Taiga Ecosystems in Interior Alaska

Abstract

For several years the University of Alaska and the Institute of Northern Forestry (USDA Forest Service) have conducted a multidisciplinary study of interior-Alaska forest ecosystems, especially the black spruce type. Black spruce forests are wide- spread in interior Alaska and are the most fire-prone forest type. They are also the most nutrient-limited and least productive forest type, especially in the late stages of succession. Ecosystem differences in productivity and degree of nutrient limita- tion are controlled mainly by soil and forest-floor temperatures