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Encyclopedia > Alvar
Alvar on the shoreline of Lake Erie's Kelley's Island
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Alvar on the shoreline of Lake Erie's Kelley's Island

An alvar or pavement barren is a limestone plain with thin or no soil and, as a result, sparse vegetation. This environment suffers from poor drainage, so these areas flood in the spring and become very dry and hot in the summer. This challenging habitat supports a community of rare plants and animals, including species more commonly found on prairie grasslands. Lichen and mosses are common species. Trees and bushes are absent or severely stunted. Alvars can be found in southern Sweden, northwest Estonia and around the Great Lakes in Michigan, New York and Ohio in the United States and Ontario in Canada. Alvars are a rare habitat; although, some 120 exist in the Great Lakes, they comprise only 0.2% of the land area. Download high resolution version (1303x1681, 170 KB)Alvar on Kelleys Island, Ohio in Lake Erie photo by rmhermen, 6/18/2005 File links The following pages link to this file: Kelleys Island, Ohio Alvar Lake Erie Islands Categories: GFDL images ... Download high resolution version (1303x1681, 170 KB)Alvar on Kelleys Island, Ohio in Lake Erie photo by rmhermen, 6/18/2005 File links The following pages link to this file: Kelleys Island, Ohio Alvar Lake Erie Islands Categories: GFDL images ... Lake Erie, looking southward from a high rural bluff near Leamington, Ontario Lake Erie (pronounced ) is one of the five large freshwater Great Lakes in North America, which are among the largest in the world. ... Kelleys Island is both a village in Erie County, Ohio and the island which it fully occupies in Lake Erie. ... Limey shale overlaid by limestone. ... In geography, a plain is a large area of land with relatively low relief. ... Prairie refers to an area of land in North America of low topographic relief that principally supports grasses and herbs, with few trees, and is generally of a mesic (moderate or temperate) climate. ... Lichenes from Ernst Haeckels Artforms of Nature, 1904 Crustose and foliose lichens on a wall A foliose lichen on basalt. ... Subclasses Sphagnidae Andreaeidae Tetraphidae Polytrichidae Archidiidae Buxbaumiidae Bryidae Moss gametophyte generation plants with a single sporophyte. ... The Great Lakes from space The Great Lakes are a group of five large lakes on or near the United States-Canadian border. ... Official language(s) None (English, de-facto) Capital Lansing Largest city Detroit Area  Ranked 11th  - Total 97,990 sq mi (253,793 km²)  - Width 239 miles (385 km)  - Length 491 miles (790 km)  - % water 41. ... Official language(s) None, English de facto Capital Albany Largest city New York City Area  Ranked 27th  - Total 54,520 sq mi (141,205 km²)  - Width 285 miles (455 km)  - Length 330 miles (530 km)  - % water 13. ... Official language(s) None Capital Columbus Largest city Columbus Largest metro area Cleveland Area  Ranked 34th  - Total 44,825 sq mi (116,096 km²)  - Width 220 miles (355 km)  - Length 220 miles (355 km)  - % water 8. ... Motto: Ut Incepit Fidelis Sic Permanet (Latin: Loyal she began, loyal she remains) Official languages English Flower White trillium Capital Toronto Largest city Toronto Lieutenant-Governor James K. Bartleman Premier Dalton McGuinty (Liberal) Parliamentary representation  - House seat  - Senate seats 106 24 Area Total  - Land  - Water    (% of total)  Ranked 4th 1...


In North America, alvars provide habitat for birds such as Bobolinks, Eastern Meadowlarks, Upland Sandpipers, Eastern Towhees, Brown Thrashers and Loggerhead Shrikes whose habitat is declining elsewhere. Rare plants include northern bog violet, balsam squaw-weed, Kalm's lobelia, Pringle's aster, Juniper sedge (Carex juniperorum), Lakeside daisy (Hymenoxys acaulis), Ram's-head Lady's-slipper (Cypripedium arietinum) and Dwarf lake iris (Iris lacustris). Also associated with alvars are rare butterflies and snails. World map showing North America A satellite composite image of North America. ... Binomial name Dolichonyx oryzivorus (Linnaeus, 1758) The Bobolink, Dolichonyx oryzivorus, is a small blackbird, the only member of genus Dolichonyx. ... Binomial name Sturnella magna (Linnaeus, 1758) The Eastern Meadowlark, Sturnella magna, is a medium-sized blackbird, very similar in appearance to the Western Meadowlark. ... Binomial name Bartramia longicauda (Bechstein, 1812) The Upland Sandpiper, Bartramia longicauda, is a large shorebird, closely related to the curlews. ... Binomial name Pipilo erythrophthalmus (Linnaeus, 1758) The Eastern Towhee, Pipilo erythrophthalmus, is a large sparrow. ... Binomial name Toxostoma rufum (Linnaeus, 1758) The Brown Thrasher (Toxostoma rufum) is a common type of thrasher, part of a family of New World birds (Mimidae) that includes New World catbirds and mockingbirds. ... Binomial name Lanius ludovicianus Linnaeus, 1766 The Loggerhead Shrike (Lanius ludovicianus) is a passerine bird. ... Binomial name Cypripedium arietinum R.Br. ... Binomial name Cypripedium arietinum R.Br. ... Families Superfamily Hesperioidea: Hesperiidae Superfamily Papilionoidea: Papilionidae Pieridae Nymphalidae Lycaenidae Riodinidae A butterfly is an insect of the Order Lepidoptera, and belongs to one of the superfamilies Hesperioidea (the skippers) or Papilionoidea (all other butterflies). ... The name snail applies to most members of the molluscan class Gastropoda that have coiled shells. ...

