Krummholz

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For the American actor, see David Krumholtz.

Krummholz Pinus albicaulis in Wenatchee National Forest
Wind-sculpted krummholz trees, Ona Beach, Oregon

Krummholz (

subalpine tree line landscapes, shaped by continual exposure to fierce, freezing winds. Under these conditions, trees can only survive where they are sheltered by rock formations or snow cover. As the lower portion of these trees continues to grow, the coverage becomes extremely dense near the ground.[1] In Newfoundland and Labrador, the formation is known as tuckamore.[2][3][4]
Krummholz trees are also found on beaches such as the Oregon coast, where trees can become much taller than their subalpine cousins.

The labeling of diverse sets of tree species in different ecological contexts may be problematic. The ecological requirements of krummholz trees in the Alps, for example, are different from those in the Rockies. The terms scrub or shrubland may be more appropriate for some communities with krummholz trees.[5]

Krummholz trees can cover nearly all of the area in which they inhabit, with only patches of moss and flowers in between. Frequent fog and cloudy conditions, along with cool weather, create a rather moist microclimate around the shrubs.[6] Krummholz might depend on less acidic soil to survive. This means that they are threatened by acid rain. The thin soils that cover mountaintops have low buffering capacity, that is the capacity to resist changes in acidity.[7] These trees are also endangered by the use of them as timber for fires, and other human activity.[5]

Species

Picea engelmannii flag tree in Colorado, at the tree line

Common trees showing krummholz formation include

White Mountains of Maine and New Hampshire and of the same zone in the Green Mountains of Vermont.[6]

Pinus monticola) in southern British Columbia, and mountain hemlock (Tsuga mertensiana) on the eastern slopes of the Coast Range and in the Revelstoke area of British Columbia. Lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta var. contorta) is a minor associate in most of the British Columbia interior, except in dry alpine areas of the southwest Cariboo/Chilcotin district where it is abundant (Pojar 1985).[9] Ericaceous species
(Vaccinium scoparium, V. membranaceum, V. caespitosum, Cassiope mertensiana, Phyllodoce empetriformis) are common in the snow accumulation zone around the base of krummholz colonies.

In the Alps in Europe, a scrubland of Pinus mugo is described as occupying the area above the tree line. This is formed by variants of the spruce, beech, and rarely the green alder. These European species were first labeled as a "krummholz belt" by scientists. In the Rocky Mountains, several tree species appear in a similar stunted form, such as specific North American variants of spruce, fir, and pine. These formations were sometimes called "elfin-wood" or "wind-timber". However, English-speaking scientists began to refer to these formations as krummholz as well.[5]

Flag tree

Torres del Paine
National Park, Chile

A variation of krummholz formation is a flag tree or banner tree. Branches on the

Trade winds in tropical regions near the equator can also shape trees in a similar manner.[1] The southernmost reaches of the Magellanic subpolar forests of Chile contain many flag trees also.[citation needed
]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "The subalpine ecosystem". National Park Service. Archived from the original on August 9, 2007. Retrieved January 29, 2009.
  2. ISBN 9781489916006
    .
  3. ISBN 9781550811353
    .
  4. ^ Gouthro, Jen (June 21, 2014). "Tuckamore: The little tree growth that could". Cape Breton Post. Retrieved July 23, 2017.
  5. ^
    ISSN 0276-4741
    .
  6. ^ a b "Maine Natural Areas Program, Natural Community Fact Sheet for Spruce - Fir Krummholz". www.maine.gov. Retrieved October 31, 2023.
  7. ^ "Alpine Krummholz Guide - New York Natural Heritage Program". guides.nynhp.org. Retrieved October 31, 2023.
  8. ^ C. Michael Hogan. 2008. Black Spruce: Picea mariana, GlobalTwitcher.com, ed. N. Stromberg Archived October 5, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  9. ^ Pojar, J. 1985. Ecological classification of lodgepole pine in Canada. pp. 77–88 in D.M. Baumgartner, R.G. Krebill, J.T. Arnott and G.F. Weeman (compilers). Lodgepole pine the species and its management. Symp. Proc.. Cooperative Extension, Washington State University, Pullman, WA.

Further reading

External links

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