Abstract
Large boreal peatland complexes are at the southern extent of their range in New York State and contribute considerably to regional biodiversity with their distinctive flora and fauna. The goal of this study is to inform conservation management of peatland ecosystems by providing information on the composition and structure of vegetation across environmental gradients; information that is lacking for the region. I sampled vegetation along gradients of water chemistry, canopy openness, microtopography, coarse woody debris and forest structure in 50 plots within a large boreal peatland complex in the Adirondack region of New York State. I classified ecological communities based on the most important gradients to emerge from an ordination of understory vegetation - pH and canopy openness- and I describe the composition and structure of the vegetation of those classifications. This work presents empirical data on vegetation, environmental gradients and disturbance history of a large Adirondack peatland complex, all of which is important to conservation management efforts.