Figure 19 — Vegetation types in New Hampshire's WInite Mountains are (A) Leersia, 

 (B) Maianthemum, (C) Lycopodium, and (D) Carex. 



and eastern hemlock — Tsuga canadensis) were more 

 common than on the poorly drained site, but a diverse 

 mix of hardwoods was still present. The ground cover 

 was shorter, less dense, and less diverse than on the 

 poorly drained site (fig. 19B). The most abundant 

 ground cover species were Maianthemum canadensis 

 (Canada mayflower), Dryopteris spinulosa var. ameri- 

 cana (wood fern), and Oxalis montana (wood sorrel). 

 This association of understory species is typical of much 

 of the low-elevation hardwood forest in the White Moun- 

 tains (Siccama and others 1970). 



The third site was located at higher elevations 

 (1,050 m) on the eastern slopes of Mount Washington 

 in the spruce-jEir zone. The overstory was relatively 

 open for this forest type (70 percent cover), allowing 

 the development of a moderately dense ground cover 

 layer. Both A6ies balsamea and Picea rubens were 

 abundant in the overstory. Pyrus americana (moun- 

 tain ash) and Betula papyrifera (paper birch) were the 

 only hardwood species. They were less abundant than 

 the conifers. The ground cover flora were not very 

 diverse; Lycopodium lucidulum (shining clubmoss), 

 Oxalis montana, and Dryopteris spinulosa were the 

 most abundant species (fig. 19C). This assemblage 

 of species is typical and widespread in the spruce-fir 



zone of the White Mountains (Costing and Billings 

 1951; Reiners and Lang 1979). 



The final site was located above tree line at an eleva- 

 tion of about 1,600 m. It was on the MonticeUo Lawn, 

 a sedge meadow with small amounts of dwarf-shrub 

 heath located near the southern base of the Mount 

 Jefferson summit cone. Trees were absent, although 

 krummholz (stunted, deformed trees near timberline) 

 was found in the vicinity. Ground cover was dense and 

 of moderate height (fig. 19D); diversity was low, given 

 the dominance of Carex bigelowii (Bigelow sedge). 

 Study sites were in vegetation that was intermediate 

 between the sedge meadow and sedge-dwarf-shrub 

 heath plant communities described in the Presiden- 

 tial Range by Bhss (1963). The meadow affinities were 

 more pronounced than the heath affinities. 



In sum, the vegetation types in the White Mountains 

 included one type dominated by graminoids (Carex), 

 two types dominated by forbs and ferns (Leersia and 

 Maianthemum), and one type dominated by club- 

 mosses, forbs, and ferns (Lycopodium). One type was 

 above timberline; one type was in subalpine spruce-fir 

 forest; and two types were in lower elevation hard- 

 wood forests. A Ust of the most abundant species can 

 be found in the appendix. Nomenclature follows 



27 



