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.