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Krummholz
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<h2 id="species">Species</h2> <p>Common trees showing <i>krummholz</i> formation include <a href="/facts/European_spruce/bkoBYHHv">European spruce</a>, <a href="/facts/Mountain_pine/HcjHcpuy">mountain pine</a>, <a href="/facts/Balsam_fir/oa7QFoVY">balsam fir</a>, <a href="/facts/Red_spruce/Il201UUr">red spruce</a>, <a href="/facts/Black_spruce/3QLJzeU5">black spruce</a>, <a href="/facts/Subalpine_fir/5xHMJd95">subalpine fir</a>, <a href="/facts/Subalpine_larch/NTyKlXnK">subalpine larch</a>, <a href="/facts/Engelmann_spruce/WGEe2YUB">Engelmann spruce</a>, <a href="/facts/Whitebark_pine/QXR1YGaf">whitebark pine</a>, <a href="/facts/Limber_pine/kxnyGgXY">limber pine</a>, <a href="/facts/Bristlecone_pine/Vtbek3SH">bristlecone pine</a>, and <a href="/facts/Lodgepole_pine/exc0CS6A">lodgepole pine</a>. Instances of the <i>krummholz</i> form of black spruce, <i><a href="/facts/Picea_mariana/3QLJzeU5">Picea mariana</a></i>, are found in the northern Canadian <a href="/facts/Boreal_forest/xjkPQRJs">boreal forests</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:9" href="#fn:9"><sup>9</sup></a> <i>Krummholz</i>-form black spruce and balsam fir are abundant in the alpine transition zone of the <a href="/facts/White_Mountains_(New_Hampshire)/LpUo1gAD">White Mountains</a> of Maine and New Hampshire and of the same zone in the <a href="/facts/Green_Mountains/7oKJa14e">Green Mountains</a> of <a href="/facts/Vermont/dcj3usCm">Vermont</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:10" href="#fn:10"><sup>10</sup></a> </p><p><a href="/facts/Abies_lasiocarpa/5xHMJd95">Subalpine fir</a> is the most common associate of spruce in <i>krummholz</i> vegetation. Other associated <a href="/facts/Pinophyta/vDUgqxCx">coniferous</a> species include alpine larch (<i><a href="/facts/Larix_lyallii/NTyKlXnK">Larix lyallii</a></i>), whitebark pine (<i><a href="/facts/Pinus_albicaulis/QXR1YGaf">Pinus albicaulis</a></i>), limber pine (<i><a href="/facts/Pinus_flexilis/kxnyGgXY">Pinus flexilis</a></i>), and western white pine (<i><a href="/facts/Pinus_monticola/9d9WGPTc">Pinus monticola</a></i>) in southern British Columbia, and mountain hemlock (<i><a href="/facts/Tsuga_mertensiana/x4Q7g54v">Tsuga mertensiana</a></i>) on the eastern slopes of the Coast Range and in the Revelstoke area of <a href="/facts/British_Columbia/Ty3e3g1Q">British Columbia</a>. Lodgepole pine (<a href="/facts/Pinus_contorta/exc0CS6A"><i>Pinus contorta</i> var. <i>contorta</i></a>) is a minor associate in most of the British Columbia interior, except in dry alpine areas of the southwest Cariboo/Chilcotin district where it is abundant (Pojar 1985).<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:11" href="#fn:11"><sup>11</sup></a> <a href="/facts/Ericaceae/fthVmp8G">Ericaceous species</a> (<i>Vaccinium scoparium, V. membranaceum, V. caespitosum, Cassiope mertensiana, Phyllodoce empetriformis</i>) are common in the snow accumulation zone around the base of <i>krummholz</i> colonies. </p><p>In the <a href="/facts/Alps/Q3zdQId4">Alps</a> in <a href="/facts/Europe/DTAtrKfh">Europe</a>, a <a href="/facts/Shrubland/TuWUtSYv">scrubland</a> of <i><a href="/facts/Pinus_mugo/HcjHcpuy">Pinus mugo</a></i> is described as occupying the area above the tree line. This is formed by variants of the <a href="/facts/Spruce/P1jQLaAY">spruce</a>, <a href="/facts/Beech/9LMa0wKB">beech</a>, and rarely the <a href="/facts/Alnus_alnobetula/fGC27omN">green alder</a>. These European species were first labeled as a "krummholz belt" by scientists. In the <a href="/facts/Rocky_Mountains/rDc3cU0E">Rocky Mountains</a>, several tree species appear in a similar stunted form, such as specific North American variants of <a href="/facts/Picea_engelmannii/WGEe2YUB">spruce</a>, <a href="/facts/Abies_lasiocarpa/5xHMJd95">fir</a>, and <a href="/facts/Pinus_flexilis/kxnyGgXY">pine</a>. These formations were sometimes called "elfin-wood" or "wind-timber". However, English-speaking scientists began to refer to these formations as <i>krummholz</i> as well.