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)

A mountain hemlock - Sitka spruce / devil's club stand near Bear Lake.

Vegetation- Tsuga mertensiana (mountain hemlock) and Picea sitchensis

(Sitka spruce) are codominants in this type. The dominant shrub is

Echinopanax horridum (devil’s club). Other fairly consistent well

represented shrubs are Menziesia ferruginea (rusty menziesia) and

Vaccinium ovalifolium (early blueberry). Rubus spectabilis (salmonberry) and

Alnus crispa ssp. sinuata (Sitka alder) are also well represented in about half

of the sites sampled. Low and dwarf shrubs are absent or sparse. Rubus

pedatus (fiveleaf bramble), Cornus canadensis (bunchberry), Streptopus

amplexifolius (twistedstalk), and Tiarella trifoliata (foamflower) are well

represented forbs. Gymnocarpium dryopteris (oak fern) and Dryopteris

dilatata (wood fern) are abundant ferns, and stand out as undergrowth

dominants in this type.

Physical setting- Mountain hemlock-Sitka spruce/devil’s club is a fairly

common type in both Prince William Sound and the Kenai Mountains. It

occurs on dissected mountain side slopes, non-disturbed foot slopes, and low

relief hills. Sites sampled are on all aspects, on slopes up to 90 percent, and

at elevations to 1000 feet.

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 14:31