The Alaska Vegetation Classification - Alaska Geobotany Center ...

Submerged aquatic plant-Plant adapted to totally submerged aquatic existence orwith only leaves floating.Subsoil-Technically, the B-horizon; roughly, the part of the solum below plow depth.Substratum-The soil or other material that plants are rooted in or attached to.Succession-The gradual replacement of one community of plants by another; thesequence of communities being termed a sere and each community a seral(successional) stage. The endpoint of succession is a stable, climax community.Primafy succession-Plant succession on newly formed soils or on surfacesexposed for the first time that have never borne vegetation.Secondafysuccessiorr-Plant succession subsequent to the destruction of all orpart of the original vegetation on a site.Succulent-Having the stems or leaves conspicuously fleshy.Surface soil-Commonly refers to the top horizon in the soil profile (generally theA-horizon).Swale-A moist or marshy depression, particularly in a grassland or prairie.Swamp-In the Alaska vegetation classification, wetland sites dominated by tallshrubs and occasional trees. Standing or flowing water usually is present. Althoughpeat generally is absent, soils may be high in organic matter content. A wooded fen.Synecology-The study of plant communities and their environmental relations.TaigitA Russian term meaning "land of little sticks," and originally applied to theopen conifer lichen woodland between the boreal conifer forest and the tundra. Thisterm often is used more broadly to denote the northern portion of the boreal forest.Talus-In polar and arid temperate climates, the debris from rock falls accumulatesat the foot of cliffs and steep slopes. The sloping heap of rock fragments is termed'7alus," from the French term for slope.Taxon-A neutral term for a taxonomic group of any rank, such as subspecies,species, or genus.Temperate-Climates with regular winter seasons of freezing weather, alternatingwith summer seasons that either are hot or are warm but of long duration.Terrace-An old alluvial plain, ordinarily flat or undulating, bordering a river, a lake,or the sea. A stream terrace is frequently called a second bottom, in contrast with aflood plain, and is infrequently subject to overflow.Thermokarst-A permafrost-related landscape characterized by a peculiar topographyof pits, hummocks, depressions, and small ponds caused by the melting ofground ice and the settling or caving of the ground surface.Tidal-Refers to plants or vegetation within reach of the influence of tides.Tidal marsh-Low marshlands traversed by interlacing channels and sloughsand subject to tidal inundation. Usually the vegetation is composed of salt-tolerantgrasses and sedges.275