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:12" href="#fn:12"><sup>12</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="flag-tree">Flag tree</h2> <p>A variation of <i>krummholz</i> formation is a flag tree or banner tree. Branches on the <a href="/facts/Windward/7LebHsNX">windward</a> side are killed or deformed by the almost constant strong winds, giving the tree a characteristic flag-like appearance. Where the lower portion of the tree is protected by snow cover or rocks, only the exposed upper portion may have this appearance. This is a rather common occurrence in red spruce trees of the highest peaks of the central and even the southern <a href="/facts/Appalachian_Mountains/f7X1GBDE">Appalachian Mountains</a>, and is most often seen in the windswept high peaks and plateaus of the <a href="/facts/Allegheny_Mountains/Gk3RCtuf">Allegheny Mountains</a>. This formation most notably occurs with high frequency in the <a href="/facts/Dolly_Sods/XcXnyxAw">Dolly Sods</a> and <a href="/facts/Roaring_Plains_West_Wilderness/XwrhdPaD">Roaring Plains West Wilderness</a> areas along the <a href="/facts/Allegheny_Front/dz9m8IVF">Allegheny Front</a> in eastern <a href="/facts/West_Virginia/USP8LtCq">West Virginia</a>, typically occurring at elevations of 3,800 feet (1,200 m) and higher. <a href="/facts/Trade_wind/GUU8Vor3">Trade winds</a> in tropical regions near the equator can also shape trees in a similar manner.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:13" href="#fn:13"><sup>13</sup></a> The southernmost reaches of the <a href="/facts/Magellanic_subpolar_forests/m2AdTSDP">Magellanic subpolar forests</a> of Chile contain many flag trees also. </p> <h2 id="see-also">See also</h2> <ul> <li>Trees portal</li></ul> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Dwarf_forest/c1SB3FV0">Dwarf forest</a></li> <li><i><a href="/facts/Libidibia_coriaria/0oAAueao">Libidibia coriaria</a></i> (divi-divi)</li> <li><i><a href="/facts/Pinus_mugo/HcjHcpuy">Pinus mugo</a></i> (scrub mountain pine)</li> <li><a href="/facts/Reaction_wood/g5LT433m">Reaction wood</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Windthrow/z0XYXtVd">Windthrow</a></li></ul> <h2 id="further-reading">Further reading</h2> <ul><li><a href="https://www.diva-portal.org/smash/record.jsf?dswid=7145&pid=diva2%3A1510003">Recent history of subalpine Krummholz</a></li> <li><a href="https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/1365-2745.13315">Maintaining Krummholz above treeline</a></li></ul> <h2 id="external-links">External links</h2> <ul><li> Media related to Krummholz at Wikimedia Commons</li> <li><a href="http://www.chem.ucla.edu/~alice/explorations/churchill/landscapes.htm">Krumholtz formation in Hudson Bay subarctic landscape</a></li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>"The subalpine ecosystem". National Park Service. Archived from the original on August 9, 2007. Retrieved January 29, 2009. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20070809001440/http://www.nps.gov/archive/romo/resources/plantsandanimals/ecosystem/subalpine.html" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20070809001440/http://www.nps.gov/archive/romo/resources/plantsandanimals/ecosystem/subalpine.html</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>Alden, John; Mastrantonio, J. Louise; Ødum, Soren (June 29, 2013). Forest Development in Cold Climates. Springer Science & Business Media. ISBN 9781489916006. <a href="9781489916006" target="_blank">9781489916006</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>Burzynski, Michael (1999). Gros Morne National Park. Breakwater Books. ISBN 9781550811353. <a href="9781550811353" target="_blank">9781550811353</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>Gouthro, Jen (June 21, 2014). "Tuckamore: The little tree growth that could". Cape Breton Post. Retrieved July 23, 2017. <a href="http://www.capebretonpost.com/opinion/columnists/2014/6/19/tuckamore-the-little-tree-growth-that-c-3769304.html" target="_blank">http://www.capebretonpost.com/opinion/columnists/2014/6/19/tuckamore-the-little-tree-growth-that-c-3769304.html</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>Holtmeier, Friedrich-Karl (1981). "What Does the Term "Krummholz" Really Mean? Observations with Special Reference to the Alps and the Colorado Front Range". Mountain Research and Development. 