IIil

II'III'

IIIIIII'IEI

I'I

'.

SUSITNA HYDROELECTRIC PROJECTPLANT ECOLOGY STUDIES

Semiannual Report

(January - June 1980)

Agricultural Experiment StationUniversity of Alaska

RECEIVEDMAY 051983

HARZA-EBASCOSusitna Joint Venture

lMJ~OO~~ Q §!ID~®©@Susitna Joint VentureDocument Number

Please Return ToDOCUMENT CONTROL

IIIIIIIIIIIIII

, I'I',~~

~

1 'Iil ;

II

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

LI STOF TABLES... '. '. . . . .. . . . . . . ... . . . . . . . . . . .. '. . s • •• • '. II • • •• • • .. • •• •• • • •• • .i

LIST OF FI GUR'E'S. .. .. . • . . • . .. . . .•. . .. . . .. . '. . 0' • • • • • • • • • • • '. .,; • • • • •• • • • • • • .. • • • * .i i

I'. INTRODUCTION .......................................•..... ' 1

I I • f~ETHODOLOGY ; ec, _ • ............ ii, •• .,; • ~ l) ' ••••• ~,.2

III. LITERATURE REVIEt~ ..•..••..•.••...•.•.•..•.•..••..•••.•••....••••.4

IV.. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION OF BASELINE STUDy 5

V.. H'1PACT ASS ESSNENT , 27

VI.. j'lITI GATT ON ' ~ 29

VI I .SUltj;·1.ARY ' -.. "- o•••.• ............ 00 '•• .......... 3d

VI I I. REFERENCES ..•..........•............• .• .....•.•......•... '.' ••.•. 31

IX. AUTHORITIES CONTACTED ..•••...••.....•..•..•.••......•.•...•••••.34

,.~

3. Occurrence and estimated abundance of species in major plantcomnunities of the upper Susitna River Basin 16

1. Vegetation and corresponding sample stand number 6

2. List of species collected and identified during June 1980 in theupper Susitna River Basin ......•..•.•....•.•...... A ••••••••••••••••• 9

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

I I,I..·..••1.,'.,I; :

Table

L.IST OF TABLES

Page

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure Page

1. Location of sample stands on 1:250,000 scale USGS map ..•....•...•... 7

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

I. INTRODUCTION

The overall objectives of the Plant Ecology Study is to map andcharacterize the vegetation/habitat types occurring in the areas to beaffected by the proposed Sus; tna Hydroe1ectri.c Project and to predi ctthe impacts that will result from the proposed facilities. Specificallyfor the period January through June, 1980 objectives were: (1) to makepreliminary delineations of different tones and textures on color infra­red photography of the Upper Susitna Basin, (2) to make overflights andg~~oundchecks of the at~ea for the PUt~pose of i denti fyi ng the true mean­ing of characteristics delineated in the photQgt~aphy, and (3) to quali­tatively assess and describe the major plant communities/habitat typesoccurring in the Upper Basin.

(1)

IIIIIIII

,I:! I~.• I",Ii .1J

I Il:,1l!l

I11

I.T •- t~ETHODOLOGY

VEGETATION COVER/HABITAT tvlApPING

High altitude (U2) color infra red (eIR) photogr'aphy and LANDSATimagery were used to begin mapping the upper Susitna River Basin at the1: 120,000 scale. A wi nter LANDSAT scene of the enti re upper ,bas in \'/aSused to delineate major topographic regions. These regions were thensuperimposed on a summer LANDSAT scene to delineate major physiographicregions for pur'posesof grouping those \·/ith similar vegetation and ration­ally distributing the field verification effort.

He then perused 1:120,000 scale CIR contact prints to determine whichtones and textures possibly indicated specific vegetation units. Theseuni ts v/ere then deli nea ted on myl at" overl ays, which v/ere permanentl y attachedto each print, and the vegetation each unit supposedly represented was noted.

The prints~ with attached overlays, were then taken into the field andas many vegetation units verified as possible. ~1any errors in vegetationidentification were discovered during our initial visits to the field, al')dcorrections were made, thereby giving us a better base from which to int~r­

p)~et the photographs. Each vegetation unit \'las classified accotding to ­Viereck and Dyrness (1980).

QUALITATIVE ASSESSMENT

Botanical Characteristics

Simultaneous to field verifications of units delineated on CIR photo­graphy, reconnaissance-level surveys were made of each vegetation unit forthe purpose of describing vegetal and site characteristics. Sample standswere located in areas visually judged to have homogeneous vegetation repre­sentative of the vegetation types identified on aerial photography. Dominantspecies composition, species abundance, estimated heights and percent coverwere the pri'nci pa1 botanica'; characteri st; cs recorded. On si tes where shrubsor trees were among the dominant species, cross-sectional cuttings or incre­ment cores were taken- from representative pl ants to deter'mine the probabl e ageof the stand. Specifics of the botanical characteristics \'Jhich \vere assessedare discussed in the PI ant Eco logy Pr~ocedu res r~anua1 (p. 11-12).

Physical Characteristics

The objective of this portion of the qualitative assessment \Vas to collectdata that would describe characteristics of the physical environmentwhirhcould be closely associated with the occurrence ufa particular vegetation/wildl ife habitat type. One person on the survey team was assigned to recordthe physical variables at each site where the vegetation was described. E1.e­vation was determinEd from topographic maps or the altimeter of the helicopter.Degree of slope typical of the site vIas measured with an ABNEY level. Aspect\'las determined with the use of a compass andl'ecorded in degrees. Position

(2)

IIIIIIIIII

II'II

IIII

" IIII .

·.··.j.:I··.I......•.1.....•jf1 ;

:JG1 I·..·'1' ....•..

was also recorded with reference to elevational location or fhe site withrespect to the land form on which it occurs (e.g. canyon si,te; mid, upper,or lower level; mountain top; etc.).

At least one soil pit was dug"at each site, and the horizons of eachdescribed in terms of depth, texture, color, wetness, and structure. Tex~

ture and color were described in common soil classification terms. Hetnesswas recor'ded as satUt~ated, wet, moist, or dry. The pits \vere dug toa depthof at least 30 em or until frost or rock was encountered. Parent materialYlas identified in each case. In addition, core samples of approximately 20em depth Vlere taken from 5 to 8 1oeati ons \'Ji thi n the site. The samples \'Jereplaced in a common plastic bag~ labelled, and sealed for later texture andchemical analysis. They were stored in a cool place.

Wildlife Habitat

The focus of this part of the qualitative assessment was descriptionof ungulate habitat values for each communfty/habitat type. Secondarily,record was made of presence or sign of other wi'ldlife species, such as birds,small mammals, and bears.

Available bro\'lse, browse utilization, browse vigor, pellet groups, andcomments relative to wildlife habitat Wei~e recorded. Specifics are discussedin the Plant Ecology Procedures r·ianual (p.13).'

IIIIIIIII

~Ij.

"t I,

r.!."I,.,.,·'··' 1',1.,

I '";l ": ~'

, i:,

IIiIIIIII

TIl. -·LFfERATURE REVIEW

VEGETATION MAPPING/CLASSIFICATION

Viereck and Dyrness (1980) have produced an extremely useful vegetationclassification key for Alaska. This key became available halfway throughour June field trip and \-Jas very helpful in answering some of our mapping/classification problems. It is .easy to use and should be used by allSusitna Environmental Study teams for the purpose of identifying vegetationin terms that will be understood by others. The hierarchial scheme used inthe classification is compatible \vith data recor'ding and analysis.

Cl assifi cati on of vegetati on/habitt3 t in terms of \vetl and consi derati onsprobably wi,ll follow that of em-lardi n et a1 . (1979) . However, thei r cl ass­ification does not accomodate all the requirements of the recent wetlandlegislation. It does, however, provide definitions and concepts that haveutility in the inventory and evaluations of plant comllunities occuring in'the Susitna region.

Walker et al. (1979) described a vegetation mapping method used in .nOI"thern Alaska which is readily applicable to vegetation mapping in the~

upper Susitna River Basin. Payne (1975) also provides a good discussion'oftechniques and procedures for vegetation mapping. Mueller-Dubois andEllenberg (1974) have many helpful suggestions on acutal graphics to be used-in vegetation map production. A number of other pertinent l"eferences areincluded in the reference section.

FLORISTIC/BOTANICAL \'WRKS

The prine ipal references consul ted for i denti fi cati on of plants h~'iebeen Hulten (1968), Viereck and Littl~ (1972), Argus (1973) and Welsh (1974).An excellent illustrated manual on the threatened and endangered plants ofAlaska by r'1ur'ray (1980) provides descriptions of habitats where rare plantsmay occur.

PLANT ECOLOGY/SUCCESSION

A list of some pertinent plant ecology studies is included in thereference section. Of these perhaps the one with lTJost direct applicationto the Susitna study is by Viereck (1970). That report discusses some ofth,e more important mechanisms relating to p'lant succession along .rivers ininterior Alaska. Viereck (1975) and Viereck et al. (1979) also give gooddescriptions of forest succession following fire.

Mueller--Duhois and Ellenberg (1974) discuss approaches commonly usedto detect and predict succession. However ll many other approaches oryaY'iati ons have been used (see references under "pl ant ecol ogy/successi on" L

IIIIl

I.J

1l:i

rr

I!

