Kodiak Island Biota— VINCENT 
121 
Fig. 2. The number of plant species on Kodiak Island that are also found in other regions of Alaska. 
forest is extending its range. Pollen analysis, 
historical records, tree growth, and tree age all 
indicate the recent advance of the forest border 
in the area near the village of Kodiak (Bowman, 
1934; Griggs, 1934^, 1946; Heusser, I960). No 
evidence has been reported that showed a more 
northward or westward conifer treeline during 
the hypsithermal. As Aleksandrova (I960) found 
on Novaya Zemlya, coniferous trees probably 
had not yet reached the Kodiak Island Group by 
the period of thermal maximum. 
Calamagrostis canadensis (Michx.) Beauv. 
and Alnus crispa (Ait.) Pursh. that appear in 
the Picea forest openings become the charac- 
teristic plant cover for the southwestern part of 
Kodiak Island. Nearly all well-drained sites are 
occupied by this plant combination, which 
Griggs (1936) classified as subclimax in the 
nearby Katmai district. Hulten (I960) described 
this Alnus-Calamagrostis-Streptopus vegetation 
of western coastal Alaska as similar to that of 
some sections of Kamtchatka. Superimposed on 
this vegetation along stream valleys is Populus 
trie ho carp a Torr. and Gray. Other shrubs which 
commonly appear are Betula nana L., V accinium 
vitisidea L., and Empetrum nigrum L. Abundant 
grasses are Hordeum hr achy anther um Nevski., 
Elymus mollis Trin., Eriophorum angustifolium 
Roth, and Hierochloe alpina (Sw.) Roem. and 
Schult. Twenty-six species of Carex are found 
