Above and below Ground Dry Mass of the Three Main Vascular Plants on Hummocks on a Subarctic Peat Bog

Conventional harvesting in combination with an indirect method based on 14C allocation, was used to quantify the supply of organic matter, especially of fine roots, to successive peat levels down to 25 cm depth, in a raised area of Sphagnum fuscum about 30 m across. The three species studied were Andromeda polifolia, Empetrum hermaphroditum, and Rubus chamaemorus. The above ground biomass of these three species was estimated to be 23 g m'2 64 g m-2 and 12 g m-2 respectively; the below ground coarse root and rhizome biomass was 150 g m-2, 213 g m-2 and 220 g m-2 respectively, and the total fine root (<0.5 mm) biomass was 1100 g m-2, 600 g m-2 and 350 g ml2 respectively. Andromeda and Rubus had thus 98%, and Empetrum 90% of their living biomass below ground. The two dwarf shrubs had their living below ground biomass concentrated in the 0-15 cm peat layer, with their bulk at 2.5-7.5 cm, while Rubus was evenly distributed throughout the whole profile, to 25 cm depth.