Krummholz or Krumholtz formation (German: krumm, "crooked, bent, twisted" and Holz, "wood") — also called Knieholz ("knee timber") — is a particular feature of subarctic and subalpine tree line landscapes. Continual exposure to fierce, freezing winds causes vegetation to become stunted and deformed. Under these conditions, trees can only survive where they are sheltered by rock formations or snow cover. As the lower portion of these trees continue to grow, the coverage becomes extremely dense near the ground.[1]
Common trees showing Krumholtz formation include Balsam Fir, Black Spruce, Subalpine Fir, Subalpine Larch, Engelmann Spruce, Limber Pine, and Lodgepole Pine. Instances of the Krumholz form of Black Spruce, Picea mariana, are found in the northern Canadian Boreal forests.[2]
William Rogers Fisher introduced the English terms elfin-tree and elfin-wood to correspond to the German Krummholz in his 1903 translation of Andreas Franz Wilhelm Schimper's Plant-geography upon a physiological basis.[3]
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Flag tree
A variation of this formation is a flag tree or banner tree. The wind kills branches on the windward side, giving the tree a characteristic flag-like appearance. Where the lower portion of the tree is protected by snow cover, only the exposed upper portion may have this appearance. Trade winds in tropical regions near the equator can also deform trees in a similar manner.[1]
See also
References
- ^ a b "The Subalpine Ecosystem". National Park Service. Archived from the original on 2007-08-09. http://web.archive.org/web/20070809001440/http://www.nps.gov/archive/romo/resources/plantsandanimals/ecosystem/subalpine.html. Retrieved 2009-01-29.
- ^ C. Michael Hogan. 2008. Black Spruce: Picea mariana, GlobalTwitcher.com, ed. N. Stromberg
- ^ Oxford English Dictionary, entry for 'elfin'
External links
- Krummholz formation on Snowy Range Pass, Wyoming
- Krumholtz formation in Hudson Bay subarctic landscape
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