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Salix arctica Dwarf-shrubland Alliance | Western Ecology Working Group of...
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Name: Salix arctica Dwarf-shrubland Alliance Reference: Western Ecology Working Group of... Description: Communities within this alliance occur in alpine meadows or on high mountain peaks. They range in elevation from 2900-4000 m. Landforms that support these communities are typically of gentle topography, with northerly aspects. They occur where snow lingers into the spring and summer, in places such as lees of cliffs and boulders, secondary slopes, and shallow depressions. Some stands also occur on moist gravel slopes and terraces or along stony margins of streams or lakes, thriving among coarse rock margins with almost no soil. Communities within this alliance are defined as cold-deciduous dwarf-shrublands. They are dominated by Salix arctica, which forms a thick canopy with a mat-forming growth form seldom rising more than 5 cm above the ground. Salix reticulata occasionally is found as a codominant in the dwarf-shrub layer. These shrubs occur with a mix of forbs and graminoids, including Carex pyrenaica, Geum rossii, Polygonum bistortoides, Sibbaldia procumbens, Erigeron melanocephalus, Agrostis rossiae, and Juncus drummondii. Several bryophyte and lichen species have been reported from Longs Peak, Colorado. On James Peak, Colorado, Salix arctica did not receive any competition and dominated with a mat-forming growth form. In the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in New Mexico there was a conspicuous absence of cushion plants associated with Salix arctica communities.  Accession Code: VB.CC.20095.SALIXARCTICADWA Plot-observations of this Community Concept: 0
	Party Perspective according to: NatureServe (organization) Perspective from: 26-Nov-1997 to: 01-May-2019
	status: accepted This Community's Level: Alliance This Community's Children: [none]		Names:   Scientific: Salix arctica Dwarf-shrubland Alliance   Translated: Arctic Willow Dwarf-shrubland Alliance   UID: HIGHER_CLASS_UNIT.2.125065 NatureServe Explorer   Code: A.1117