I

IIIIIIIIII,I

,11

ij I;,l~ III

II

IV. RESULTS AND ·DiSCUSSION OF BASELINE STUDY

A total of 24 types of vegetati on \.'lere surveyed duri ng the fi rstsample period and classified to Level III of Vier'eck and Dyrness (1980»vlith modifications as discussed in the ~1ethods s~ction. Sampling wasdistributed according to the relative abundance of the different plantcommunities. Consequently, certain vegetation types were surveyed atseveral locations, while only one orb·JO points \ve~~e obtained in others(Table 1, Figure 1).

We have identified 153 taxa in 100 genera and 46 families (Table 2).1'1ore \-.'Ork vd1l be needed to identify other species collected. Additionalspecies will likely be encountered at the higher elevations as well asother stands which have not been adequately surveyed.

Table 3 indicates what species \'Jere found in \·.:hich corr.munity typesand which ones were most important. The presence of a species in aparticular community means that at least one individual was found in atleast one stand for that community type. It might have occurred thereby chance and "'auld not normally be considered a component of that type.The list of species present in-the community types with only one or twostands is tentative because of the few sample points. Variability amongstands but within a community type may result in a different list ofimportant species in a future report when more stands have been sampled.

l'!et sedge-gr'ass tundra \,;as found bet\'leen 674 and 930 m elevation onslopes ofGto 4"". Aspectdid not appear to be important. Soils wereS2ne}~al1y wet sandy silt loams. Dominant species were C. il9uatil~and

C.bigelowii. which accounted for more than half the ground cover. Standsdominated by C. aguatilis also had Calamagrostis canadensis as a majorassociate and were much wetter than the other stands. Important woodyspecies were Salixes .. especially S. fuscescens and s. Elanifolia subsp.pulchra. Total ground cover \..;as greater in the morH mesic stands becausethere was less standing water. Willows sometimes occupied the drier areasin the very wet stands.

Nhere browse occured within this type, moderate use by moose wasevident. Beaver and wading birds also are associated with this vegetation,especially whre topography is conducive to dam building by beaver. Of allof the vegetation/physiographic units potentially classified as wetland~

wet sedge-grass tundra likely is the most important to wildlife.

Closed mat and cush i on tundra \',as located between 959 and 1495 melevation on slopes ranging from 0 to 15

e• Typically, this vegetation was

located on shallow, sandy to rocky inceptisols of glacial origin. Onestand \'Jas underlain by a moderately-well developed spodosol. The standswere generally on exposed knobs or upland flats and soils \-tere relatively dry ..

Closed mat cushion tundra was dominated by low or mat shrubs, suchas Betula nana, Empetrum nigrum, Vaccinium uliginosum, and Arctostaphylos

(5)

Table 1. Vegetation and corresponding sample stand numbers.

IIIIIIIIIII

I1

:III,II,I

'I

Vegetation

Tundr'a:Mesic sedge-grassHet sedge-grassSedge-shrubMat and cushion~1i xed Sh rub

Shrubland:LDW shrublandTall shrubland

Conifer Forest:Closed tall \'Jhite spr'uceOpen tall white spruceClosed short black spruceOpen short black sprucet'1; xed spr-uce

Conifer Woodland:Black spruceBlack spruce bDgHhi te spr~uce

Mixed spruce

Deciduous Forest:ClosedOpen

River Flat

Pi stur'bed

Stand Numbers

14, 33, 34, 377, 9, 262, 27, 361, 6, 11, '13, 17, 22, 28, 29, 31, 3524

3, 16, 19, 21, 30, 32, 38, 41, 5012, 49

20, 475710

15, 39, 48, 51185242

25, 43, 45 ·f

40.~...

46, 52

4

(6)

I.t1.:.;

rr

I

~'''''. "'-iq....; -. .!";l\-'~.:'Iio';';.--'':''_. >'.... .\,~>;",":~

(7 )

IIIIII

I"I'I'IIIIII

JII I

(8)

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

~I~.·.I.·.. ·· ...•.••ij'JI

111

1

tr~ .

Table 2. L;st of species collected and identified during June 1980in Upper Susitna River Basin.

Pteridophyta

Aspid i a.ceae

Dryopteris dilatata (Hoffm.) GrayDryopteris fragrans (L.) SchottGymnocarpium sp.

Athyriaceae

Woodsia alpina (Bolton) S.F, Gray

Equisetaceae

Equisetum arvense L.-Equisetum fluvi.atileEquisetum pratense L.-Equisetum silvaticum L.Eguisetum varie~atu'R Schlerch. ssp.

Lycopodiaceae

Lycopodium alpinum L.L,Yf.QEodium annotinum L.Lycopodium clavatum L.LycopodiulTI'selago L. ssp. selago

Gymnospennae

Cupressaceae

Juniperus communis L.

Pinaceae

Piceag) auca(Moench) VossPi tea mari ana (r~i 11 .) Britt., Sterns & Pogg.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIJ

IEIII

t~onocotyl edoneae

Cyperaceae

Carex aquatil is vlahl enb. ssp. stans (Drej.) HultCarex bigelowii Torr.Carex concinna R. Br.·Carex 101iacea l.'Eriophorum angustifolium Honck.Eriophorum vaginatum L.Trichophorum caespitosum (l.) Hartm.

Gramineae .

Agropyron sp,Agrostis sp.Arctagrostis latifolia (R. Br.) Griseb.Calamasrostiscanadensis (Michx.) Beauv.CalamagrostispurpurascensR. Br.Festuca alta ica}11 erochl oe a1pina (Sv.) Roem. & Schul t.Hierochloe odorata(L.) Wahlenb.PoaarcticaR:-Br.poa pa l~stri s L.Trisetum spicatum (t.) Richter

Juncaceae

Juncus arcticus Wil1d.Jut1CUS castaneus Sm.

Li1 iaceae

Lloydia serotina (L.) Rchb.Streptopus amplexifolius (l.) DC.Tofieldia coccinea Richards.Veratrumviride Ait.Zygadenus~legans Pursh

Orchidaceae

Platanthera hyperborea (L.) Lindl.

Dicotyledoneae

Betulaceae

Al nus crisp1.. (Ait.) Pursh

1 Ii,IIIIIIIIII;r

Ij IH

II11

II.'~.t··. I

•

II,'J;

Betulaceae cont.

Alnus sinuata (Reg~l)" Rydb.Alnus sp.Betula glandulosa Miahx.Betula nana L.Betula occidentalis Hook.Betul a papyrifera r~1arsh.

BC"aginaceae

!4ertensia paniculata (Ait.) G. Don

Capri. fo1i aceae

Linnaea borealis L.Viburnum edule (Michx.) Rat.

Caryophyllaceae

Stellaria sp.Hi fh-ifiTisTa physodes (Fi sch.) t·icNei 11

Compositae

Antennaria rosea Greene .Arnica ftfgida C.A. t'1ey.Artemisia tilesii Ledeb.Astersibiricus L.pet£.si tes, sagittatus (Banks) GraySenecio atropurpureus (Ledeb.) Fedtsch."sor-rcragO 'fiU1t i rad i ata Ai t.

Cirhaceae

Cornus canadensis L.

Crassulaceae

Sedum rosea (L.) Scop~

Cruciferue

Cardamine pratensis L.Cardamine umbel1ata Greene

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII.I.·~..·. ',i!

Diapensiaceae

Diapensia lapponica L.

Elaeagnaceae

Shepherdia canadensis (L.) Nutt.

Empetraceae

Empetrum nigrum L.

Ericaceae

Andromeda polifolia L.Arctostaphylos alpina (L.) SprengArctostaphylos rubra

t:~~~o~:c~~~~~;o(~i~~)s~al~onLedum _gr'oenlandi cum OederLoiseleuria procumbens (L.) Desv.OXycoccus microcarpus Tutcz.RhOdoae-ndron lapponicum (L.) \IJahlenb.Va cc i ni umvi tis-i daea L.Vaccinium uliginosum L.

Fumariaceae

Corydalis pauciflora (Steph.) Pers.

Gentianaceae

Menyanthes trifoliata L..

Geraniaceae

Geranium erianthum DC.

Leguminosae

Astragalus aboriginum RichardsAstragalus alpinus· L.Hedysarum alpinumL.Lupinus arcticus S.Vlats.

IIIIIIIIIIII

11ill.I ~

IIIII

Lentibulariaceae

Pinguicula villosa 1 ..

r~yricaceae

r,jyrica gal e L.

Onagraceae

Epilobium angustifolium L.Epilobium latifolium L.

Orobanchaceae

Boschniakia rossica (Cham. &Schlecht.) Fedtsch.

Polemoniaceae

Polemonium acutiflorum Willd.

Polygonaceae

Polygonum bistorta L.polygonum viviparum L.Rumex sp_

Primul aceae

Dodecatheon frigidum Cham. &Schlecht.~rimula cuneifoliaLedeb.Trientali~europaea L.

Pyrolaceae

Pyrola grandiflora

Ranunculacede

Anemone narcissiflora L.Anemone parvifloraMichx.Caltha leptosepa1a DC.Ranunculus nivalis L.Ranunculus sp.

(13)

IIIIIIII

11III,II

IIj

1.11I tI .. I

IIIII'!

1.. 1.•1

Rosaceae

Dryas octo etala L.,Geum rossii R~ Br.) $er.POtenI,iTafruticosa L.Potent ill a hyparct ica r'1a 1tePotentilla sp.Rosa acicularis Lindl~

Rubus arcticus L.Rubus charnaemorus L.Sanguisorba stipulata Raf.?ibbaldia Etocumbens L.Spiraea beauverdiana Schneid.

Rubiaceae

Galium boreale L.

