blanquet approach a detailed investigation of the vegetation types of mountains in continental West Greenland is presented. The vegetation types are analysed regarding their subdi- vision into subassociations, variants and elevation forms, as well as the prevailing environmental conditions of their habitats. Special attention is paid to bryophytes and lichens as these play an important role in arctic plant communities and ecosystems. Based on 394 relevés the following communities are dealt with: Calamagrostio lapponicae-Salicetum glau- cae ass. nov., Hylocomio splendentis-Cassiopetum tetragonae, Empetro hermaphroditi-Betuletum nanae, Ledo decumbentis-Betuletum nanae (all Loiseleurio-Vaccinietea), Carici nardinae-Dryadetum integrifoliae, Thuidio abietini-Kobresietum myosuroides ass. nov., Rhododendro lapponici-Vaccinietum microphylli, Tortello arcticae- Caricetum rupestris ass. nov., Saxifrago nathorstii-Kobresietum simpliciusculae (all Carici-Kobresietea), Pla- giomnio elliptici-Salicetum glaucae ass. nov. (Salicetea purpureae), Cerastium arcticum-Poa community, Pedi- culari flammeae-Caricetum bigelowii ass. nov. (both Salicetea herbaceae), Caricetum saxatilis, Caricetum rari- florae (both Scheuchzerio-Caricetea) and Racomitrium lanuginosum community (Thlaspietea rotundifolii). Moreover, the importance of all vegetation types in the study area (incl. Phippsietum algidae-concinnae, Cassiopetum hypnoidis, a.o.) regarding the characterization and delimitation of altitudinal vegetation belts is assessed. For this purpose, their altitudinal distribution, elevation forms, change in habitat-type preferences and the substitution of communities along the altitudinal gradient as well as altitudinal indicator values of selected species are discussed. It resulted that the existence of three altitudinal belts with boundaries at 400 and 800 m a.s.l. can be confirmed and that a variety of the considered criteria is necessary for a comprehensive distinction of these vegetation belts. Furthermore, it was shown that differences between vegetation in mid and high alti- tudes are more pronounced than between low and mid altitudes. The lowlands and mid altitudes are dominated by erect dwarf-shrub heath vegetation. The associations Rhododendro-Vaccinietum and Ledo-Betuletum are mainly restricted to these altitudes. Mid altitudes are differentiated from the lowlands by elevation forms and change in habitat-type preferences of vegetation types as well as by occurrence of snowbed communities and absence of shrub vegetation. High altitudes are dominated by graminoid and prostrate dwarf-shrub vegetation of the classes Salicetea herbaceae and Carici-Kobresietea. They are differentiated from mid altitudes not only by elevation forms and change in habitat-type preferences of plant communities, but also by substitution of vegeta- tion types. Tortello-Caricetum, Pediculari-Caricetum and Racomitrium lanuginosum community are restricted to these altitudes. Keywords: Altitudinal indicator species; Arctic; elevation forms; mountain vegetation; syntaxa; toposequence; substitution of plant communities; vegetation pattern. Birgit Sieg, Birgit Drees & Fred J. A. Daniëls, Institute of Plant Ecology, University of Münster, Hindenburgplatz 55, 48143 Münster, Germany. E-mail: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]. 6 1. Introduction In the last decades several studies focused on latitudi- results a detailed model of altitudinal vegetation belts nal vegetation zonation schemes of the Arctic (e.g. will be developed, which considers altitudinal indica- Alexandrova 1980, Bliss 1997, Daniëls et al. 2000, tor species as well as the altitudinal differentiation of Edlund & Alt 1989, Elvebakk 1985, 1999, Walker et al. plant communities, vegetation pattern and environ- 2002, Young 1971, Yurtsev 1994). The increased inter- mental conditions (Sieg & Drees, in prep.). This model est in this topic resulted in the accomplishment of the will be compared with the latitudinal vegetation sub- Circumpolar Arctic Vegetation Map (CAVM). For the zones to test the altitudinal zonation hypothesis of the first time this map shows the vegetation variation of CAVM. Moreover, it will be compared with altitudinal the whole arctic territory according to uniform con- zonation in Scandinavia and other oroarctic areas, cepts and methods (CAVM Team 2003, Walker et al. which might lead to a better characterization and 2005). The map depicts five bioclimate subzones (fig understanding of altitudinal zonation in arctic areas 1) characterized by the mean July temperature and (e.g. Dahl 1986, Daniëls 1985, Elvebakk 1985). This vegetation features on ‘zonal’ sites in the lowlands. might also allow an extrapolation to the numerous However, as nearly 80 % of the ice-free land in remote and poorly known mountain ranges in conti- Greenland consists of mountain complexes, these lati- nental arctic territories. tudinal vegetation subzones can only be applied to the Moreover, the results contribute to improvement small lowland part of the country. Since mountain of the circumpolar vegetation classification system, vegetation in Greenland and the Arctic and its altitudi- which is an important tool for nature conservation and nal zonation is poorly studied so far it is preliminarily further ecological research. As the Arctic will be presumed that altitudinal vegetation belts correspond strongly affected by global warming (e.g. Hagen et al. to the latitudinal subzones (CAVM Team 2003). To 2001, Førland et al. 2004), a detailed knowledge about enhance knowledge about these topics the AZV (Al- arctic vegetation is essential as a basis for future moni- titudinal Zonation of Vegetation in continental West toring (cf. Sieg 2004). The potential of mountain vege- Greenland) Project was initiated in 2002 (cf. Sieg & tation
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