Ecophysiological controls of conifer distributions
The boreal forest covers the most extensive worldwide area of conifer-dominated vegetation, with a total global area of about 12 million km{sup 2}. This large area is very species poor; in North America there are only nine widespread and dominant species of trees, of which six are conifers-Picea mariana, Picea glauca, Abies balsamea, Larix laricina, Pinus contorta, and Pinus banksiana. The remaining three angiosperms are Betula papyrifera, Populus tremuloides, and Populus balsamifera. In Fennoscandia and the former Soviet Union, 14 species dominate the boreal forest, 10 of which are conifers-Abies sibirica, Larix gmelinii, Larix sibirica, Larix sukaczewii, Picea abies, Picea ajanensis, Picea obovata, Pinus pumila, Pinus sibifica, and Pinus sylvestris. The dominant angiosperm trees are Betula pendula, Betula pubescens, Chosenia arbutifolia, and Populus tremula. Such species paucity detracts from realizing the remarkable capacity of these species to endure the harshest forest climates of the world. Both the short-term geological history and the current climate are major causes of the species paucity in the boreal forest. In general, the boreal forest has been present in its current distribution only since the Holocene era. In most cases, the dominant species of the boreal forest completed their postglacial expansion to their current distributions only over the past 2000 years. So the ecology of the forest is very young, in comparison with forests in warmer climates. It might be expected that over subsequent millennia, with no climatic change, there could be a slow influx of new species to the boreal zone; however, the extreme climatic, edaphic, and disturbance characteristics of the area are likely to set insurmountable limits on this influx of diversity.
- Research Organization:
- Wyoming Univ., Laramie, WY (United States). Dept. of Botany
- OSTI ID:
- 62351
- Report Number(s):
- DOE/ER/61253-1-Vol.1; CONF-9109550-Vol.1; TRN: 95:004108-0004
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: Workshop on physiological ecology of coniferous forests, Laramie, WY (United States), 16-19 Sep 1991; Other Information: PBD: 1995; Related Information: Is Part Of Ecophysiology of coniferous forests; Smith, W.K. [ed.] [Univ. of Wyoming, Laramie, WY (United States). Dept. of Botany]; Hinckley, T.M. [ed.] [Univ. of Washington, Seattle, WA (United States). Coll. of Forest Resources]; PB: 351 p.
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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