Salicaceae

Populus balsamifera L.Po-pu 1us tremu 1oides Ni chx.s-a-i ix al axensi s (Anderss.) Cor.Safu arbuscuToides Anderss.~alix arctica Pall.SaflX- hare; ayi Anderss.~alix fuscescens Anderss.Salixglauca L.Salix ianata L. ssp. Richardsoni; (Hook.) A. Skvortz.sal-{Xlnonticola~alix novae-angliae Anderss.~Salix. planifolia ssp. pulchra (Cham.) ArgusSalix .Elebophyll a Anderss.Salix reticulata L.Sa l-ix sp.

Santalaceae

Geocaulon lividum. (Richards.) Fern.

Saxifragaceae

Boykinia richardsonii (Hook. ) GrayParnassia 'palustris L. ssp. neogaca (Fern.) Hult.Ribes tristeRibes sp.Saxifraga bronchialis L.Saxifraga punctataL.Sax; fra ga tr i cusp; data

(14)

IIIIIIIIIII

IIfII1·1·1,1

!

1 I·I :lI

IIII

·11I11

Scrophulariaceae

Castilleja caudata '(Penneli) Rebr.Peaicularis capitata AdamsPedicu]aris labradurica WirsingPedicularis sudetica Hilld.

Umbelliferae

Angelica lucida L.

Valerianaceae

Valeriana capitata Pall.

Vio]aceae

Viola epipsila Ledeb. ssp. repens (Turcz.) Becker

Lichen genera

Cetr'ar'ia sp..E!adonia sp.pactylina sp.Stereocau19n sp.

Nosses

Polytrichum sp.Ptilium crista-castrensis (Hedw.) JeNotSphagnum sp.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII,

,l

II

Table 3. Occurrence and estimated abundance of species in major plantcommunities of the upper Susitna River Basin. * = mostimpo}~tant species in the vegetation; # = common speciesi nthe vegetati on; + = S pec·j es present inane or more sampled;areas) but not a common or important species.

(16 )

III

- j

r

If!II~,

1Ij

+

+

++

*+ + .Jl

r.

+

+

":>---s- 0OJ r-

'CJ s- r-,- Q) 'r-ro"O ~

.--I (t1 I

II

*

* +'+

+ .-1-+

+

+

-I-

+ + +

+

+

+

+ +

+ +

(17)

+

+

+

+

+

()l Ul

::J:JU 0''- :JU -0

-0 W'''''ro.O C -oU

ro ~.~ ro ill ~

~ -O~ ~ ~ U-o"O~

-0 C~ -0 ~ ~~::JC UroC:J~ 0 ~muu~~-o~~!--:J +J 0 -,- U :::::> ::s n. c 'r~ U-o~ ~ ~ -aC::S!--~~!--~D~C -"'O:J ~ CO~Oo.. Q) ''-=cro::SOro O~ rounm~~~~ID-PO~~Q)~ ~u r- Ul U-,-Q) .0 1..0

,...U.C U·O...o..-'-:J -au Q)~ ro C~ ~ I :J :J~ ~ s::: ~ ro C :J'r-!-- 0 ~ cu +J U r- O'r- :J ~ ..0 ~~1u):J U ~ S- 3: n. 0 x .p.,- CiJ...o U r: 0 ~~ ::s-cCiJ ~ ·P.::L. ''- +J _C ~ ~ ',- 'r _.c ~ 0 :J:J U) S- U)S- U u!-- ~s- ,E _e: ;: ..0 -+-) -0 U -0 0 S- ~cr~ .a 0 Q) DQ) Q) x >: ~ (!) .,...::J OJ,.... ~.--

~.~~ :J3:-o+J~U-+-) P-+-)OXUU-oUr- ~.p

I·OJ' ro s- ~ U !-- 0 r- 'r-I 0 ro S- r- S- S- ..c. ''- ~(!)'r- r- ro r- ro ro -0crE~:J S::~.-- ro.c.or- 0.-- 00 U) E X-O () rj..p~.p,- CJ-0 ~..p~~ ;: .o..cro..c..c ~ ~ ro~...oQJ-o -0-0 Q) ~..pU)~~~EU-oQJU..p-o .S­ttl OJ ~ ~ ..c -0 OJQJ ..p U +,) QJ ~ OJ U ~ ~ S- :J~~crUC!JUlUlS-~S-S::S:::CS::~~C~C~~C~~..p

+Jo-ous-xooos-omm~~OOmOIDS-OC!JO>~C!J r- QJ ~ 'r- ''- r- ~ ..c n...co.. D. J?- 0.~ ~ p_~ o.! b.. r~ D.. r- r- 'r­3: U U) C/) co~. u Uti) tn U1 a 0 00 U U 0 UO U1 u a u IX:;:)

Forbs

!JstraguZus alpinusBoschniakia rossicaBOHkinia r:~e~(J.l'dsonii

C~l~n,~..a_lentosenala.:::::.r_ :..c__._.,.-_.~."--- ~." - "--~ -1i--1--+-+--f--l--+-+~-1-'1-+--+ '-----f--r":"'!""""";--1--+-+-+

Ca ··a .~. rn' J • T.." ._._,2' OJ71y:n~'o.c:ef}SbS - i--H-li--t--+-+--;--1-"'-f-~I--+-+-'+-+

~f!:,ti~~{~ap~itdl~~ra -= -;F~: -- ----- -- --~ :-- ---l-'-+--j.f.----+-~Diapensia Z.apponiea . -~- ._'-_

~ .- -", 1--t---t--l--t---1.~~-i- .-- -~Do~(;atheon. [z>i[(z:dwn_. .__. +

"- -,. I- -. .- ~- _ .. - f-- .- - • _~ - _ .._ .. __ ,_ . "",,"+.-+-+Ep'i'lobivJf1 an9..L.!:.sti[OZ7:wfl__.. + E + + + +

,-~ ._--. ----f'-- -~- .-. '- --~ _.!.,I "---

~pilobiv.m Zatifoliv.m .----1--+.-+--t~f---l-I."---__ 1-__ • . •-1- _." + '-- __ "-. __' -r---1-+'+--+GaZiVJn bO:(1e.aZe +Geoeau.Zon Zividv.m ~J~r~l- ++ .- - -il=---: -: ---r-+--t---i"':'-'-1--4

Ge:t>aniv.m erianthwn ~r +Cewn rossii + - - I 1---1-+---1

}]edY$al~JT1 a.ZpinvJf1LZoydia serotina

Mertensia panicu.lata

Loisekul"'ia pl'ocwnbens

Menyanthestrifoliata

PedieuZa::t>is eapitata

---~-~----------;;-;::::;"-------t--r::-r-r--t...-.;-t-t---r---t--+--r-r-t·--l-t-·l-+·-1---t--+·-l--~--f-.1-_:~

Anemone ·1zaJ:'cissifZol·a + +---~----:-+,~--><._·_~--t--+-·t---+--+--t--r-t--+--I----i-4---f--I~I--+--I---{--I--t-. -t"--+-~-_. -,- ,--Anernone parviJ ZOl?a +A-n-g-e-l-=-~-=-·e-a--'--.-=l-u-e-i=-"d-=-a--~---""""+"·-+--+-t---i'--'I--t-'-1--l--t-+---I-.- ~ -I,.--t-+-+--t--t--l---l--+-+---f~ 1---1-

Antenrmria rosea +

Pedicularis labradoricaPedieu lal'is sUdetiaa'

Q~ieoeeusmierocarpus

Parnassia

Polygonv.l7l bistol'taPolemoniwn acutij'Zow.l7l

PoZygonv.mviviparv~

ppimula euneifoZiaPotentiZla Sp.

Petasites sagittatv.s I -1- + + + +'::P:--i;;-n-lgu---'~'-·C-Z-'.f.la;;---V-.'b"7:·-=Z-=Z-o...:...s-=a......:..:::...----rl---+--t--i-++.,.-+-f----I---li-- .- _. '-r---r-t--r-+-;-;-+-+--l-+-+--+-~

PZantanthel'a huperborea

IIII

I

I

I

II

I

+

-;.---~ aQj r-'0 s-..­..- CJ.or­rJ -0 :::

r-"'

I r:l I

+

+

++ +

t + 11 # * J! 11 * + • .#11 Ti 11 T it

'f.+" +r--

+ #-+--+~...+-

+

tI (,j

s­oc:::>·fJ

+

+

Forbs, cant.

