III. BIOENVIRONMENTAL GRADIENTS 



Abiotic 



Gunter Weller* 

 Gary Hess 



Primary Producers 



James Anderson* 

 Bruce Bright 

 Kent Goumley 

 Frank Bogardus 



Consumers 



Paul Whitney* 

 Ray Kendel 

 Laurence Frank 

 George West 



Microbiology 



Patrick Flanagan* 

 Aria Scarborough 

 John Ho 



University of Alaska 

 University of Alaska 



University of Alaska 

 University of Alaska 

 University of Alaska 

 University of Alaska 



University of Alaska 

 University of Alaska 

 University of Alaska 

 University of Alaska 



University of Alaska 

 University of Alaska 

 McGill University 



A natural extension of the ecosystem program which is focused at Barrow and extended east- 

 ward to Prudhoe Bay was the continuation of studies southward along the route of the proposed 

 trans-Alaska pipeline from Prudhoe Bay through Fairbanks to Valdez. Such a prc^ram, although 

 having obvious immediate practical advantages in aiding those involved in all aspects of the 

 pipeline problem, will also provide comparative information of natural ecosystems from coastal 

 arctic tundra, through high latitude alpine tundra, into the northern rim of the taiga, and through 

 the zone of permafrost which underlies taiga forests to the Gulf of Alaska coast. In many areas, 

 studies underway since 1969 on revegetation of disturbed areas sponsored by Alyeska Pipeline 

 Service Company (formerly TAPS) are comparable to those initiated in 1970 by Tundra Biome 

 scientists. 



Revegetation sites exist at Prudhoe Bay, Sagwon, Galbraith Lake, Anaktuvuk Pass, Wiseman, 

 Fish Creek Summit, Hess Creek, Eagle Summit, and Fairbanks (Fig. 1). Comparative studies of 

 the natural ecosystem have been initiated at Prudhoe Bay, Sagwon, Galbraith Lake, Wiseman, Fish 

 Creek Summit, Hess Creek, Eagle Summit, Fairbanks and Poker-Caribou Creeks. Other investi- 

 gations have been made at additional sites Rosie Creek, Caribou Mountain, Healy Lake, and an 

 alpine site in the Alaska Range. 



In addition, several related projects are active in interior Alaska which provide the Tundra 

 Biome Program with bioenvironmental information. Alpine sites along the Elliott Highway and in 

 the vicinity of Eagle Summit are being investigated by University of Alberta and USA CRREL 

 personnel to determine rates of production and decomposition and timber line climate. The Caribou- 

 Poker Creeks watershed program, an interagency and University of Alaska effort, yields base- 

 line hydrologic and climatic dat a. 

 ♦Principal authors 97 



