抄録
Cool-spots site vegetation was surveyed at Izariiri-Heide, near Sapporo, northern Japan. Along the gradient of soil temperature, vegetation height and species richness decreased towards the central area of Heide, where many cool-spots are distributed. Soil temperature in the central area was as low as about 4℃ even in late September, suggesting that the low temperature had enabled the subalpine Pinus pumila vegetation to become established locally in the mixed forest zone. Some stand groups in the central area were characterized by relatively abundant species richness in spite of the cool conditions. In such habitats, various forms of microrelief due to the physical characteristics of the bedrock andesite support the growth of many plant species : e. g., Sphagnum squarrosum and Sphagnum girgensohnii in wet depressions, and Vaccinium ovalifolium var. coriaceum and seedlings of Picea glehnii on dry mounds.