Lichen, moss and grasses on limestone surface
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Lichen, moss and grasses on limestone surface

The use of the word "alvar" to refer to this type of environment originated in Scandinavia. A large alvar is located on the Swedish island of Öland. The landscape there has been designated a UNESCO World heritage site. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1169x745, 246 KB)Alvar on Kelleys Island, Ohio in Lake Erie I, the creator of this work, hereby grant the permission to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1169x745, 246 KB)Alvar on Kelleys Island, Ohio in Lake Erie I, the creator of this work, hereby grant the permission to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1. ... Scandinavia is a region in Northern Europe named after the Scandinavian Peninsula. ... â–¶(?) is an island in the Baltic Sea, located off the coast of SmÃ¥land. ... UNESCO logo UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) is a specialized agency of the United Nations established in 1945. ... Site #86: Memphis and its Necropolis, including the Pyramids of Giza (Egypt). ...


Alvar locations

Lake Erie, looking southward from a high rural bluff near Leamington, Ontario Lake Erie (pronounced ) is one of the five large freshwater Great Lakes in North America, which are among the largest in the world. ... Kelleys Island is both a village in Erie County, Ohio and the island which it fully occupies in Lake Erie. ... Official language(s) None Capital Columbus Largest city Columbus Largest metro area Cleveland Area  Ranked 34th  - Total 44,825 sq mi (116,096 km²)  - Width 220 miles (355 km)  - Length 220 miles (355 km)  - % water 8. ... Marblehead is a village located in Ottawa County, Ohio. ... Categories: Canada geography stubs | Islands of Canada | Ontario communities ... Motto: Ut Incepit Fidelis Sic Permanet (Latin: Loyal she began, loyal she remains) Official languages English Flower White trillium Capital Toronto Largest city Toronto Lieutenant-Governor James K. Bartleman Premier Dalton McGuinty (Liberal) Parliamentary representation  - House seat  - Senate seats 106 24 Area Total  - Land  - Water    (% of total)  Ranked 4th 1... Lake Huron and the other Great Lakes Lake Huron, bounded on the west by Michigan and on the east by Ontario, is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. ... Drummond Township is a township located in Chippewa County in the U.S. state of Michigan. ... Official language(s) None (English, de-facto) Capital Lansing Largest city Detroit Area  Ranked 11th  - Total 97,990 sq mi (253,793 km²)  - Width 239 miles (385 km)  - Length 491 miles (790 km)  - % water 41. ... Manitoulin Island is the worlds largest freshwater lake island, with an area of 2,766 square kilometres (1068 square miles). ... Map of Southern Ontario showing Bruce Peninsula in red. ... Lake Ontario seen from near Wolcott, New York Lake Ontario (French: lac Ontario), bounded on the north by Ontario and on the south by Ontarios Niagara Peninsula and by New York State, is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. ...

See also


  Results from FactBites:
 
Estonian Seminatural Community Conservation Association: alvars (261 words)
Alvars can be found on the islands of the Baltic Sea (Gotland and Öland Island in Sweden, Saaremaa, Muhu and smaller islands in Estonia) also on the coastal areas of western and northern Estonia.
Smaller patches of alvars are spread also in the mainland part of Sweden in Västergötaland, Ahvenamaa and in the surroundings of St. Petersburg.
Animal husbandry ceased in the fringe areas and unfertile alvars, and the former pastures were overgrown as a result of that.
Alvar:30Years (4425 words)
Alvar, who knew nothing of the Mexican muralists at the time, was working in the tradition of social denunciation, as he later described his youthful endeavors on behalf of social justice.
Alvar draws his initial image on the zinc plate with a fl grease crayon or a greasy liquid called tusche, after which he or Rodríguez, or another master printer at the atelier, bathes the zinc plate in nitric acid and then in gum arabic to prepare it for printing.
Alvar derives aesthetic pleasure from the juxtaposition of geometrical forms, such as checks, tables, windows, and window sills, with the curves of the human body, a juxtaposition which implies the tension all humans experience, he thinks, between the realm of daily life and the realm of the spirit.
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