General information

Provisional. A provisional ecological site description has undergone quality control and quality assurance review. It contains a working state and transition model and enough information to identify the ecological site.

MLRA notes

Major Land Resource Area (MLRA): 228X–Interior Alaska Mountains

Physiography
The Interior Alaska Mountains Major Land Resources Area (MLRA) (228X) includes portions of the high mountain slopes, hills, and plains of the Alaska Range, Talkeetna Mountains, Chugach Mountains, Wrangell Mountains and the northern Aleutian Range. This MLRA comprises 54,205 square miles and consists of rugged, high mountains and low, rounded hills and extended footslopes along the base of the mountains. Most of the area is undeveloped wildland and includes true alpine and subalpine life zones. Geology consists of sedimentary, metamorphic, and igneous bedrock. Climate is considered continental subarctic.

MLRA boundaries
MLRA 228X is expansive and therefore shares a boundary with many MLRAs. Boundaries with other mountainous MLRAs such as 222X (Southern Alaska Coastal mountains), 223X (Cook Inlet Mountains), and 225X (Southern Alaska Peninsula Mountains) result from orogenic differences (225X,223X) or variation in climate (222X). Other MLRAs such as 236X (Bristol-Bay-Northern Alaska Peninsula Lowlands), 227X (Copper River Basin), 229X (Interior Alaska Lowlands), and 230X (Yukon-Kuskokwim Highlands) have distinct physiographic boundaries where steep mountains meet lowlands, basins, and floodplains.

Waterways
Encompassed within the Pacific Mountain system, the mountains of MLRA 228X are dissected by high-gradient valleys with braided floodplains in the valley bottoms. Glaciers, snowfields, and ice fields make up 15 percent of the area and elevations range from about 1,500 feet in the Copper River Basin to 20,320 feet at the summit of Denali. The major rivers of this MLRA include the Tanana, Kuskokwim, and Copper, and drain into the Bering Sea (Tanana, Kuskokwim), and the Gulf of Alaska (Copper). The headwaters of the Susitna River are part of this MLRA and drain into Cook Inlet through the Cook Inlet Mountains, and Cook inlet Lowlands (MLRA 223X and 224X, respectively). This MLRA is in the zone of discontinuous permafrost, where permafrost mostly occurs in fine-textured soils on gently sloping landforms and/or on northerly aspects.

Geology
Except for the highest peaks and upper ridges, all of this area was glaciated during the late Pleistocene. Glacial deposits have mostly eroded or have been buried by colluvium and alluvium throughout the Holocene, yet some highly modified glacial deposits remain at lower elevations on low mountain slopes and valleys. Loess also occurs at lower elevations, and most valley bottoms have been buried by recent alluvial deposits. Bedrock geology is comprised of sedimentary, metamorphic, igneous, and volcanic rock, and gold mining does take place in this MLRA.

Soils
The dominant soil orders in MLRA 228X are Gelisols, Inceptisols, Spodosols, and Entisols. The Gelisols are shallow or moderately deep to permafrost, occur on finer textured sediments, and are poorly drained or very poorly drained. Common Gelisol suborders are Histels, Orthels, and Turbels. The Histels have thick accumulations of surface organic material and occur in depressions and peat plateau. The Orthels and Turbels have comparably thinner surface organic material and occur on drainageways, stream terraces, and outwash plains. The Inceptisols, Spodosols, and Entisols lack permafrost in the soil profile. Spodosols are formed from weathering processes that strip organic matter combined with aluminum from upper horizons and deposit them into lower horizons. Entisols and Inceptisols are characteristically undeveloped, with Inceptisols exhibiting only moderate weathering and development while Entisols exhibit little to no evidence of development at all. Soils have a subgelic or cryic temperature regime with aquic or udic moisture regime and mixed minerology. Miscellaneous areas make up 58 percent of this MLRA and are classified as rock outcrop, rubble land, and glaciers.