Ot/):::>:..J'0 a'r- :::>U -0

'0 Q) ''-r-s·n c -0 U

~ ~~ ~ ill 0)~ U~ ~ ~ uuu~u c~ u 0) O)Q)~c U

~c 3w a ~muu~m-o~~

~:::>·fJ a r- U :::> ;:) 0.. C 0'- U-oP V) ~ -oc~~~V)~mn~s::: _0 ~ -;- t.: 0 ~ 0.. 0.. m or-~cm;:)om 60) muo..v)W~~~ln~O~~Q)~ ~u ~ til U~O) DID

....... -0 ~c U 'U n..-;:) -0 U Q) ~ m c ~ V> I :::> ~

tIl...cc lI) r-s c :::> or- ~ 0 OJ OJ ..p u.- a Or- ~ ~ .0 ~-til til.:::> U ~ ~ ;: n. a x ,fJ or- ru DUe 0 V) ~::J _Cm :::> .of-' _'-.C. 'r- -fJ _C (f) ;;: 0,- .or- ~C1..- a ;:):::> V> S- lI)~U U~ W>- .E~~.o~-ouuo~ ~0: n a OJ..o· Q) Q) ~ 3: s- OJ .or- ~ Q) ~V> ..-

-fJ:::>V) :::>~~-fJ~U-fJ -fJ-fJOX-OUU-o~ ..-~Q) r-s $... til -o~. 0..- or- a Im ~ ~ ~ ~..c .o,..- Q) Q) or- r- 'J r- n:S ru-dCr. E..c ::J c..c r-"' m _G ..0..- Or-O a V> E x -0 U r.:5 +J I~ -P..- 0

-0 V) +J r-s til ~ . ..o..c m ~ ~ Or- Q) r-s 4- .DOJ -0 U -0 OJI VI +-, t/) V> -0 ''0. E -0 U Q) U +-' U S-V)ruOJQ)~-OQ)OJ-fJU-fJ Q)OJ ill UQ) GJ>-~

V)~o~umv)~s-~~"""~CCt/)v)Cv)C::JV)~V)Q)+-,-}.J 0 -01-0 $... x a a 0 ~ a Q.l CJ QJ OJ a a QJ 0 Q) ~ a OJ a > t.IlCJ ~ CJ. CJ'r- r-..- .--- ..c ,n... .r- D. 6-6... 0-..- .. - c... •. ~ 0 0..,- 9-"-',,-.r­

:;-= U if) V) :"D :::::: U u U) V) U) 0 0 <:) <:) U <...:> 0 U 0 if) U 0 U r~ 0

.,...p~--:.,:---~.. -=.:J-:-·f-=7:-----~-1--- - +,-_.- ,+-.,. - -.._-- - r---!fro {,a .JJ.rar /f..J..1--~{,02~a 1- '-__- f--

Ranu:neulus 'nivaZis . °

R-;::;--a-rn:v..~7-_--(1-eu-~_l::r7--J.-S------.:...._---t-t--t--f--r·--t--l-+-:-f·~r-+--+--+--+-l~'f.---l--l--+-1-,l---.-+--+-~- _.- '----1--r-

-.------ ----------~--_t_"7"1i___'/__t-__+__t-l-~f___t_+__l--t-_t~r_+-..+__+_-t___lI__~-_+__l -+-_'~_+_'---. _ -Rv.mgx sp. + + + +Sanff!!:iS01"1ba Btipulata + + +Saxii~aga punctata§a:cifraga tricuspidata

Grasses &GrasslikesAg1?Op,uron Sp.Agrostis sP.

CalOJiiag-postis canadensis IfAretaqrostis latifol1.:a

Fesp.).c:a a 1,.taica

Ca lamagrostis pUJ:1pzO-"asce_n_~+j':7'·+--t--+--i---f---f~I--t---t----+--t--+'-1-:-r--+-+--f--it--i--+-+--+--+--J.--':f--.J-Carexaquatilis # +-:C~---::b-.~-=7--':-.-=-.----~----Jr-:7JJ,,.....I-.Jl:-:-t---f'---f---\oJ.!""-I---+-.I--t-~ 'it '-i--+---I'~

area: ige {,01J)1/1, 1T 1T * Ti rrCa-pe:.c conc-inna +CW.'8X "to liaeea z-J.Carex * * ...... # ;+Eriophoi."'WTl angusti[olivJfl + + . + --r---t-+:-r:-t---t--t--r---:-+---t---t--f---1---l--J-

.~---+---+--t----t-\-+---I-'-+-1-1--r

Ex>iophorwfl vaqinatWll * r

Poa palust'Eis ' ; +p,O:;:;.~o-a-"""s-p--.-.---_-.::..._-------++.t-i-+---+--t--t+7"+-4-++-+-+-+-+---t--lH~-r--:- ~f-I:--ll---lt---J-+--I-+--+--

TJ.'icnophorv.m eaespi'tosv.m +

~l1:-.i_e~Y>_o__c__h--.Z;-o.....:e.....:·~a...:...Z~~pl:.,.....:...'i.:...;.na~_. -------!I-J--J--·l--J-+--+-+--I---l---+-4--t -:-r-:-+-+---+-:+-+--}.---1--+--+-t.--t....:-+ 1---,-

"":jH~i=e~r::-07:e-::-h-.l=o=-e=-:La?d-:--:--o",,:,r__a-:t_a_: -:-t-r+_·.r+--t--t-";-r--t+-:'-r;i--r-t--:+-+-'+-:-l--:-f-:-l!--:-If---l..-I-:-~~+---I-+--t-:+-·1 __Juncus arcticus +-:J::-u--n~e-.u-.s-·-e-a-s-t-a-'f-z-e-u-s--------1f--+-·I-+---+--\--+......-I--ji--f--l -:+-t--I--l:---f-+-+--I---t·~ --t--+.....-1 ....-l---+-+-

Poa arctiea

III

II

I

IIIII

III

trI

+

+

+

+. +

+

">5- 6OJ r-'0 S-.,-,- ~ '.r-ctl -0 ;::

.--I roJ

+

+ +

+

+

++ +

++ + +

+# + + + JI

1i

+

~Ir--t_+--I--f---f'--t-t--+--t-- - --t--t---t---l--,f--

...+

+

+

+

(19)

+

+ +

c- -',- .~.

+ + - 1-

+ 1l + * * * +11

+ + + + + + + , ... i-T

# +

* + + .JJ. +7r

+ + + *it * .JJ. If + +1i

+ * * J: .JJ. + + J! +.1r 1r 1t

+ + + I

++

+

+

+

OlF>:J::::>uo'r- :JU -0

U OJ r-ro..o C -oU

~~:J ~ W ~

~ -O~ ~ ~ U-OU~

-0 C£ "'0 ~ (})W::::>C Uroc ~Vl 0 ~muu~~o~~~:J ~ 0 r-u~:Ja Cr-Uo .jJ (J) ;: -0 C :::J ~. S- Vl S_ rj ,os-C ..0 :J 0:;- COS- 0.. 0.. QJ 'r-:JC~:Joro Dill ~U~Vl~X~S-I..oi-P 0 s..:. ~ QJ S- ,- U ,- Ul U'r- ~ .0 I ..0

'r- -0 _C U U ..a ,-:::J U U ill _~ co C 4- (J) I :J :J(J) J:: C Vl ~ C :J'r- S- 0 GJ OJ ~ U.- O'r- :J S- ..0 S-Vlt/):J U::S S- 3:, 0.. 0 X of-) 'r- ~..o U C 0 IF> ..c:J ..cfC5 :J ~ ~ ''- -J-1 ..c: Vl ;: 'r- 'r- ..c r- 0 ::s::s V) S- (J)

S-U US- (J)S- E..c:>~~-oU-oO~ ~~ ..DOQJ..a QJill ~ > S-QJ r-:J(})r-(J),-

~.p :::J (J) ::s 3: -0 of-). 0: U -J-1 +J -J-1 0 X -0 U -0 ,"'0 r- r- +J

QJ ~ ~.l() -0 S- 0.-- r- 0 ~ S-..-- ~ S- .C'r- ~ QJ 'r-'- r;:j r- r::5 ~..;;. E..c::Jc..c:.-ro..c..D,-O~OO(J)EX-oU~~.-+J.-QJro Vl.p ~ (J) ;:..a.c ~_c..c r- QJ ro~.oQJ-o-oU(})t/)-J-1Vl~U-oE-oU(})-o~-o S­Vl(})QJ(})..c:-om(})~u~ ruWQJ UW QJS-::S

VlO"l!Q':UGJl()l()s-::ss-cccc(J)l()Cl()C::Sl()cv>CJ+Ji+' 0 U '"0 5-. X 0 0 0 S- 0 ~ G.J QJ Q) 0 0 (:) 0 Q) ~ 0 QJ 01> V>OJ .-- ~ QJ 'r- 'r- ,-- ,-- c .o...C .0.. 0. 0.. 9- ,-,-- 0..,..-- o· n ,- a r- 'r- 'r­~u~~ro~uu~~~OOOOUUOuO~UOU~O

-'-"-1-'-1--+--~. _.+--1--1 --r---+-+--I~";1--

+ t +

. '

Al"ictostaphy~os l?Ubra

Hoody

Betula glandulosaBe tzl..Za naY'ta

Alnus sirn/.ataAiu1romeda polifoZia

Alnus sp.--:,,----.,;:,.._.J..._~---_~-_~._-

A~nus crispus

Al'temisia, tilesii

Salix barc:.ZayiSalix fusceseensSaZix.glauca

Salix arctica

Salix monticoZa:-;-----~~--1--if--·I__-f-+-r-l---II-+--I----+-_+--f__l---t

S~lix novae-angliae

BetuZa occideni;alis

-C.,!Dsiope te tY'a[jo_n_'la=~~~_-__t_+_1i~_{_+-+-_+--1-- _._ .--t-'-t--t~-l.- ,- .. --.-..------~-.-----.-,t---CO:N'l1lS canadensis -:- + -I- + +' j- L# '\ + + + + # +_DX'.,l/C.iS- 0(;7;0,pe t;a., la__._ ~ :# + --'- -- -' - - .. - -- f-- ~~ .._~--t-~-+-"--t'--r-- --~-.- -,.~ -r--'-- -- - _ .. - ~ --i-- '--I----I--!--'-f---f---!---t---

Empe.i;-;t,v.m nigl"VJTl * + * + * -I- + + -I- + * + + + +- - .... -t--I--I- c....... ' -- '- - --I-~' ---+--+~-t~t-- -t---1--+--+-

hedwn dec:umbens + Ti r. * * + * -I-LEJdurn -g!'oenZandie-vJl1 j'Y!.- * -*I+r- 1+ -- ...._c-. i-- :U--+'

,_. ',.:.:-17+_ .. ~ __ '---- _'.. '-__ !------ =__ ,,- ::,!,.__. ,-,-,-_17... ~_+Linnaea DOl"ealis _ ,__ ..

