Native-induced secondary plant succession in the Mackenzie River delta, Northwest Territories, Canada

• Published in: Polar Record
• Main Author: Gill, Don
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 1973
• Subjects: General Earth and Planetary Sciences; Ecology; Geography, Planning and Development; Northwest Territories; Mackenzie River; Canada; Mackenzie Delta; Inuvik; Aklavik; Reindeer Station; Mackenzie river; Polar Record
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0032247400063890; https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0032247400063890

Plants introduced by man play a very minor role in the flora of the Mackenzie River, delta and are primarily restricted to centres of habitation such as Inuvik, Aklavik, and Reindeer Station (Map 1) (Cody, 1965; Gill, 1971). Within the delta itself, however, a number of introduced species are recurringly present on one geomorphic position, the point bar, which forms the convex section of a meander bend in flood plains and deltas (Fig 1). The Mackenzie delta supports a northerly extension of the boreal forest, and most of the higher levees are occupied by trees, particularly White Spruce Picea glauca . Point bars are constructed of coarser alluvium than other delta landforms, thus they have a drier and warmer soil environment than other locations (Gill, 1972a); vegetation response to this locally ameliorated environment has been such that virtually every point bar in the Mackenzie delta is occupied by a discrete plant community dominated by Balsam Poplar Populus balsamifera (Gill, 1972b). The poplar stands are surprisingly well developed for such a northerly latitude, 68°45′N (Fig 2).