Studies on Structure in Plant Communities: II. The Structure of Some Dwarf-Heath and Birch-Copse Communities in Skjaldfannardalur, North-West Iceland

Abstract

These communities were subjected to an ordinational analysis, and the distribution of various species in the ordination compared with measured values of certain features of the climatic environment within the same ordinational framework. There is some evidence to suggest that vegetation structure in these communities is controlled at least to some extent by the wind, radiation, and snow-lie regimes operating within the area, and that there is some greater degree of discontinuity'' in the established continuum when compared with continua demonstrated in vegetation from more temperate environments.