1 (3/4): 253–260. doi:10.2307/3673062. ISSN 0276-4741. JSTOR 3673062. <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/3673062" target="_blank">https://www.jstor.org/stable/3673062</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>"Maine Natural Areas Program, Natural Community Fact Sheet for Spruce - Fir Krummholz". www.maine.gov. Retrieved October 31, 2023. <a href="https://www.maine.gov/dacf/mnap/features/communities/sprucefirkrummholz.htm" target="_blank">https://www.maine.gov/dacf/mnap/features/communities/sprucefirkrummholz.htm</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:7"><p>"Alpine Krummholz Guide - New York Natural Heritage Program". guides.nynhp.org. Retrieved October 31, 2023. <a href="https://guides.nynhp.org/alpine-krummholz/" target="_blank">https://guides.nynhp.org/alpine-krummholz/</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:8"><p>Holtmeier, Friedrich-Karl (1981). "What Does the Term "Krummholz" Really Mean? Observations with Special Reference to the Alps and the Colorado Front Range". Mountain Research and Development. 1 (3/4): 253–260. doi:10.2307/3673062. ISSN 0276-4741. JSTOR 3673062. <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/3673062" target="_blank">https://www.jstor.org/stable/3673062</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:9"><p>C. Michael Hogan. 2008. Black Spruce: Picea mariana, GlobalTwitcher.com, ed. N. Stromberg Archived October 5, 2011, at the Wayback Machine <a href="http://globaltwitcher.auderis.se/artspec_information.asp?thingid=44751" target="_blank">http://globaltwitcher.auderis.se/artspec_information.asp?thingid=44751</a> <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:10"><p>"Maine Natural Areas Program, Natural Community Fact Sheet for Spruce - Fir Krummholz". www.maine.gov. Retrieved October 31, 2023. <a href="https://www.maine.gov/dacf/mnap/features/communities/sprucefirkrummholz.htm" target="_blank">https://www.maine.gov/dacf/mnap/features/communities/sprucefirkrummholz.htm</a> <a href="#fnref:10" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:11"><p>Pojar, J. 1985. Ecological classification of lodgepole pine in Canada. pp. 77–88 in D.M. Baumgartner, R.G. Krebill, J.T. Arnott and G.F. Weeman (compilers). Lodgepole pine the species and its management. Symp. Proc.. Cooperative Extension, Washington State University, Pullman, WA. <a href="#fnref:11" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:12"><p>Holtmeier, Friedrich-Karl (1981). "What Does the Term "Krummholz" Really Mean? Observations with Special Reference to the Alps and the Colorado Front Range". Mountain Research and Development. 1 (3/4): 253–260. doi:10.2307/3673062. ISSN 0276-4741. JSTOR 3673062. <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/3673062" target="_blank">https://www.jstor.org/stable/3673062</a> <a href="#fnref:12" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:13"><p>"The subalpine ecosystem". National Park Service. Archived from the original on August 9, 2007. Retrieved January 29, 2009. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20070809001440/http://www.nps.gov/archive/romo/resources/plantsandanimals/ecosystem/subalpine.html" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20070809001440/http://www.nps.gov/archive/romo/resources/plantsandanimals/ecosystem/subalpine.html</a> <a href="#fnref:13" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>