Plant Communities of Alpine Park
Waterman WG. 1925. Plant Communities of Alpine Park. Botanical Gazette. 80(2):188-202
1. The area described is located near Logan Pass in Glacier Park, Montana, and consists of a level tract about one mile square between mountain peaks, at an average elevation of 7000 feet. 2. Four physiographic formations were found: a grassy steppe dotted with clumps of conifers, a wet Arctic meadow between low rock ledges, a glacial moraine formation, and a rock terrace formation. 3. The xerarch succession of these communities proceeds from pioneer stages on the glacial moraines, to grass steppe dotted with conifer clumps. The steppe seems to represent a temporary climax, with the conifers as a possible later stage under more favorable conditions. 4. The hydrarch succession develops in ponds left by the melting glacier, but does not proceed further than a wet meadow stage.