Hierarchies of habitat: Diapensia lapponica on the Avalon Peninsula ...

• Main Author: Baehre, Heather
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: Memorial University of Newfoundland 2022
• Subjects: Arctic; Newfoundland
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.48336/e5zc-jm71; https://research.library.mun.ca/15618/

Arctic-alpine flora are known for their resilience to the selective pressures of their associated climate, glacial history, and geology. The coastal barrens of the Avalon Peninsula of Newfoundland are a unique region with arctic-alpine flora, best demonstrated by the persistence of arctic-alpine species, Diapensia lapponica, yet occur at low elevation within a temperate climate. This thesis examines their functioning and persistence within the local plant communities from a hierarchical perspective aiding in interpretations of the species range on a regional scale. Our results show that D. lapponica is capable of ameliorating extreme temperatures over the course of the warmest and coldest months on the Avalon Peninsula, which suggests it has an important role as a microhabitat provider for species less resilient to the environmental conditions. On a local scale, we found that D. lapponica exists in a habitat with a very specific set of requirements for persistence including high ground, and relatively low to ...