Phytosociological survey of the tundra vegetation of the Kola Peninsula, Russia

A phytosociological survey of the tundra vegetation of the Kola Peninsula, Russia according to the Braun‐Blanquet approach is presented. The areas examined comprise the treeless zones along the shores of the White Sea and the Barents Sea as well as mountain areas above the timberline. Plant communities were assigned to five alliances: Loiseleurio‐Diapension on dry, wind‐swept habitats on summits and wind‐eroded sites in the lowland; Phyllodoco‐Vaccinion myrtilli on well‐drained soils with intermediate snow cover and moisture status, mostly in the lowlands and lower belts of mountain tundra; Nardo‐Caricion bigelowii comprising early snowbed and Salicion herbaceae late snowbed communities; Adenostylion alliariae comprising mesophilous tall‐herb communities along mountain springs and in wind‐protected and well‐drained sites near the sea shore. A DCA‐ordination showed that two major gradients determine the varation in tundra vegetation, altitude and topography, which are connected to variation in snow cover. The syntaxa described are well‐differentiated, although they form a syntaxonomical continuum.