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Establishing Aquatic Stands of Arctophila Fulva
In the Alaska Arctic
Jay D. McKendrick
Professor of Agronomy
UNIVERSITY OF ALASKA FAIRBANKS
Alaska Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station
533 East Fireweed
Palmer, Alaska 99645
Abstract
Arctophila fulva is an emergent aquatic grass with a circumpolar distribution.
It is palatable to some species of migratory waterfowl and has a relatively
high
nutritional value among tundra plants. The grass is a pioneer, colonizing
wet areas
and extending its rhizomes to form pure stands along the margins of arctic
ponds
and slow-flowing streams. Detached stems of A. fulva produce adventitious
roots at
nodes and latent axillary buds which develop into independent shoots. This
asexual
reproduction mode is the most common process for developing new colonies.
Wind-
driven ice sheets shear the stem fragments from the rhizomes. These detached
stems are carried by meltwater across the landscape. Stem fragments stranded
in
suitable habitats take root and develop new colonies.
Studies were conducted to establish A. fulva along margins of natural water
bodies and impoundments resulting from industrial developments associated
with oil
and gas production in the Arctic. The ultimate goal of such plantings is
to improve
the habitat for migratory waterfowl and other birds, which would be attracted
to
those water bodies. It was learned that transplanting stem fragments was
a feasible
technique, and vigorous stands would form if phosphorus fertilizer, 13.4
- 26.8 kg/ha
(15-30 lb. P/acre), was added to the transplant location. In our tests, the
effects
from the fertilizer were either insignificant, or nearly so, for at least
two years
following application. By the fourth and fifth years the influences were
exceptional,
with the fertilized stands averaging nearly five times the reproduction level
of the
unfertilized. Negative factors limiting success of A. fulva stands were:
high energy
shorelines, turbid water, and competition from other plant species. In this
region,
the competition from other species is confined to terrestrial sites and water
s 15 cm
in depth. In water depths greater than 15 cm, Arctophila fulva had the advantage
over other emergent plants. Arctophila fulva seldom grew in water deeper
than 70
cm on the Alaska coastal plain.
Introduction
Arctophila fulva, arctic pendant grass, is indigenous to circumpolar habitats.
Although it can live in aquatic as well as terrestrial habitats, it reaches
its zenith in
growth and dominance along shallow margins of lakes, ponds, and edges of
slow-
moving streams in the arctic and boreal regions of Alaska and in Siberia
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