An Inventory of the Vascular Flora Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska
Dates
Year
2007
Citation
Cook, Mary B., Roland, Carl A., and Loomis, Patricia A., 2007, An Inventory of the Vascular Flora Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska: National Park Service Natural Resource Program Center National Park Service: Fort Collins, Colorado, v. NPS/CAKN/NRTR—2007/067.
Summary
An inventory of the vascular plant flora of Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska, was conducted from 1994 to 1997 and in 2003. This 13.2 million acre National Park comprises 16% of all National Park Service lands. The objectives of the inventory were to assess the genetic diversity of the region, identify rare taxa and areas of phytogeographic interest and to assist park managers with planning and environmental compliance. Three hundred seventeen sites were surveyed and 6,680 specimens vouchered. The specimens documented 917 taxa in the park, 11 new to the flora of Alaska and 217 new to the park’s flora. There was one U.S. Fish and Wildlife Candidate Species, 524 occurrences of 91 taxa with an Alaska Natural Heritage [...]
Summary
An inventory of the vascular plant flora of Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska, was conducted from 1994 to 1997 and in 2003. This 13.2 million acre National Park comprises 16% of all National Park Service lands. The objectives of the inventory were to assess the genetic diversity of the region, identify rare taxa and areas of phytogeographic interest and to assist park managers with planning and environmental compliance. Three hundred seventeen sites were surveyed and 6,680 specimens vouchered. The specimens documented 917 taxa in the park, 11 new to the flora of Alaska and 217 new to the park’s flora. There was one U.S. Fish and Wildlife Candidate Species, 524 occurrences of 91 taxa with an Alaska Natural Heritage Program state rank of three or less, 129 range extensions of more than 250 km and 99 taxa which reach their North American distribution limits in the park. Distribution maps and annotations for 269 notable taxa were prepared (115 for this document). The rate of accumulation of new species was not consistently reduced during the inventory, so it is likely that our knowledge of the park’s vascular flora is incomplete. The known flora is predominately North American (33%), circumpolar (26%) and amphiberingian (22%). The endemic flora is comprised of 56 Alaska-Yukon, 42 amphiberingian, 43 Cordilleran and 42 Pacific Coastal species. The biogeographic composition of the park’s flora is similar to Denali National Park and Preserve and Yukon Charley National Preserve except this park has a higher ratio of North American taxa and a lower ratio of amphiberingian taxa than the other two parks. The park’s flora is also similar to the southwest Yukon except for a slight increase in amphiberingian taxa. The endemic flora is distributed unevenly across the landscape of the park, with more endemic taxa in the mountain than basin regions. Alaska-Yukon endemics are more frequent in the Nutzotin and Mentasta Mountains; amphiberingian endemics are more frequent in the northern Chugach Mountains and southern Wrangell foothills; Cordilleran endemics are more frequent in the northern Chugach Mountains and Chitina River basin; and Pacific coastal endemics are more frequent in the coastal mountains and foothills. The rare flora is also distributed unevenly across the landscape of the park with the greatest numbers in the Nutzotin, Mentasta, northern Chugach, northern St. Elias, southern Wrangell Mountains and the Chitina River basin. There is a trend for rare plants to occur above 4000 ft (1219 m), in the alpine zone and in the xeric moisture class. The primary sources of the park’s flora were the ice-free areas of the Upper Yukon Valley, the ice-free areas of the Alaska Range to the northwest, the Western North America Cordillera to the east, and unglaciated coastal refugia. The inventory has revealed rich and unique botanical resources which the National Park Service has the privilege and responsibility of protecting. Information from the inventory has enhanced our understanding of the genetic diversity and phytogeography of our flora and the data continue to be used for park planning and compliance activities. However, there are still large areas in the park that have not been surveyed, and we lack sufficient knowledge about most rare species (distribution, life history and populations ecology) to develop protection plans.
