This paper reviews the knowledge on crowberry (Empetrum nigrum ssp. nigrum and ssp. hermaphroditum) dominated ecosystems in the Nordic region. Empetrum leaves and litter have high phenolic content resulting in slow decomposition, and with the formation of an organic top soil, nutrients are kept in an organic nutrient bank in the soil mainly available for plants with ericoid mycorrhiza. Empetrum nigrum ssp. hermaphroditum is a strong nutrient competitor and outcompetes most plants in late successional stages. This is due to chemical interference (allelopathy) and resource competition. Crowberry as an organism is resistant to atmospheric pollution and may even increase in vigor by high atmospheric N deposition in nemoral coastal heaths, but is very sensitive to mechanical disturbances and fire. However, there are indications that the closed nutrient cycle established when Empetrum is dominant may be disturbed after airborne inputs of inorganic N.
How to translate text using browser tools
1 March 2000
Nordic Empetrum Dominated Ecosystems: Function and Susceptibility to Environmental Changes
Knud Tybirk,
Marie-Charlotte Nilsson,
Anders Michelsen,
Hanne Lakkenborg Kristensen,
Anna Shevtsova,
Morten Tune Strandberg,
Marianne Johansson,
Knud Erik Nielsen,
Torben Riis-Nielsen,
Beate Strandberg,
Ib Johnsen
ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE
It is not available for individual sale.
This article is only available to subscribers.
It is not available for individual sale.
It is not available for individual sale.
AMBIO: A Journal of the Human Environment
Vol. 29 • No. 2
March 2000
Vol. 29 • No. 2
March 2000
