Some of the arctic entries in this study manifest- 
ed considerable latitude in adaptations to the 
boreal site, with many of them achieving appre- 
clably greater shoot weight and flowering culm 
production at Palmer than at Prudhoe. This 
agrees with the responses obtained by Clausen 
et al. (1940) and Mark (1965) when growing 
alpine biotypes at lower altitude stations. But 
these workers also found increased growth in 
height at the lower, less severe sites, whereas in 
our study all of the arctic entries grew taller in 
the Prudhoe garden. Some of them produced a 
dense but very short growth at Palmer. 
The alpine entries varied in their adaptive 
responses to the two sites, but generally appear- 
ed suited to both. Two alpine biotypes of 
Deschampsia from northern interior Alaska grew 
taller at Prudhoe than at Palmer in the third 
year, but alpine biotypes of the other species 
from more central and southcentral Alaska grew 
taller and were more productive in the Palmer 
garden. Some alpine biotypes of arcticgrass, 
hairgrass, and red fescue from interior Alaska 
performed well in both the Palmer and Prudhoe 
gardens. However, alpine entries of hairgrass 
from southcentral Alaska and Colorado were 
unadapted to either site, failing to survive the 
first winter. 
The two arctic entries of Arctagrostis 
appeared to be the most adversely affected in 
107 
transplanting to the boreal region. They experi- 
enced difficulty in establishing at Palmer in their 
first year, and one of the entries eventually 
succumbed. This may indicate a genotype that is 
more narrowly adapted to the arctic environ- 
ment, with less plasticity than the others. 
These results have some practical signifi- 
cance in the possible application of native plant 
materials in various regions of Alaska. Those 
materials with sufficient plasticity to perform 
well in non-agricultural areas where they may be 
needed for rehabilitation, and in an agricultural 
area where they could be grown for seed, offer 
good potential for practical applications. In red 
fescue, for instance, a non-arctic entry of alpine 
origin was the best performer of that species 
both at Prudhoe and Palmer, thus pointing to 
the possibility of alpine entries being the source 
of material for tundra uses over a wide latitude. 
The relative merits of local vs. non-local seed 
sources were assessed in an altitudinal transect 
study with Pinus ponderosa (Conkle 1973). In 
that study, seed of yellow pine from a select 
zone outperformed local seed sources at alti- 
tudes lower and higher than that zone. 
The diverse environments, particularly as 
they involved different altitudes, along the lati- 
tudinal transect sampled in Alaska confounded 
the delineation of ecoclinal gradients for most 
entries. However, such a gradient was rather 
CALAMAG ROSTIS INEXPANSA—SHOOT WEIGHTS 
GALBRAITH 
SAGWON LAKE 
(2n = 28) 
ORIGIN: SAGWON SAGWON 
(2n = 63) (2n = 56) (2n = 28) 
o+——— Palmer Transplant Garden 
O©——-o Prudhoe Transplant Garden 
1972 73 74 72 73 74 72 73 74 72 73 
DIETRICH 
VALLEY GLENNALLEN GLENNALLEN PALMER 
(2n = 42) (2n = 28) (2n="42) (2n = 105) 
Ie 
Bat 
OL \v/ 
~o 
73 73°«74 
74 72 73 74 72 73 74 72 74 72 
YEARS 
Fig. 15. Shoot weights of Calamagrostis inexpansa over 2-year period. 7/ Entry 
grazed. D/En try severely injured or winter-killed. 
