Seward Wetland Mapping Project

Chugach National Forest Plant Community Descriptions

From: R.L. DeVelice, C.J. Hubbard, K. Boggs, S. Boudreau, M. Potkin, T. Boucher and C. Wertheim.  1999.  Plant Community Types of the Chugach National Forest: southcentral Alaska.  USDA Forest Service, Chugach National Forest, Alaska Region Technical Publication R10-TP-76.  Anchorage, AK.  375pp. (download 3.5Mb .pdf)

Picea sitchensis/Alnus crispa ssp. sinuata

(Sitka spruce/Sitka alder)

(PICSIT/ALNCRIS; 19 sites)

IA1a.-IA2a. Closed and open needleleaf forest, Sitka spruce

A Sitka spruce / Sitka alder forest along Exit Glacier Road, north of Seward.

Vegetation- Picea sitchensis (Sitka spruce) dominates the tree layer; other

tree species are occasionally present. The tall shrub layer is dominated by

Alnus crispa ssp. sinuata (Sitka alder), though Rubus spectabilis

(salmonberry) or Salix sp. (willow) may also be well represented. Low and

dwarf shrubs are essentially absent. Herbaceous cover is variable, with

Pyrola asarifolia (liverleaf wintergreen), Calamagrostis canadensis (bluejoint

reedgrass), and Equisetum sp. (horsetail) the most consistent species in the

undergrowth.

 

Physical setting- Sitka spruce/Sitka alder is a minor type, yet is found

throughout the Chugach National Forest (predominantly Prince William

Sound and the Copper River Delta) on flood plains, high and low relief hills,

and raised beaches . Sites sampled are on all aspects, on slopes less than 50

percent, and from sea level to 400 feet elevation. This is one of the more

productive types on the Chugach National Forest.

Seward Wetland Mapping Project :
Contact: Mike Gracz
Kenai Watershed Forum 
Homer Field Office
Old Town Professional Center
3430 Main Street Suite B1
Homer, AK  99603
907-235-2218

03 October 2006 11:35