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In conjunction with a project to establish long-term vegetation monitoring plots, we conducted a survey of the vascular flora of Elmendorf Air Force Base. The main objectives of the survey were to: identify any rare vascular plants on Elmendorf Air Force Base; document additions to the flora of Elmendorf Air Force Base; insure that the vascular flora of the monitoring plots is accurately documented. We documented 301 vascular plant taxa for Elmendorf Air Force Base of which 99 were new to the base and one species was new to South central Alaska. Five rare vascular plant species (Alaska Natural Heritage Program rank S1-S3) were found.
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Abstract: We assessed the degree to which Alaskan lands reflect the state's biodiversity by dividing the entire state into four categories of land protection ranging from highly protected to minimally protected in terms of potential for future development. We then compared the percentage of each ecoregion and plant-cover type in each land protection class. We assumed that 12% protection represents an acceptable minimum and examined the percentage of site records of rare plants in protected and unprotected areas. Of 28 ecoregions in Alaska, 15 (63.4%) have <12% of their area in highly protected areas. Similarly, 11 of 21 vegetation-cover types (43.7%) have <12% protection. For 32 rare vascular plants, an average...
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