Open AccessOrganic matter and phytomass on three north Swedish tundra sites, and some connections with adjacent tundra areas
Author(s) -
Jonasson Sven
Publication year - 1982
Publication title -
ecography
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.973
H-Index - 128
eISSN - 1600-0587
pISSN - 0906-7590
DOI - 10.1111/j.1600-0587.1982.tb01050.x
Subject(s) - tundra , subarctic climate , shrub , moss , ecology , vegetation (pathology) , environmental science , betula pubescens , organic matter , willow , geography , biology , ecosystem , medicine , pathology
The amount of organic matter and phytomass is estimated on three types of shrub tundras in northern Sweden. The organic matter ranges from 23600 kg ha −1 on a dry dwarf birch tundra rich in dwarf shrubs, to 59600 kg ha −1 on a moist moss‐rich dwarf birch‐willow tundra. The phytomass reaches a peak of 14700 kg ha −1 on a mesic dwarf birch tundra, compared with 9230 and 8660 kg/ha −1 on the dry and moist sites. The belowground share of the phytomass decreases from 68% on the dry site to 54 and 47% on the mesic and moist tundras. Some adaptive advantages of belowground storage as well as of different life‐ and growthforms in different vegetational regions and local environments are discussed. Broad scale regional connections with tundra vegetation in other parts of Scandinavia and the Soviet Union are proposed, based on similarities in phytomass, distribution of plant groups, life‐ and growthforms. It is shown that the north Swedish tundra has many features in common with the subarctic shrub tundra in the USSR.