Flooding and Ecosystem Dynamics along the Tanana River

Abstract

Flooding represents one of the primary state factors controlling the floodplain ecosystem processes in interior Alaska. In this article, we describe effects of flooding on ecosystem dynamics on the Tanana River floodplain. These dynamics are similar to those of the floodplains of many large boreal rivers. We begin by reviewing controls on ecosystem processes in the floodplain using the state-factor approach (Jenny 1941, 1980). This approach makes it possible to relate various characteristics of the soil to climate, parent material, biological community, topography, and time, as well as to additional factors at various sites across the landscape. Flooding becomes a very important state factor on the floodplain of the Tanana River.