_L_O_b_·s-::-e__Z_e_lJ_cr_b."..·a__.L.p_1_"o_c_-""_!-,!J_m-_I-:-)_.-e_.-n~s~~~~_~:::1f;.....'-:-'~-~~~~:f~+f -t-+_-_-~l~--+~~~I;.~-i_f-Uyrica.' gaZe-'"''-------,~,,---.....,~--=----~-~I---f-+--+--t--l--t--·r.--+--l--t---t-·I--t-+---f--!--I--+---!--t-'+--l--t.--1--

-:::P::;-o_t-::e.n-::·t.i_Z-:;Z;-a.,.....;~x.-l_?U,-::;-__t_i_c_o_s-=a_~-+-t--t--r--+-I' + + +Rhododendron lapponievJTl +

Sali:J: SpaSaZix reticuZata

. Salix phZebophulZa-;:::--::.,.-:-.-"-:;;Z;----;-.-::--::~-------.:-~~-I--+-+-_+__+-I--II--+-+__-I--t-~_ll-I---I- - ;t--+--r--t--~-I---+--f--+-4­

Saf.,1"X p an1"foZia $ubsp.puZchra

I

I

I

IIIII

~I11

*

+

+

1

fI

** +

ItI

+ iI+

+ +* 'J:

+

++

+ *

++

++ +

, .'

uc::~

+.J

(20)

++

J: ..*Ii Ii + *+ -I- +

+ + + * •• * * + +ii

* * + J! .I.!.Ii '17'

+ + ifY." +rr·

+ - +

-J :)'0 0'r- ::JU'O

-0 GJr-~D C -aU ~

m ~~ m ~ ill ~ a~ -O~ ~ ~ U-O'O~ ill ru C::~ -0 ill QJm~c U U~~

rO C ::J r.n 0 4-- 8 U U s... rj'O ~.C ,- c.J r-.s...::J +> O'r- U ~ ::J 0.. h r- U rV 'a ;:.u+> r.n ~ -oc::J~s...r.ns...mDs... ~c. ...0 ~ ::: coS- 0. 0.. QJ 'r- I r.J' I'Sc~~o~ OW rouo..r.nr.n~~s...l..o+>os-s...ws... ~U ~ r.n U~ill ..01..0

'r- -0 _C u·o..o ~ ~ U U m ~ Q C ~ r.n J. ~ ~

r.n~cr.nr.JC::J~s- omm+>u~or-~ s.....os...r.nr.n~ u::Js...:::n OX+>~~~ucor.n £~£m ~ +> .Y. ''- +> £ r.n ~ 'r- 'r- £ .-- 0 :J::J r.n. S- r.ns-u 'uS- r.nS- E..c;:.o+luUUOs... £0'1 . ..0 0 ill..o ill QJ ~. . 3= ~ ill ' ',- ::J m.- r.n ~~~r.n ~3-o+>ou+> +>+>oxuu-o~~ ~+>,

w roS- r.n -0 s... a ~'r- 0 ~ ~.-- S-. s- -C.,- Q) CJ 'r-'- rd ~ r.J (;:l -0oE..c~c-C~Q-c..o~O~oor.nEXuuro~-+>~w-0 r.n+>ror.n 3 ..o~d..c£ r- ill . rd ~~w-o -0-0 QJ ~+>r.nr.nu-oE-oUQJ-o+>-o S-r.n (]J QJ QJ-C U Q m +> u ~ C) W . CJ U QJ .C)o s... :J

r.nv~uwr.nr.ns-~s...ccc::cr.nr.ncr.nC::Jr.ncr.nCJ~+>ou-o~XOooS-Oillmc)CJooQ)oms...owO>r.nCJ .- CJ ill'r-'r-.-- ~ -co ~ n 0. c.' 6.. r-' ~ : 6.. r-O 0..'- a..~ r- 'r­3u~~m4Uu~~~OOoouuouo~uou~o

Hoody, cont.

JunipeJ.?"v!s 'OOll!lr7?/..nisfiaea g lauea + 1# + * ;; + + -;: * # # + #"':"'7.---S4--:.,------'---·-t+Mf--f-,;-L+~_1__+_~+.,.__l·-rn· 1-+ -;J + ,. '''''-f-"'i---f--+---f-

P1,cea lIiar~ana. " t Iff 1i + 1<: rr + + +p_~o.L.t_)u_.. =l7_~!._s__1_)a Z~s_CJJl--:n:,-'L-,,·f,-="-(...-=~,-X'_a__- __+_-!-~. '----- -'---+- ~.+_;_-I_-+--l-- ---.. 'I # ---;f-+-=+~I---t-'-+I'"!l! 7 1e--,!>O;JuZUS tl~r:;rmJ..Zoides '~I-'-' [--.'":-----.--~~-----''-----_:----------1-_1_-1--+----lr---\---1-- -- -I---t-I;-- .. J -'-+--+--l-- _,-

,

Nosses

Clubmosses

Lycopodium alpinv.m

Lyeopodiv~ elavatvJnLyeopodivJn annotinvJn

Dl7yoptel-"is di latata

D:r:.lIopteris fraqrans

PoZytrichv.m sp.Moss #

Hor-seta;1 s

Q1jl'1T'n0cw:rpi:anJoloodsia alpina

PtiZium ensta -eastrens'tf,Sphagnv.m sp. 11

E=----=-·------------------·-t--t--+~+··-+---I--~···- '.L '-+-+--f- -- "::.7.',,-- ~o.l'.- +' c.,.... --i..- -- -'~ -T'--' . - '-_JflJ!-'Z.setVJTl O.l"'Jense ,To .. £.

-',.- -t---t-.. ---".- --..- __~_

§Euisetwn fluviatile + +, • --t---ii--I--t---+--+--- -_ ....._ ~_ ...... :......... _

Equ~set1~ pratenseEquis eW.Jll s7/lva-t-;-,..'~·-c-w-n----r--r--+--t---i-t----t-:-+++:p7ir+-+++:-+-#tl+--I-+:-t--+--.#rl-'X':-'+-r."";';.;-l-+-!I--!y+ -I- +Equisetv.m variegatum --t---i--r-+-If---+-

Ferns'

I

II

II

II

I·.,.,

I

II

••;, , ~

~ .

r--I,n::::rI'D:Jtn

Open short white spruceOcen tall white spruce

Disturbed

Open mfxean-co-nffe-r--(in-cf~dec; duous

Closed tall shrub -vd 110\·,River flat

.Closed deciduous - birch

l Open ta11 shrub- alder

.J Ooen dec; duous - bi reh

"\

1 Spruce alderClosed tall shrub ~ alder

+L:!:.I Open short bl ack sp_r_u_c_e _l~osedshort black spruce

Closed mixed conifer and decidua

:11:::+1 Closed low shrub'::1l~1::jl::1 Mi xeds hrub tundra+

+'+1+

+

+

tI) j't:'-1 .t'j Q ItJ\i- ~. ~ NI~~QQ~\i-Ii ~ ~,J ~C\) (\) ()IDo' ;:s ~;$ 8~ ~. ~'I~'~ ~ ~ ~N v'IVlC) Vl -0 -0;::: -010.

•~

I ~!et sedge grass. tU0dra+ I " II )(°1 I Closed rna t cushi on ·-;·t-u-n-:-dr--a-------

Closed -al der\'/i 11 O\tl. I 1+ +1 Short \~hi te sprUCe\'lOodl and I-

I +; SDruce b02k1++ ·=ir.:+1 Short blac~woodland

+ I Open short mixed conifer

:

)

~I=i +. Sedge shrub tundra,

. . Sedge tussock shrub tundra----------------------------~----.' Birch and eri caceous shrub tundr'

ifill .. .. .. I!II l1li .. ... l1li .. IRI ... _.. __ __ _

..........N.....-

~~""_,"ee·~]l_\!i.t~:W§_';~!@n-·lng*=crtkit.Ie mErr #&5=__ == f2::;r:8ei'¥b EX!!!! Be 'Il'Wi!im .r·$'tritttnt~_tl '_"'; _,.,_._.,".~.:...,

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

sp. Lichens, especially C1adonia sp., covered a large area. Willows whenpresent, vlere the lowg}~O\."ing Salix arcticus in drier areas and S. reticulatain moister areas near Carex bigelowii. Pl:Y.as octop_etal-! \'1as found in only tHOstands and was important in only one. Closed mat cushion tundra stands werethe driest sampled.

f1any forms of wi 1dl i fe were found to i nhabi t thi s vegetati on. f10stobvi ous were car; bou, b1ac k and brO\'Jn bea rs and ground squ i rre1s . ~10re

actual sightings of caribou were made in this type than in any other. Bearscats indicated overwintered berries were the major attractant of the bearsin June although a number of squirrel dens were observed to have been ex­cavated by bears. Ptarmigan and whimbrel pairs were also commonly obser'vedin this type.

Sedge shrub tundra was found between 1094 and 1170 m elevation on 0to 10C) slopes. Soils \'Jere inc:eptisols of glacial origin and were wet \vithsolifluction evident on steeper slopes. Soil on one site was frozen below30 cm depth.

