Kalinauskaitė, N. & S. Laaka-LindberG. Grey dune ground layer vegetation in the Curonian Spit Nature Reserve, Lithuania

Arctoa (2013) 22: 1-6

 

Structural composition of the ground layer vegetation on sandy dunes of the Curonian Spit Nature Reserve, Lithuania, is described. The Curonian Spit is a 98 km long, narrow sandy ridge at the eastern coast of the Baltic Sea, belonging partly to Lithuania and partly to Kaliningrad Province of Russia. The ground layer vegetation structural elements include lichens and bryophytes, with vascular plants representing the field layer. Along the vegetation succession on the grey dunes, the vascular plants dominating in the early stages are substituted by bryophytes and lichens. The bryophytes become dominant towards the late stages of the succession of the ground layer communities. The role of species interactions as regulators of the ground layer vegetation is discussed.