HIGHLIGHTS OF BOTANICAL EXPLORATION IN THE NEW WORLD 2 11 



of flowering plants. Duplicate specimens are widely deposited in herbaria in 

 the United States and in Europe. 



The late J. P. Anderson, long-time resident and devoted amateur student 

 of the rich Alaskan flora, brought together the largest botanical collection 

 ever made by one individual in that immense region. Largely from his own 

 collections Anderson published many papers on the flora of his beloved 

 territory, and from them compiled his Flora of Alaska. Tragically, his per- 

 sonal herbarium of specimens collected before 1924 was destroyed by fire. 

 His later herbarium is on deposit at the Iowa State College. Large series of 

 duplicates are on file at New York and Washington, and in Europe at Lund, 

 Stockholm, Gothenberg, and elsewhere. 



Before World War II, governmental field activities were carried on chiefly 

 by the U.S. Biological Survey. During the war military construction and 

 operation confronted new problems related to drainage in frozen ground. 

 A solution of these problems and those related to the requirements of men 

 living in the arctic led the Armed Forces to develop a broad program of 

 research dealing with the many phases of biological and physical phenomena 

 of the arctic. The resulting effort stands as a fine example of achievement 

 to be derived from broad, comprehensive, integrated field study. William 

 S. Benninghoff, Chief, Alaskan Terrain and Permafrost Section, has very 

 generously provided me with information concerning field exploration which 

 I condense as follows: 



In 1948 botanical investigations were integrated with the terrain and 

 permafrost program of the U.S. Geological Survey. Botanists were attached 

 to all field parties. They not only studied the effects of vegetation on frozen 

 ground, but broadened investigations to include the study of related geo- 

 logic processes such as the mass movement of soils. They developed criteria 

 for interpreting ground conditions from plant composition and physiognomy, 

 derived from rapid reconnaissance and aerial photography. In the progress 

 of these studies, together with detailed geographic and ecological notes, 

 extensive collections of plants totaling more than 20,000 numbers were 

 taken. This great amount of plant material is at this time, for the most part, 

 housed at the Geological Survey in Washington. The first set is to be de- 

 posited at the National Herbarium. Duplicate material will be distributed 

 elsewhere. 



During this program, now in progress for nearly a decade, extensive regions 

 in Alaska have been studied. 



Robert S. Sigafoos in the three field seasons of 1948-1950 investigated 

 the vegetation of the Seward Peninsula. In 1952 R. S. Sigafoos and M. D. 

 Sigafoos made botanical reconnaissance in the Kobuk River Valley, investi- 

 gating geomorphic processes of rivers and sand dunes in relation to vegeta- 

 tion. And in 1953 they studied the vegetation in relation to erosion in the 

 vicinity of Healy. They have collected some 7000 numbers of plants. 



