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Dwarf Shrub Bog
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International Vegetation Classification Associations [-]
This New York natural community encompasses all or part of the concept of the following International Vegetation Classification (IVC) natural community associations. These are often described at finer resolution than New York's natural communities. The IVC is developed and maintained by NatureServe.


NatureServe Ecological Systems [-]
This New York natural community falls into the following ecological system(s). Ecological systems are often described at a coarser resolution than New York's natural communities and tend to represent clusters of associations found in similar environments. The ecological systems project is developed and maintained by NatureServe.


Characteristic Species [-]
Trees > 5m
  • Black Spruce (Picea mariana)
Shrubs 2-5m
  • Red Maple (Acer rubrum)
  • Tamarack (Larix laricina)
  • Highbush Blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum)
Shrubs < 2m
  • Bog Rosemary (Andromeda polifolia)
  • Leatherleaf (Chamaedaphne calyculata)
  • Sheep-laurel (Kalmia angustifolia)
  • Pale Laurel (Kalmia polifolia)
  • Bog Labrador Tea (Rhododendron groenlandicum)
  • Large Cranberry (Vaccinium macrocarpon)
  • Small Cranberry (Vaccinium oxycoccos)
Herbs
  • Billings' Sedge (Carex trisperma)
  • Roundleaf Sundew (Drosera rotundifolia)
  • Tawny Cotton-grass (Eriophorum virginicum)
  • Pitcher-plant (Sarracenia purpurea)
  • Flatleaf Bladderwort (Utricularia intermedia)
Nonvascular
  • Sphagnum fuscum
  • Sphagnum magellanicum
Similar Ecological Communities
  • Perched bog
    Perched bog peat depth is generally shallower than many peatlands, often less than 50 cm deep. Perched bog peat must be shallow enough, and the bedrock must be strongly influencing the hydrology, otherwise the occurrence may grade into open peatlands characterized by deeper peats such as inland poor fen or dwarf shrub bog.
  • Patterned peatland
    Patterned peatlands are large peatlands with a gentle slope or divide in which the vegetation consists of a mosaic of high and low areas (relative to water levels) that are called strings and flarks, respectively.
  • Black spruce-tamarack bog
    Dwarf shrub bog tree cover must be less than 50%, and is usually less than 20%. Examples with greater than 20% cover of uniformly-spaced tall trees (>5 m) may grade into black spruce-tamarack bog.
  • Shrub swamp
    Dwarf shrub bogs must have deep enough peat to be a peatland, otherwise they may grade into a mineral soil wetland such as a shrub swamp. Shrub swamp shrubs are usually not dwarf or evergreen.
  • Medium fen
    Medium fens are dominated by American woollyfruit sedge (Carex lasiocarpa ssp. americana) and sweet gale (Myrica gale), with leatherleaf (Chamaedaphne calyculata) as a codominant or minor associate. Medium fens tend to have higher pHs (4.5 to 6.5) than dwarf shrub bogs.
  • Inland poor fen
    Dwarf shrub bogs are dominated by dwarf evergreen shrubs (>50% cover), such as leatherleaf. Inland poor fens are dominated by sedges and other herbs, and the shrub layer has less than 50% cover.
Vegetation
Trees > 5m
Shrubs 2-5m
Shrubs < 2m
Herbs
Nonvascular
0 20 40 60 80 100
Percent Cover
This figure helps visualize the structure and 'look' or 'feel' of a typical Dwarf Shrub Bog. Each bar represents the amount of 'coverage' for all the species growing at that height. Because layers overlap (shrubs may grow under trees, for example), the shaded regions can add up to more than 100%.

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© 2004-2012 New York Natural Heritage Program, a partnership between
the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and
the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry

Please cite this page as:
New York Natural Heritage Program. 2013. Online Conservation Guide for Dwarf Shrub Bog. Available from: http://acris.nynhp.org/guide.php?id=9936. Accessed May 25th, 2013.
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