# Feldmark

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{{Short description|Plant community resilient to extreme winds}}
[[File:Yareta Peru.jpg|thumb|right|''[Azorella compacta](/source/Azorella_compacta)'', a [cushion plant](/source/cushion_plant), growing in feldmark habitat in Peru]]

'''Feldmark''', also spelt '''fjaeldmark''' ({{etymology|no||mountain field}}), is a [plant community](/source/plant_community) characteristic of sites where plant growth is severely restricted by extremes of cold and exposure to wind, typical of [alpine tundra](/source/alpine_tundra) and [subantarctic](/source/subantarctic) environments.

==Description==
Feldmark plant communities are characterised by scattered dwarf and prostrate plants, up to about {{convert|25|cm|0|abbr=on}} in height, often with a mat or [cushion](/source/cushion_plant) habit, among patches of bare ground and exposed rock.

==Distribution==
Feldmark occurs in the least favourable situations for plant growth, including late-lying snowdrift areas on leeward slopes and cold, highly wind-exposed ridges. Because feldmark species are adapted to cold bare ground, some are able to colonise areas of severe [erosion](/source/erosion) where the [topsoil](/source/topsoil) has been removed, leaving only a surface of broken rock or stones.<ref name="kaf">{{Harvnb|Costin et al.|1979}}.</ref>  In areas with strong prevailing winds, expansion through [layering](/source/layering_(horticulture)) on the sheltered sides of plants means that they may grow preferentially on the protected sides and gradually move downwind across the landscape.{{sfn|McDougall|Wright|2004}}

==See also==
* [Fellfield](/source/Fellfield)
* [Boników](/source/Bonik%C3%B3w) (formerly called Feldmark{{Citation needed|reason=cannnot see any other evidence of this online|date=December 2025}}), Ostrów County, Greater Poland Voivodeship, in western Poland

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==References==
* {{cite book |title=Kosciusko Alpine Flora |last1=Costin |first1=A. B. |last2=Gray |first2=M. |last3=Totterdell |first3=C. J. |last4=Wimbush |first4=D. J. |year=1979 |publisher=CSIRO/Collins |location=Melbourne |isbn=0-643-02474-3 |ref={{harvid|Costin et al.|1979}}}}
* {{cite journal |last1=McDougall |first1=K. L. |last2=Wright |first2=G. T. |year=2004 |title= The impact of trampling on feldmark vegetation in Kosciuszko National Park, New South Wales |journal= [Australian Journal of Botany](/source/Australian_Journal_of_Botany) |volume=52 |issue=3 |pages=315–320 |doi=10.1071/bt03145 |bibcode=2004AuJB...52..315M }}

Category:Habitats
Category:Tundra
Category:Alpine flora
Category:Flora of the Antarctic
Category:Habitat

{{habitat-stub}}

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Feldmark](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feldmark) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feldmark?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.