Table 4. Classification and description of ecotypes within Fort Greely. Descriptions include physiography,
geomorphology, soil properties, and vegetation. Plant names in bold are indicator species that can be
used to differentiate ecotypes on the ground.
Class
Description
Alpine Rocky
Rugged, unvegetated or partially vegetated (<30% cover) areas above treeline (~900 m) with
Dry Barrens
exposed bedrock or unstable talus slopes. Soils are rocky, lacking in organics, excessively drained, dry,
and slightly acidic (pH 6.16.5). Permafrost usually is present but hard to detect because of rocky soils.
Pioneering plants include Dryas octopetala, Salix arctica, Racomitrium lanuginosum, Stereocaulon sp.,
and crustose lichens.
Alpine Rocky
Rugged terrain above treeline on weathered bedrock or talus with vegetation dominated by dwarf
Dry Dwarf
(0.2-m) evergreen shrubs. Soils are rocky, lacking in organics, excessively drained, dry, and strongly (pH
Scrub
5.15.5) acidic. Permafrost usually is present but hard to detect because of rocky soils. Dominant plants
include Dryas octopetala, Vaccinium uliginosum, Cassiope tetragona, Oxytropis nigrescens, Hierochloe
alpina, Stereocaulon sp., and other lichens.
Alpine Rocky
Rugged terrain above treeline on weathered bedrock or talus with vegetation dominated
Moist Low
by low (0.21.5 m) deciduous shrubs. Soils generally are rocky, usually moist but including wet areas in
Scrub
drainages, and strongly acidic. Dominant plants include Alnus crispa, Betula nana, V. uliginosum,
Empetrum nigrum, Calamagrostis canadensis, Epilobium angustifolium, and Hylocomium splendens.
Shrubs can be taller in drainages.
Alpine Wet
Lower slopes and plateaus above treeline on retransported deposits and colluvium with vegetation
Tussock
dominated by tussocks and low shrubs. Soils are loamy with moderately (2040 cm) thick organic layers,
Meadow
poorly drained, wet, and strongly acidic. Permafrost is present and thaw depths are shallow. Dominant
plants include Eriophorum vaginatum, V. uliginosum, Carex bigelowii, B. nana, E. nigrum, and Sphag-
num spp. Lacks Picea mariana.
Alpine Wet
Lower slopes above treeline and headwater floodplains with vegetation dominated by low shrubs.
Low Scrub
Soils are loamy with moderately thick organic layers, poorly drained, wet, and moderately acidic (5.66).
Permafrost is present and thaw depths are shallow. Dominant plants include Betula nana, Vaccinium
uliginosum, Carex bigelowii, Ledum decumbens, Vaccinium vitis-idaea, Empetrum nigrum, Pleurozium
schreberi, and Sphagnum spp.
Alpine Wet
Swales, water tracks, and headwater floodplains above treeline with vegetation dominated by sedges.
Meadow
Soils are loamy or organic, saturated, and slightly (pH 6.16.5) acidic. Permafrost is present and thaw
depths are shallow. Dominant plants include Eriophorum angustifolium, Carex aquatilis, Carex
canescens, Salix planifolia, Potentilla palustris, and Sphagnum spp. Uncommon and not mapped.
Upland Rocky
Steep, south-facing bluffs with vegetation dominated by herbs and shrubs. Soils are rocky
Dry Meadow
(angular weathered bedrock), lacking in organics, excessively drained, dry, and neutral (6.67.3) to
slightly (7.47.8) alkaline. Some sites have moderate accumulations of loess. Permafrost is absent.
Dominant plants include Artemisia frigida, Calamagrostis purpurascens, Juniperus communis,
Populus tremuloides, Rhytidium rugosum, and lichens.
Upland Rocky
South-facing upper slopes and ridges on weathered bedrock and gravelly moraines with
Dry Broadleaf
vegetation that is dominated (>25% cover) by broadleaf trees. Soils are rocky with only thin surface
Forest
organic layers, well drained, dry, and moderately acidic. Permafrost is absent. Dominant plants include
Populus tremuloides, Shepherdia canadensis, V. vitis-idaea, Arctostaphylos uva-ursi, Hylocomium
splendens, Polytrichum sp., and lichens.
Upland Rocky
Upper slopes on weathered bedrock and gravelly moraines with vegetation that is dominated by
Dry Low
low shrubs and lichens. Soils are rocky with only thin surface organic layers, well-drained, dry, and
Scrub
slightly acidic. Permafrost is absent. Dominant plants include Betula nana, Alnus crispa, V. uliginosum,
Arctostaphylos alpina, Stereocaulon sp., and Polytrichum sp. Scattered dwarf P. mariana and prostrate
dwarf Populus tremuloides often are present
Upland Moist
Upper slopes on loess and weathered bedrock with vegetation dominated by grasses and herbs.
Meadow
Soils are rocky to loamy, well drained, moist, and strongly acidic. Older sites are dominated by
Calamagrostis canadensis and younger, recently burned sites are dominated by early successional
species including Epilobium angustifolium, Salix bebbiana, and Betula papyrifera saplings. Uncommon
and not mapped.
Upland Moist
Upper slopes on loess and moraine deposits with vegetation dominated by low and tall
Low and Tall
shrubs. Soils are loamy with moderately thin organic layers, somewhat well drained, moist, and strongly
Scrub
acidic. Permafrost usually is absent. Dominant plants include Alnus crispa, Betula nana, Vaccinium
uliginosum, Salix planifolia, S. glauca, V. vitis-idaea, and Calamagrostis canadensis.
Upland Moist
Upper slopes of loess and moraine deposits with early successional vegetation dominated by low and
Low and Tall
tall shrubs. Disturbance most commonly is from fire. Soils are loamy to rocky, well drained, and moder-
Scrub--
ately acidic. Dominant plants include Epilobium angustifolium, Vaccinium uliginosum, Betula nana,
disturbed
Populus tremuloides saplings, Ledum groenlandicum, and Polytrichum sp.
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