TY - JOUR N2 - The rapidly changing Arctic provides excellent opportunities for investigating primary succession on freshly deglaciated areas. Research on the Gåsbreen foreland (S Spitsbergen) traced the succession of particular groups of organisms and species, particularly lichens and bryophytes, and determined the effect of selected abiotic factors on this succession. Fieldwork in 2008, employed a continuous linear transect of phytosociological relevés (1 m2) along the foreland. Data analysis allowed to distinguish five different succession stages and three types of colonisers. Canonical correspondence analysis and a permutation test showed that distance from the front of the glacier and fine grain material in the substrate mostly influenced the distribution and abundance of vegetation, and the steepness of the moraine hills affected the colonisation process, mainly in the older part of the marginal zone. L1 - http://journals.pan.pl/Content/107495/PDF-MASTER/223.pdf L2 - http://journals.pan.pl/Content/107495 PY - 2016 IS - No 4 EP - 509 DO - 10.1515/popore-2016-0026 KW - Arctic KW - bryophytes KW - colonisation KW - glacier KW - lichens KW - vascular plants A1 - Węgrzyn, Michał A1 - Lisowska, Maja A1 - Wietrzyk, Paulina PB - Polish Academy of Sciences PB - Committee on Polar Research VL - vol. 37 DA - 2016 T1 - Vegetation diversity and selected abiotic factors influencing the primary succession process on the foreland of Gåsbreen, Svalbard SP - 493 UR - http://journals.pan.pl/dlibra/publication/edition/107495 T2 - Polish Polar Research ER -