Print Report
CEGL006298 Vaccinium uliginosum - Rhododendron lapponicum / Juncus trifidus Dwarf-shrubland
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Bog Blueberry - Lapland Rosebay / Highland Rush Dwarf-shrubland
Colloquial Name: Alpine Heath Meadow
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: Alpine meadows of matted shrubs, sedges, and rushes are the dominant vegetation above treeline on the highest peaks of the northern Appalachian Mountains. Typically they occur above 1370 m (4500 feet) (occasionally lower) on exposed mountain summits, ridges, and bedrock-dominated tablelands. The substrate ranges from gravelly flats to jumbled rocks to stone pavements, with limited soils: basically well-drained gravels and stones with shallow organic accumulation. Protected spots may have continuous atmospheric moisture. The short snow-free season, frequent fog, cutting winds, and intense solar radiation are hallmarks of this environment. The vegetation is often patchy, with some areas shrub-dominated and other patches graminoid-dominated, but overall, dwarf-shrubs predominate. Shrub cover is usually 40-60%; herb cover is typically less, but may be up to 50% in some spots. Tree species may be present in shrub form in scattered, somewhat sheltered pockets. Bryophytes are very limited, but lichens may be abundant. Characteristic dwarf-shrubs are Vaccinium uliginosum, ubiquitous in this association, with Vaccinium vitis-idaea, Vaccinium boreale, Betula glandulosa, Empetrum nigrum, Empetrum eamesii ssp. atropurpureum, Rhododendron lapponicum, Diapensia lapponica, Salix uva-ursi, and Arctostaphylos uva-ursi. Graminoids scattered among the shrubs, and in places codominant, are primarily Juncus trifidus and Carex bigelowii. Sibbaldiopsis tridentata is a common forb, as is Minuartia groenlandica, which typically grows in the more gravelly substrates, often along trails. Herbs that are not abundant, but characteristic, include Solidago multiradiata, Anthoxanthum monticola ssp. alpinum, Agrostis mertensii, Prenanthes boottii, and Huperzia appalachiana. The combination of alpine heath shrubs in a mosaic with alpine graminoids is diagnostic. This is the above-treeline "matrix" type in which other, more limited and specialized alpine associations found on the more extensive summits are embedded. These include ~Diapensia lapponica Dwarf-shrubland (CEGL006322)$$, ~Vaccinium uliginosum - Harrimanella hypnoides - Loiseleuria procumbens Dwarf-shrubland (CEGL006155)$$, ~Carex bigelowii Alpine Meadow (CEGL006081)$$ and ~Empetrum nigrum - Vaccinium uliginosum - Vaccinium oxycoccos / Rubus chamaemorus Dwarf-shrubland (CEGL006140)$$.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: This association includes several dominance types that have been segregated as separate communities (e.g., see Bliss 1963, Doyle et al. 1987); recent field studies show these to generally occur in a fine-scale mosaic, and they are treated here as one association.
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: The vegetation is often patchy, with some areas shrub-dominated and other patches graminoid-dominated, but overall, dwarf-shrubs predominate. Shrub cover is usually 40-60%; herb cover is typically less, but may be up to 50% in some spots. Tree species may be present in shrub form in scattered, somewhat sheltered pockets. Bryophytes are very limited, but lichens may be abundant. Characteristic dwarf-shrubs are Vaccinium uliginosum, ubiquitous in this association, with Vaccinium vitis-idaea, Vaccinium boreale, Betula glandulosa, Empetrum nigrum, Empetrum eamesii ssp. atropurpureum, Rhododendron lapponicum, Diapensia lapponica, Salix uva-ursi, and Arctostaphylos uva-ursi. Graminoids scattered among the shrubs, and in places codominant, are primarily Juncus trifidus and Carex bigelowii. Sibbaldiopsis tridentata (= Potentilla tridentata) is a common forb, as is Minuartia groenlandica, which typically grows in the more gravelly substrates, often along trails. Herbs that are not abundant, but characteristic, include Solidago multiradiata, Anthoxanthum monticola ssp. alpinum (= Hierochloe alpina), Agrostis mertensii, Prenanthes boottii, and Huperzia appalachiana.
