The Alaska Vegetation Classification - Alaska Geobotany Center ...

A.3.b. Siika Spruce WoodlandDescrlption4itka spruce woodland has an open overstory of stunted Sitka spruce.Tall shrubs are absent. Low shrubs are common and include Vaccinium uliginosum,Vaccinium oxycoccos, Empetrum nigrum, and Andromeda polifolia. The herb layeris diverse and well represented. Carex spp., Trichophorumcaespifosum, Geumcalthifolium, Drosera rotundifolia, Fauria crista-gall;, and Dodecatheon jeffreyi areabundant. Mosses form a continuous carpet, with Sphagnum spp. being the mostimportant components.Dlstributlon and site characteristics-This type is known only from the BoussoleValley in Glacier Bay National Park. It occurs on gently sloping or undulating valleylowlands on outwash or till where peat accumulates. Soils are organic.Successional status-These communities apparently are stable. Large, welldecayedstumps are present at several sites.Closely related types-The Sitka spruce woodland is similar to open ericaceousshrub bogs and may be similar to some sedge-moss bogs. It is, in fact. questionablewhether spruce provides more than 10 percent of the cover in these particular stands.If spruce cover is less than 10 percent, then according to our classification, thiswould be an open ericaceous shrub bog community with scattered, stunted Sitkaspruce.Primary reference-Worley 1977.Communities-Picea sitchensis/Vaccinium uliginosum- Jrichophorum caespitosum/Sphagnum fuscum-S. papiflosum (Worley 1977).I.A.3.c. Whiie Spruce WoodlandDescription-These communities have 10 to 25 percent tree cover and are dominatedby white spruce (fig. 20). Paper birch, black spruce, and occasionally aspenmay be present on some sites, but they provide little cover. An open shrub layerdominated by Betula glandulosa is common. The ground layer beneath the shrubsis dominated by feathermosses, primarily Pleurozium schreberi and Hylocomiumsplendens. The open areas between the shrubs are occupied primarily by fruticoselichens such as Cladonia spp.Figure 20-Needleleaf woadland 01 white sprucewith a shrub layer of Betula glandulosa. Salkrichardson3, and Spiraea beuverdiana and a mossand lichen layer of feathermosses and Cladoniaspp. near the limit 01 trees in southwestern Alaska.79