Mountain Park area: a plant refugium in the Canadian Rocky Mountains?

• Published in: Journal of Biogeography
• Main Author: Strong, W. L
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 1999
• Subjects: Arctic; Canada; Tundra
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2699.1999.00289.x; https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1046%2Fj.1365-2699.1999.00289.x; https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1046/j.1365-2699.1999.00289.x

Summary Aim The purpose of this study was to evaluate evidence related to the occurrence of a hypothesized Wisconsinan glacial refugium along the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains in western Canada. Location The study area was located ≈60 km south of Hinton, Alberta. The area of interest occurred within the vicinity of the abandoned early 1900s coal mining town known as Mountain Park (52°55 N, 117°16 W). Methods Contemporary botanical, palynological, and geomorphic information for the Mountain Park and surrounding area was compiled. For comparative purposes, vascular and nonvascular floristic lists were developed from available literature for five national parks along the Canadian cordilleran. All species were classified according to their phytogeographical affiliations. Results The available data suggested that most of the Mountain Park area was glaciated during the Wisconsinan, except possibly at high elevations (> 2075–2255 m above sea level). Palynological evidence from the surrounding area indicated that coniferous forest developed in the area after 11,400 years BP . If vegetation did exist in the Mountain Park area before 11,400 years BP , it would probably have been tundra. The known Mountain Park area flora (554 species) contained only one vascular and six nonvascular species with an exclusively arctic‐alpine affiliation. A comparison of Mountain Park flora with five other locations indicated that vascular species were more strongly associated with areas further south. No significant statistical difference (Chi‐square Goodness of Fit, P < 0.05 level) was found among the nonvascular floras. Main conclusions Late Wisconsinan and postglacial migrations were considered to be stronger ecological possibilities for explaining the current vascular flora of the Mountain Park area than in situ survival. Some nonvascular species may have survived in high elevation nunatak areas during glaciation. These circumstances were probably similar to more interior Rocky Mountain locations which are known to have ...