Dynamics: No Data Available
Environmental Description: Alpine meadows of matted shrubs, sedges, and rushes are the dominant vegetation above treeline on the highest peaks of the northern Appalachian Mountains. Typically they occur above 1370 m (4500 feet) (occasionally lower) on exposed mountain summits, ridges, and bedrock-dominated tablelands. The substrate ranges from gravelly flats to jumbled rocks to stone pavements, with limited soils: basically well-drained gravels and stones with shallow organic accumulation. Protected spots may have continuous atmospheric moisture. The short snow-free season, frequent fog, cutting winds, and intense solar radiation are hallmarks of this environment.
Geographic Range: This community is found above treeline on the highest peaks of the northern Appalachian Mountains from New York to Maine and possibly Quebec.
Nations: CA?,US
States/Provinces: ME, NH, NY, QC?, VT
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.687450
Confidence Level: Moderate
Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: G2G3
Greasons: No Data Available
| Type | Name | Database Code | Classification Code |
|---|---|---|---|
| Class | 4 Polar & High Montane Scrub, Grassland & Barrens Class | C04 | 4 |
| Subclass | 4.B Temperate to Polar Alpine & Tundra Vegetation Subclass | S12 | 4.B |
| Formation | 4.B.1 Temperate & Boreal Alpine Tundra Formation | F037 | 4.B.1 |
| Division | 4.B.1.Na Eastern North American Alpine Tundra Division | D042 | 4.B.1.Na |
| Macrogroup | 4.B.1.Na.1 Eastern North American Alpine Tundra Macrogroup | M131 | 4.B.1.Na.1 |
| Group | 4.B.1.Na.1.d <i>Vaccinium uliginosum - Diapensia lapponica - Carex bigelowii</i> Temperate Alpine Tundra Group | G909 | 4.B.1.Na.1.d |
| Alliance | A1116 Bog Blueberry - Mixed Alpine Heath Alliance | A1116 | 4.B.1.Na.1.d |
| Association | CEGL006298 Bog Blueberry - Lapland Rosebay / Highland Rush Dwarf-shrubland | CEGL006298 | 4.B.1.Na.1.d |
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: ? Alpine shrub heath (NAP pers. comm. 1998)
> Dwarf Shrub Heath (Bliss 1963)
> Dwarf Shrub Heath - Rush (Bliss 1963)
> Sedge-Rush-Dwarf Shrub Heath (Bliss 1963)
> Dwarf Shrub Heath (Bliss 1963)
> Dwarf Shrub Heath - Rush (Bliss 1963)
> Sedge-Rush-Dwarf Shrub Heath (Bliss 1963)
- Bliss, L. C. 1963. Alpine plant communities of the Presidential Range, New Hampshire. Ecology 44:678-697.
- Doyle, K. M., T. J. Fahey, and R. D. Paratley. 1987. Subalpine heathlands of the Mahoosuc Range, Maine. Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club 114:429-436.
- Eastern Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Boston, MA.
- Edinger, G. J., D. J. Evans, S. Gebauer, T. G. Howard, D. M. Hunt, and A. M. Olivero, editors. 2014a. Ecological communities of New York state. Second edition. A revised and expanded edition of Carol Reschke''s ecological communities of New York state. New York Natural Heritage Program, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Albany, NY.
- Gawler, S. C. 2002. Natural landscapes of Maine: A guide to vegetated natural communities and ecosystems. Maine Natural Areas Program, Department of Conservation, Augusta, ME.
- Gawler, S. C., and A. Cutko. 2010. Natural landscapes of Maine: A classification of vegetated natural communities and ecosystems. Maine Natural Areas Program, Department of Conservation, Augusta.
- NAP [Northern Appalachian-Boreal Forest Working Group]. 1998. Northern Appalachian-Boreal Working group discussions. The Nature Conservancy, Boston, MA.
- Sperduto, D. D., and C. V. Cogbill. 1999. Alpine and subalpine vegetation of the White Mountains, New Hampshire. New Hampshire Natural Heritage Inventory, Concord, NH. 25 pp. plus figures.
- Sperduto, D. D., and W. F. Nichols. 2004. Natural communities of New Hampshire: A guide and classification. New Hampshire Natural Heritage Bureau, DRED Division of Forests and Lands, Concord. 242 pp.
- Thompson, E. H., and E. R. Sorenson. 2005. Wetland, woodland, wildland: A guide to the natural communities of Vermont. The Nature Conservancy and the Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife. University Press of New England, Hanover, NH. 456 pp.