Sedge shrub tundra contained Carex cover on three-fourths of the areaand had impor'tant amounts of Betula nana and Vaccinium ul iginosum. Thi.svegetation consisted of a sedge-grass mat, in contrast to the mat cushiontundra whi ch \'las dominated by mat shrubs, but c:onta i ned many of the same.species. :

Average numbe.r of moose pe11 et groupsjha \,:as 263. HO\'Jever, the shrubsassociated with this vegetation were below 40 cm height, the ap~~oximate

sno\'I depth in wi nter. Therefol"e most moose uti 1i za ti on proba bly occurtedduring other seasons.

.Birch ~nd .er'icaceous shr4b tundra \'las sampl ed at the 910 m elevationon5 and 20 slopes. Soils were moist, well developed spodosols of alluvialorigin.

This conununity type \'Jas dominated ~y a mixture of Betula nana, ~mJ?.c:_truJ1!

nigrurn, Ledum decumbens, and Vaccinium u1iginosum. The impor'tant vegetation~here\1as- taller than- 20 em, in contrast" to the ptev;ous community types\'Jhose shrubs wer'e less than 20 em tall. Some Betula VIas taller than 40 embut no util ization by moose was observed.. Ground squirrel dens werp. locatedon the "rier sites.

Nixed shrub tundra had Vaccinium uliginosum as a dominant species withCladonia sp. and Carex bigelo\'liiasimportant associated species. Presenceof Salix in this type separated it from the birch-ericaceous shrub tundra.,

Closed low shrubl and \1aS found between 765 and 1021 m el evati on, butnever abOVe treel ine. It generally occurred on 'dry to moist sites withsoils of glacial Qrigin. Soils \'Jere silty to sandy inceptiso1s and welldeveloped spodoso1s. . 5lopes ranged from 0 to 15 (). Thi 5 was the domi nanttype on the major flats between the Susi'tna River and mountains.

This area contained shrubs less than 3 m tal1~ which averaged about85 em tall in study areas. Betula 9.1 andul osa and oceas i onally B. nana wer'e

(22)

!

fI

IIII

I······~·····!I

t

Em

II1111

I11

I

the dominant species \'lith Vaccinium uliginosum, V. yitis-ldaea, and ledu.Dldecumbens being important in many stands. Mosses also accounted for a)arge amount of ground cover. Most vascular plants grew under the Betulaglandulosa clumps while Empetrum' nigrum and the 1ichens grew in areasb-etween the clumps in several stands. This pattern did not occur in allstands. Scattered \'/hite and black spruce Vlere often assoc i ated wi th thetype, and in some areas, the presence of charcoal and old burned treessuggested the shrubland followed a burn of open spruce forest.

Closed 10\'/ shr'ubland repr'esented one of the areas most heavily usedby moose. The mean number of pellet groups/ha \'/as 223. Both Betula nanaand Betula glandulosa \'/ere moderately to heavily ut;l ized, and--Salix species\'/et'e consistently heavily browsed, especially Salix alexensis and Salixplanifolia, A li'ght amount of use by cari"bou was also evident in theseareas.

One closed a1de('-wi 11 ow stand was surveyed v/hi ch cons i sted of patchesof willow and alder about 2 m tall~ yaccinium uliginosum and Spiraea beau ...verdiana formed a 10\'Jer, dense shrub layer in this area. This s·rte was atthe 1094 m elevation on 4So slope with 170

0 aspect. The soil was an incep­tisal vJith a mixture of glacial and alluvial parent material. Only use byground squirrels was evident.

Tall shrub stands \'tete dominated by Alnus sinuata or Salix sp. Somealder--sfanaSliad some trees such as pJ..cea-.9lauca and Betul~ papyr'ifera inthe overstory, but the Al nus v!hi cll occurred in the shr'ub 1ayer and same­times in the unders tor'y" 1ayer were domi nant. Important ground 1ayer speci esvaried and included Calamagrostis canadeJlsjs, P_ti1ium .crista, and species ofIpilobi'ym and Equisetum. The \'/il10\'l stand \'1as a dense thicket of ~alix

planifolia subsp. pUlchra and .?ali0- !~scesc!::ns with some ~~_~tula nana.

Tall shrub stands v/ere found on 5 to 50 0 slopes, generallY in the 40to SOo range, with 150 to 27S Q aspects. Elevations were 911 to 1094 m.Soils were dry to moistinceptisols of alluvial ori'gin.

Squirrel, hare, and moose signs \'Jete obvious in these stands. Onealder stand located on a slope of the Susitna Canyon (R 11 E, T 29 N) wasvery heavily used by moose (S33 pellet groups/ha). Ribes Spa appeared tobe highly preferred browse in this stand. Salix sp. also appeared to beimportant br-o\'lse.

Spruce vegeta ti on was charactEH'; zed by vlhether the vegetation was openor closed and whether the trees Here black or \'Ihite spruce and short or tall.Closed stands contained more than SO% cover. A stand was considered shortif most of the individuals \flere less than 10 m tall. The areas studies \-/erecl ass i fied accord; ng to \'/hat the majori ty of the stand conta i ned. Theremight be talllndivtduals in a short stand or P. mariana in a stand dominatedby f:.- .9.1auca" - .-

Closed.. and gRen shor(_black spruce stands contained P. mariana in allfour layers of vegetat; on, but mostly in the over'story. Average overstoryhe-i.ghts in the clo.sed black spru(:e standranyed from 6 to 10 m. Dead sprucetrees were eVident and charcoal ,'laS present in the soil 'dhich indicated past

1.

1fi!

I

di sturbance. Important understory speci es \'Jere Empetrum n; grum, Vacci niumvitis-idaea, and Ledum decumbens. Mosses, such as Ptilium crista, Poly­stichum, and Sphagnum covel~ed mo.st.of the area in the closed stand. Dominantground layer species varied betw>een the two open stands. One had largeamounts of Equi setum syl vati cum, Hypnum and Pti 1i urn cri sta whil e the otherwas dominated by Vaccinium uliginosum in this layer. Both open stands werepatchy in their species distributions. For example, in one stand, theErnpetl~um nigrum, Vaccinium uliginosum, and V. vitis-idaea greht on the driel~

mounds around the Picea mariana. Less frequent species occurred alongflowing water in the stand..

Black spruce forests were sampled between 365 and 948 melevation.They were found on slopes rangi ng from 0 to 8

0, yJi th aspects, if any, be"r ng

fr'om 0 to 95 c. These stands \'Jere as soc i ated \.Ji th river terraces and maj orflats between the river and mountains. Soils were wet and cold, frequently

"'. frozen. Soil water was perched on clay or frozen soil.

Black spruce stands occupying sign'ificant slopes (8 __10°) appeared tobe more productive of browse species, and in fact, had noticeably greateruse by moose and cari bou. Browse pr'oduct ion vJas low re1at i ve to other veg­etation, but it had incurred heavy use, suggesting such stands may be import­ant areas for cover during severe weather. Open black spruce stands on theil ats wer'e genera11 y very poor in terms of forage producti on, but some cc;ri bousign was present, suggesting some use of the sedges~

A bC?-9. area contained scattered black spruce in the shrub and understorylayers but was dominated by Car~~~ bigelO\·Jii and Sphagnum moss. A'short blackspruce woodland contained some Picea mariana in the shrub and understorylayer and Ledum gr-oenlandicum, Rubus chamaemorus, and Carex sp. in the groundlayer. Thl s type \'las -) nterspel"sed wi th sedge tlTssock shrub tundra \'lhi ch wasdominated by tussocks of Eriophorum vaginatum. Species typical of driersites were invading the tUSsocks.

Both types of bogs were located on the major flats bet\veer; ther;ver andthe mountains. Generally, these were areas of wet and frozen silty clay soils.Depth to frost apparently \'las dependent on the thickness of the insulating~hagnuTTllayer. No brovlse was greater than' 40 em high~ and no wildlife usewas noted other than for an occasional passerine bird.

Hhite spruce occurred in open stands dom~nated by tall and short in­dividuals. All these stands contained white spruce in the upper layers ofvegetation, especially the overstor-y, but on1y some stands contained it inthelo\'ler layers. ptilium crista. was an important ground layer species inboth short and tall stands.Hummocky patches of vegetation \'Jere present inthe tall stands.

apAn tall v/hite spruce stands occuy'red on old flood plains, generallyin sandy well drained incep-tisols. Little or no bro\'Jse was avail.able in thesestands, and use by moose lllas sl ight to nonexistent. One open sho~"t whitespruce stand was surveyed which was located On wet and frozen shrinking claysoils near the top~nd of the Susitna River Canyon .. This was a southfacing aspect and ltJasrf.=latively productive of Salix and Betula, both Whichwere 'moderately to heavily utilized by moose. -

Il

I

IJ.

lI

Irff

I~

o

One open mixed conifer stand \'las a mixture of scattered Picea glaucaand P. mariana in the understory and shrub layers. Trees were not largeenough to be considered in the over-story layer. Ground layer was dominatedby Vaccinium uliginosum and tree heights ranged to 6 m. The smallest treeswere Picea glauca. Discontinuous patches of clay and permaforst occurredunder the moss resulting in a percl1ed water table.

Some forested stands contained a mixture of coniferous and deciduoustree species. Closed mixed stands contained Picea glauca in all four layersvJhile Betula papyt1i"fera vIas found only in the over-- and understories. TheoverstofY covered approx ima te1y ha1f the area and had somev/hat more Betu i athan Picea. The ground layer was dominated by Calamagrostis canadensis andEguisetumsylvaticum.

