Patterns of shrub abundance and relationships with other plant types within the forest-tundra ecotone in northern Canada

We examined the role of distance to edges of water bodies and environmental factors (microtopography, pH) in determining the spatial pattern of the shrub layer, and the relationship of shrubs with trees and shorter plant types at different scales. We considered tall and prostrate shrubs in the shrub layer across two subarctic/Arctic landscapes in central Canada: tundra and forest-tundra ecotone. Our specific objectives for shrubs were: 1) to determine patterns across edges of water bodies, 2) to relate their abundance to pH and microtopography, and 3) to assess relationships with other plant types (trees, herbs, graminoids, bryophytes, ground cover lichens) at different scales. We compared our results between Arctic tundra and forest-tundra ecotone landscapes because we were particularly interested in determining the effect of tree cover in the forest-tundra ecotone on the relationships between shrubs and other plant types.