Distribution patterns of vegetation in Midtre Lovenbreen foreland, Spitsbergen (79˚N)

Abstract

Forelands of receding glaciers are ideal sites to study soil development processes and vegetation succession through a space for time substitution approach. The aims of this study are to understand 1) distribution patterns of plants along the chronosequence in the glacier foreland and 2) the relationship between plant species and local environmental conditions. We chose 102 study plots the foreland of Midtre Lovenbreen through the stratified sampling method from 300 plots by previous research and recorded the frequency of each plant species and the coverage of vascular and nonvascular plants. Plant data is currently being analyzed by correspondence analysis to realize the grouping patterns of plants. Moreover, we are acquiring environmental data such as snow free days, altitude, aspect, the age of surface and runoff activity etc. Our preliminary results showed that plant colonization changed as soil developed. However, other environmental factors seemed to affect the vegetation distribution patterns too. Therefore, we are aiming to recognize different plant community distribution patterns with a link of environmental parameters through further analysis.