124 



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Plate 79.— Classification: system Palustrine, CLASS Scrub-Shrub Wetland, SUBCLASS Broad-leaved Evergreen, dominance TYPE 

 Ledum decumbens, water regime Saturated, water chemistry Fresh, soil Mineral. Subordinate species include: cloudberry 

 (Rubus chamaemorus), mountain cranberry (Vaccinium vitis-idaea), crowberry (Empetrum nigrum), dwarf birch (Betula nana), 

 reindeer moss (Cladina spp.), sedge (Carex aquatilis), bluejoint (Calamagrostis canadensis), and Alaska spiraea (Spiraea beauver- 

 diana). Shrubs are less than 20 cm (8 in) tall. Although this site looks like a dry heath, permafrost at a depth of only 15-20 cm 

 (6-8 in) keeps the soil saturated near the surface throughout the growing season. (Talik River area. Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, 

 Alaska; July 1985; Photo by F. C. Golet) 