Climate
The climate of this area is characterized by brief, cool summer, and long, cold winters, but extreme variation in elevation results in a wide range of climatic conditions. Average annual precipitation ranges from 15 to 20 inches at lower elevations to 100 inches at high elevations. Rainfall is generally highest in July, August, and early September. The average annual snowfall ranges from 70 to 400 inches, and the average annual temperature at Denali Park headquarters is 27 degrees F. Freeze-free period ranges from 50 to 80 days, but at higher elevations, freezing temperatures can occur at any point throughout the year.

Vegetation
The Interior Mountains MLRA is defined by subalpine and alpine life zones; therefore, true forested communities do not occur and are restricted to surrounding lowland MLRAs. Black and white spruce trees do occur in the subalpine zone, but are often sporadic, and exhibit Krummholz (stunted and/or crooked) growth forms and do not produce viable seed. Subalpine vegetation is characterized by birch-willow scrublands or spruce-scrub woodlands on loamy, stable mountain slopes. Unstable, colluvial slopes are typically dominated by alder scrub communities which can, on occasion, include scattered black and white spruce. Willow typically dominates drainages, while wet, poorly to very poorly drained swales are comprised of tussock sedge-scrub species. Low birch-ericaceous scrub communities climb up mountain slopes until they are replaced by dryas-ericaceous dwarf scrub communities in the true alpine zone. Lichen also plays an important role in skeletal and bedrock-controlled high elevation mountain slopes, ridges, and summits. There is generally little to no plant growth at elevations above 7,500 feet (USDA, 2022).

LRU notes

This area supports two life zones defined by the physiological limits of plant communities along an elevational gradient: subalpine, and alpine. In this area, the boreal life zone occurs below 2500 feet elevation on average, and is relegated to surrounding, lowland MLRAs. The subalpine zone is typically a narrow transitional band between the boreal and the alpine life zones, and is characterized by sparse, stunted trees. In the subalpine, certain types of birch and willow shrub species grow at over one meter in height (commonly Betula glandulosa and Salix pulchra). In the alpine, trees no longer occur, and all shrubs are dwarf or lay prostrate on the ground. The transition between boreal and alpine vegetation can occur within a range of elevations, and is highly dependent on slope, aspect, and shading from adjacent mountains.

Within each life zone, there are plant assemblages that are typically associated with cold slopes and warms slopes. Cold slopes and warm slopes are created by the combination of the steepness of the slope, the aspect, and shading from surrounding ridges and mountains. Warm slope positions typically occur on southeast to west facing slopes that are moderate to very steep (over 10 percent slope) and are not shaded by the surrounding landscape. Cold slopes typically occur on northwest to east facing slopes, occur in shaded slope positions, or occur in low-lying areas that are cold air sinks. Examples of shaded positions include head slopes, low relief backslopes of hills, and the base of hills and mountains shaded by adjacent mountain peaks. These warm and cold slopes can shift the elevation at which life zones occur. Warm slopes can allow communities to persist at higher elevations, while cold slopes can restrict these same communities to lower elevations.

Classification relationships

Alaska Vegetation Classification
mesic shrub birch-ericaceous low scrub (II.B.2.e – level IV)
(Viereck et al., 1992)

Circumboreal Vegetation Map – Alaska-Yukon Region:
Southern Alaska Alder-Willow-Dwarf Birch Scrub
(Jorgensen and Meidinger, 2015)

LANDFIRE Biophysical Settings
Western North American Boreal Mesic Scrub Birch-Willow Shrubland
(LANDFIRE biophysical settings, 2009)

Ecological site concept

• Ecological site R228XY702AK is a willow-birch community complex that occurs on floodplains and terraces on mountain slopes and valleys
• Communities transition from a willow-dominated low floodplain community to a birch-dominated terrace community through a willow-birch scrub community as flooding frequency decreases
• Soil drainage is variable, but is mostly well drained
• Soils form in organic material and silty aeolian deposits over alluvium
• Elevations range from 1650 to 4330 feet
• Vegetation is influenced by harsh climate, short growing season, persistent snowpack, and flooding
• The representative plant community (1.1) which is characterized by a mesic birch-ericaceous low scrub community (Viereck et al., 1992)

Associated sites

Similar sites

Table 1. Dominant plant species