Two open mixed stands of Picea glauca and populus balsamifera weresurveyed. Pi cea 91 auca occurTed in varyi n9 amounts in the overstory but\'las not a1\'Jays present in 10\',er 1ayers. Popu lus usua i 1y occurred only inthe over-story al though some were found in one ground 1ayer \',here Al nusindividuals also occurred. The shr'ub layer in one stand was dense, heavily­browsed Salix novae-angliae while the other stand contained Alnus sinuataina relative 'Iy spar'se shrub 1ayer .

ftiixed conifer and deciduous forest was found primarily in the flood;plain of the river and on adjacent canyon side hills. Soils weremoderaielyto well dr.ained inceptisols and entisols. A mean of 318 moose pellet groups/ha \'/aS recorded in open stands. HO'.'!ever, closed stands had very) i ttl eavailable bro\'/se and very little indication of moose use'.

Deciduous forest was surveyed at the 547 and 620 m elevations~ As withthe mixed conifer and deciduous stands, these stands were located on moder­ately to well drainel' sandy inceptisols primarily on the flood plain and onsouth~aspect canyon sides~ The mean number of moose pellet groups/ha \'lasapproximately 420~

Only two deciduous stands have been sutveyed so far: closed and openbirch. The closed stand contai ned an overst0}1y domi nated by Betul a pa pyri feraand some Picea glauca and was located on an island in the Susitna River~

Calarnagrostis canadensis \1a.s the dominant species in the ground layer whileAlnu~ sp. was important in the understory and ground layers. Populus balsam­iferawas found on the edge of the forest between the Betula and grave~ areas.The open stand was on a slope with stair-step morraine characteristics. TheBetula occurred on the steep slopes with Vaccinium vitis-irtaea, \'/hile standson the flatter slopes \'lere more open and contained Ledum groenlandicum.Pol.x:trichum and L. groenlandicum were the most important ground layer species.

River flats were characteristically gravelly or sandy areas at theedges of the river which were being colonized by species such as Epilobiumangustifolium:. E.latifolium, and several members of the family Leguminosae.Sal ix.. alaxensis \~as frequently present. Another successional stand occurredon the airstrip below DeVil's Canyon at a borrow pit site. Polytrichum sp.provided the 1argest amount of ground cover \',h i1 e Popul us balsam; fera andCalamagrostis canadensis were other important ground layer species. Picea

,t ..

I·1""'.'.'

11-

m·"··1I

II"....'I ~

I

~

I,'I.'.,

rlffl: I.. ·'I'

I

~

I

=IIII-II

IIIIIIIII

III

·~I

IIIII

II.

IIIII

f.(

91auca was the dominant in the shrub layer. Occasional small BetulaQ.Clpyrifera \'Jere present in the disturbed atea but all tall Betula individualsoccurred at the edge of the disturbed area next to an adjacent spruce stand.

. .These areas obviously represented high quality moose habitat from the

standpoi nt ofbro\'Jse product) on. Nean number of pe11 et groups/ ha 'r'/as 330.Cottonwood and willow were heavily.utilized. Sandy soil made it easy tod2termine the presence of moose calves. Bear tracks were also easily ob­served on sandy ground, and it is noteworthy that only t\·10 i s1 ands \'Jhi ch werevisited did not have bear sign. This sugge.sts that while the islands may bepr'oductive of good bro\'Jse, they are not neccessarily free of moose predators;one island also had tracks of a lone wolf.

~.1

I

II~

~'....,

• f

I

~

~

~II!

II,II~

~

~

l~

~

.~

I '.···!fII

v. If~PACT A55ESS~lENT

".

CONSTRUCTION IMPACTS

Assuming the plan developed by the u.s. Army Cotps of Engineers(1978), 'itis obvious that a certain amount of vegetation/habitat \'lillbe lost through flooding in the impoundment areas. Principal vegetationtypes to incur losses by flooding are: closed mixed conifer and de­ciduous forest~· closed and open conifer forest, tall shrubland, and openand closed low shrubland. The acreages of each of these to be lost willbe reported at a later date.

Nueh of the impoundment area appears to have 10\'1 to moderate orp­ference by moose. However, whe)~e the maj or upl and fl ats di p belowproposed 1eve1 of the reservo; r (;. e. the Hatana Creek area) bl~O\':se

production is relatively greater than in other areas to be flooded, andsigns of moose use ar'e more abundant. Ballard (1980) states that mostuse by moose occurred in early \'Jinter (1979-1980). This is not to say,however, that moose di stri buti on \·li 11 not vary consi derably from this fnother years. It is also noteworthy that very little caribou sign \'lasobserved on the steeper slopes of the impoundment area; they were rel;a­tively abundant on the flatter, open upland areas near Hatana Creek. !

Overall~ though, this portion of the total caribou habitat is small.

In the areas to be flooded, black bear sign was mostabUhdant onsouth facing open mixed conifer and deciduous forests, especially those\.Ji th undetstori es ri ch inshrubs \'Ii th over\'li ntered berti es. Conse­quently, a cer·tain amount of spring habitat for black bears is expectedto be lost, although the proportion of the total is not knm'm at thistime.

Smaller losses of vegetation are expected to occur with construc-­tion of haul roads, transmission corridors and bQ}~row pits. Theseactivities will probably be restr icted primarily to areas supporting 10v-Ishrub and mat and cushion tundra. These two vegetation types are thetwo most abundant in the Upper $usitna Basin; hence, the overall impactin terms of relative acreage lost is expected to be small. However, theimpact on \'Jildlife will probably extend beyond the limits of vegetationdisturbance, the degree of impact depending on species characteristicsand the degree to which they are harrassed.

An often observed positive impact associated with road and trans­mission corridor construction is that of placing the vegetation in alower successional stage, more productive of forage species. Thispossibility, as \'/e11 as the negative ones, needs to be investigatedfurther before firm conclusions can be reached.

(27)

I "·1'I

IIIi

!

I.'!IIIIIIIIIIIII

OPERATIONAL IMPACTS

Upstream operational impacts on vegetation \'Jill probably be veryslight, limited to bank erosion in vegetation types that ate relativelyabundant. Associated losses will be those connected with recreationalimpacts. Hildlife habitat losses often depend on the degree of off-roadand campground activity. (Hallmo, et al., 1976; Hard, 1979; Rost andBailey, 1979). - -

Some people have considered downstream operational impacts onvegetation and wildlife as potentially more serious than upstream. Thebasis of this consideration has been that moderated river flow willresult in less erosional disturbance of dO\'mstream plant communities andthereby allow plant comnunity succession to proceed beyond the level\'/hi ch is most p}~oducti ve of moose browse. Hm'Jever, vie do not haveenough i nformat; on at thi s time to }~each any concl usi on on thi s subject.The plant succession study planned for summer 1980 should give us muchbetter information in this regard.

(28)

IIIIIII'.·",'II·' "'II

'.'... '. '..,'

;'i'i· \1.I.·

, ..•

II

III·..·i

IIIIIII

VI. lvtITIGATION",

cm1PENSATION

Losses of vegetation in the impoundment areas cannot be compensa­ted. HO\'Jever, some habitat for moose and other wildlife may possibly bereplaced through modification of unaffected plant communities. Suchaction may include burni ng of 10\." b1 ack spruce stands to stimul ateearl i er successi ana1 speci es. He bel ieve the b~1 ack spruce stands re­present the greatest potential for habitat development because, in theirclimax stage, they are relatively unproductive of most kinds of wildlifehabitat; black spruce stands reverted to an early successional stagewould not neces'sari ly be the most val uab1e ha bi ta t of those a1readyexisting, but they \>lou1d represent the type \'Jith the least tradeoff intype conversion.

PREVENTION OF DAMAGE

If losses of early successional vegetation start to occur in down­stream flOOdplains following moderation of river flow, there appears tobe at leqst two readily applied means of reversing the trend. Loggingand/or fire could be a very efficient means of setting back the vege­tation to early successional stages. The procedural details have notbeen completely investigated, but the dovJnstream area appears 'to offeran ideal situation for winter timber harvest and burning. Such anoperation could likely pay its own way.

He have no recommendations for prevention of damage to upstreamvegetation in addition to those guidelines specified for prevention ofunnecessary damage duri n9 the envi i"onmenta1 studi es and construct; on.

I

I-

(30)

.v1.1. SUf1t1ARY

High altitude (U2) color infra red (CIR) photography and LA~DSATimagery were obtained for the purpose of mapping the vegetation of theupper Susitna River Basin at 1:120',000, 1:62,260 and 1:25,000 scales ..Distinct tones and textures on the photographY were delineated andclassified according to probable vegetation. In June, 52 sites werevisited and actual vegetation determined for areas delineated on thephotography. This allowed us to more accurately determine vegetationclasses from the photography. Initial mapping was at the 1:120~OOQ scale •

particularly useful manuals on the identification of vascular plantsand threatened and endangered species were located, but we have been forcedto rely on consulting authorities for the identification of most speciesof mosses and lichens. Helpful papers were also located which deal withthe mapping and classification of Alaska vegetation. A limited number ofreports on ecological and succession studies in Alaska have also beenfound .

Simultaneous to field verification of vegetation classes delineatedon CIR photography, reconnaissance level surveys were made of each vege-;tation unit for the pur'pose of describing vegetal and site character-istits.One hundred and fifty-three species in 100 genera and 46 families werei denti fi ed.. T\'Jenty-fuur types of vegetati on \'Jere surveyed. The predom­inant vegetation types were mat and cushion tundra, low shrubland, blackspruce woodland, and mesic sedge-grass tundra. Pr'incipal vegetation type;)to be flooded, assuming the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers' plan, are:closed mixed conifer and deciduous forest, closed and open conifer forest,tall shrubland, and open and closed shrubland. Losses of vegetation!habttat in the area of proposed haul roads, transmission corridors andborrow pits will ~robably be restricted to loW shrubland and mat andcushion tundra.

