. The Canadian field-naturalist. . Figure 5. A view of the Snow Bunting Lake campsite and the rolling hills characteristic of the area. uniform in their frequency of occurrence from one meadow to another, Eriophorum tussocks (E. spissum) occur in some areas in relatively pure stand. Sandy Shorelines and Beaches Pioneer species colonizing flat areas above the beachlines include Carex stans and C. Bigelowii with scattered patches of Empetrum, Vaccinium uliginosum, and occasional tufts of Cassiope. Lichens are relatively abundant, principally Alectoria nitidula, which grow around the Carex tufts.
. The Canadian field-naturalist. . Figure 5. A view of the Snow Bunting Lake campsite and the rolling hills characteristic of the area. uniform in their frequency of occurrence from one meadow to another, Eriophorum tussocks (E. spissum) occur in some areas in relatively pure stand. Sandy Shorelines and Beaches Pioneer species colonizing flat areas above the beachlines include Carex stans and C. Bigelowii with scattered patches of Empetrum, Vaccinium uliginosum, and occasional tufts of Cassiope. Lichens are relatively abundant, principally Alectoria nitidula, which grow around the Carex tufts. Stellaria longipes and a Pedicularis are less frequent but often present, and occur in some evidently rather special sites. Rubus Chamaemorus forms small beds. Discussion As noted in the studies of many other arctic areas, the plant communities of the Pelly Lake area appear to be strongly controlled by topo- graphy, which appears, further, to be the con- sequence of rather markedly differing moisture regimes from one topographical position to another. Small differences in elevation within a restricted area can be seen to have a pro- nounced effect on the plant association, with abrupt and readily visible boundaries where there occur differences in elevation of as little as six inches or less. These differences in elevation may be the consequence of the original distribution of the glacial till or glaciofluvial sand, but may also frequently be the result of frost action and surficial molding characteristic of arctic re- gions. Minor soil differences, in terms of texture and composition, can be discerned upon close inspection and it would appear, at least from observational evidence, that the differences in moisture regimes, rather than other soil differ- ences, account in large part of the relatively consistent occupancy of the various topographic sites by a distinct and characteristic aggregation. Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may ha
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