Most of the impoundment areas appeared to have low to moderate prefer­ence hy moose. Preference by caribou appeared to be 10\\1, especially onthe steep slopes which are characteristic of the impoundment areas.

·2 \IIIII.~

~

.~

~..,;"'.'." :,I

Iaa.~

· a~

~.

III

IIIIa~.

a~.

aiD

D•J ~!.

.~

aaIII

VIII. REFERENCES

FLORISTIC/BOTANICAL WORKS

*Argus, G.. \4. 1973 .. ThegenlJs 'Salix in Alaska and the Yukon. NationalNuseum of Natural Sc fences Pub1i cations in Botany) No.2.. Ottav/a.279 p.

Batten, A. R., O. F. Murray, and J. C. Dawe. 1979. Threatened andendangered plants in selected areas of the BLN For-'tymile planningunit, Alaska. BU~-Alc:ska Tech. Rep. 3.. 127 p.

*Hul ten, E. 1968. Flora of Al aska and nei ghboring terr', tories.. SanfordUniversity Press. 10m3 p.

*Hurray, o. F. 1980. Threatened and endangered plants of Alaska.. USDAFor. Serv. Pub. 59 p.

*Viereck, L. A. and E. L. Little, Jr. 1972. Alaska trees and shrubs.·Agric. Handbook No .. 410. USDA For. Serv. 265 p.

*Uelsh, S. L. 1974. Anderson's flora of Alaska and adjacent parts ofCanada. Brigham Young University Press, Provo:, Utah. 724 p.

PLANT ECOLOGY/SUCCESSION

Auclair, A. N. and F. G. Goff. 1975. Intraspecific diameter diffei"enti­ation as a measure of species replacement potential. Ca'n. J o FQt.Res. 4(4):424-434.

Bliss, L~ C. and J. E. Cantlon~ 1957. Succession on river alluvium innorthern Alaska. Am. Nidland Naturalist 58(2) :452-469.

Clements, F. E~ 1934. The relict method in dynamic ecology. J. Ecol ..22:1-68.

Oysterhuis, E. J.. 1958. Ecological principles in range evaluation •Bot Review 24:253-272.

Goff, F~ G. 1968. Use of size str'atification and differential weightingto measure forest trends~ Am. f1idland Naturalist 79(2) :402-418•

Haug, P. t. and G. N. Van Dyne~ 1968. Secondary sl'~cession in abandonedcuI tivated fie1 ds: an annotated bi bl i ography. ORNL-Tft1-21 04. po 1-70.(Oak Ridge National Laf?oratory, Oak Ridge, Tenn.)

Hegg:1 K.M.. 1970. Forest resources of the Susitna Valley, Alaska.. USDAFor. )erv. POb •. PNH-32 ..

Henry, J. D. andJ. M. A. Swan. 1974.. Reconstructiong forest history fromlive and dead plant material. An approach to the study of forestsuccession in sout~\1est ~~ew Hampshire. Ecology 55(4):772-783.

Ito\'l, S. 1963. Grassland vegetation in uplands Of western Honshu, Japan ..Part II. Succession and Grazing Indicators. Japanese J.of Bot.18(2}: 133-167 ~

"

(31)

I

I

III

II-r:::'

I• 1

..

-

.VEGETAlION CLASSIFICATION/f.1APPING

RENOTE SEt~SI NG

Cowardin, L. M. V.Carter, Fe C. Golet, and E. T. LaRoe. 1979. Classifica-;'~tion of wetlands and deepwater habitats of the United States. USF&HSPub. FWS/)BS-79/31.

*Viereck, L. A. 1975. Forest ecology of the Alaska Taiga. Proc. Circum..,.polar Conf. on Northern Ecology, 1975.

Kuchler,A. H. 1967. Vegetation mapping. Ronald Press, New York~

Kuchler, A. H. 1964. Hher-e is what? Bio...Science.14(7):39;-41.

Hironaka, M., E. W. Tisdale, and M•.A. Fosberg~ 1976. Use of satelliteimagery for classifying and monitoring r-angelands in southern Idaho.Forest, H;·ldl ife and Range Exp. Sta. Bull. tJo. 9. University of Idaho~

r·jcKendrick, J .. D. and P. C. Scorup. 1974. A super bir'd1s eye view ofAlaska. Agroborealis 6(1):?6-30.

*Payne, D. P. 1975. Introduction to aerial photography for natural resourcemanagement. Oregon State Un.iversity Press. 324 p.

Poulton, C. E. 1971. Inventory and analysis of natural vegetation andrelated resources from space and high altitude photography annualprogress report. Calif. Univ., Berkeley Forestry Remote,SensingLaboratory, U.S. FClrest Service.

*Vier'eck~ L. A. 1970. Forest succession and soil development adjacent tothe Chena River in interior Alaska. Arctic and Alpine Research2(1):l-26•.

Leeu\'Jen, G. G. 1966. A relation theoretical approach to pattern andprocess in vegetation. Wentia 15:25-46.

*r'1ueller-Dubois) D" and H. Ellenberg. 1974. Aims and methods of vegetationecology. John Hiley and S~:ms) New York. 547 p.

Pichi-Sermolli, R. E. 1948. An index for establishing the degree ofmaturity in plant communities. J. Ecol. 36:85-90:.

Spenceley, A. P", 1973. The effect of the stratification of vegetation onthe analysis of successional data.J. Ecol. 61{3}:767-773o

"-*Viereck s L. A., J .. Foote, C. T. Dyrness, Ke Van Cleve, D. Kane, and R.Seifert. 1979. Pre1 iminary results of ex~erimental fir'es in theblack spruce type of interior Alaska. USDA For. Servo Pub., PNW-332.

~lliitf6rd, P. B. 1949. Distribution of woodland plants in rela~ion t~succession and clonal growth. Ecology 30:199-208•

Zedler~ P. H. and F. G~ Goff~ 1973. Size association analysis of forestsuccessional tren~s in Wisconsin. Ecol. Monogr. 43(1):79-94D

, .III

J'a~

~.,

~

~

11.-~

DD

~

oaaIII

I

II1

I

..

*Rost, G.. R.. and J .. Ai> Gailey. 1979. Distribution of mule de'er and elk in.relation to toads .. , J .. Hildl .. f'ianage .. 43(3):634-64-1.

*U. S. Army Cor-ps of Engineer-s. 1978. Pl an of study for' Susitna hydropower feasibility analysis .. U.S. Al~my Corps of Engineers, AlaskaDistrict ..

*Ballard, H. 1980. Upstream moose studies. Qual"terly Report~ SusitnaHydroelectric Project, Environmental Studies.

OTHER

*Payne, D. p.. 1975. Introduction to aerial photography for natural resource. management. Oreg6n State University Pr'ess. 324 p. . .

Sothava, V. 1975. The content of vegetation maps and how to enrich it.· ..XII International Botanical Congress) Section 8~ Ecological Botany.Paper for "Presentation at Symposium: Logical Principles of constructionand 'improvement of i nformati on content of vegetati on maps.

*Walker, D. A.~ P. J. Weber, and V. Komarkova. 1979. A large scale (1:600G)vF.:'getation mapping method for' northern taiga. Institute of Arctic andAlpine Research. Unpublished manuscript. 48 p.

McCormick~ J. 1978. Ecology and regulation of fr0shwater wetlands u

In: Freshwater Wetlands:EcologicalProcesses and Management Potential(R. E. Good:> D. F. Hhi g'ham and R. L. Simpson) eds .. ») p341 ~355.Acade::lic Press, NeVI York •.

*Nue11er~Dubois:> Dn and H. Ellenberg. 1974 .. Aim's and methods of vegetationecology. John Heley and Sons) New York. 547 P.' .

*Hallmo, O. c. ~ D. 1:',. Reed) and L. H.. Carpenter. 1976. Alteration ofmule deer habitat by \'lildfire, logging, highways) agricultur'e andhousing developments, p. 37.... 470 'In:fi1ule deer decline in the Hest-­a symposium. Utah Ag.ric. Exp .. Sta7 Pub. 134 p,,"

*Ward) A. L. 1979. Dispersed recreation impact on big game resource.In: Dispersed recreation and natural resource management--a symposjum.College of Natural Resources, Utah State University, Logan. (in press) •

III~

n·lsaII

aa~

~

~

noaa.~

aII

'I

I" ·II~

~

.a~.

~.

~

~

noaaaaIII

IX. AUTHORiTIES CONTACTED

Arneson. PaUl. Biologist, ADP&G~ Discussed habitat requirements of moosein the downstream portion of the Susitna River. Discussed plantsuccession and its relationship to browse production.

Koranda, John. Plant Ecologist, University of California. Contacted toprovide results of computerized literature search of threatenedand endangered plants in Alaska.

Hurray, David. Cur'ator, University of Alaska t1useum. Contacted to determineif any fi e1d guides to mosses and lichens eXisted .

Regelin. lofayne. Biologist, USHJS, Kenai Moose Refuge. Discussed techniquesfor assessing moose br'O\vse j:d'oducti an/uti 1i zati on.

Shwartz, Charles. Biologist, ADF&G. Discussed eValuation Of mOOse habitat,nutritional value of different browse species.

Viereck, leslie. Plant Ecologist, Northern Institute of Forestry. DiSCussedneed for hierarchial classification scheme for Alaska vegetation.

(34)

--~- I