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Wildlife, Animals, and Plants
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Introductory
SPECIES: Salix fuscescens | Alaska Bog Willow
ABBREVIATION :
SALFUS
SYNONYMS :
Salix arbutifolia Pall.
SCS PLANT CODE :
SAFU
COMMON NAMES :
Alaska bog willow
TAXONOMY :
The currently accepted scientific name for Alaska bog willow is Salix
fuscescens Anderss. [9]. There are no recognized subspecies, varieties,
or forms.
LIFE FORM :
Shrub
FEDERAL LEGAL STATUS :
No special status
OTHER STATUS :
NO-ENTRY
COMPILED BY AND DATE :
Milo Coladonato, June 1993
LAST REVISED BY AND DATE :
NO-ENTRY
AUTHORSHIP AND CITATION :
Coladonato, Milo. 1993. Salix fuscescens. In: Remainder of Citation
DISTRIBUTION AND OCCURRENCE
SPECIES: Salix fuscescens | Alaska Bog Willow
GENERAL DISTRIBUTION :
Alaska bog willow occurs throughout most of the Alaskan boreal forest
except in the Aleutian Islands and the along the southeastern coast of
Alaska. Outside of Alaska, its range extends from the Yukon Territory
to the Hudson Bay [2,12,18]
ECOSYSTEMS :
FRES11 Spruce - fir
STATES :
AK MB NT YT
ADMINISTRATIVE UNITS :
DENA LACL
BLM PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGIONS :
NO-ENTRY
KUCHLER PLANT ASSOCIATIONS :
K094 Conifer bog
SAF COVER TYPES :
12 Black spruce
SRM (RANGELAND) COVER TYPES :
NO-ENTRY
HABITAT TYPES AND PLANT COMMUNITIES :
NO-ENTRY
VALUE AND USE
SPECIES: Salix fuscescens | Alaska Bog Willow
WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE :
NO-ENTRY
IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE :
Willows (Salix spp.) are generally preferred food and building materials
for beaver [1]. Willow shoots, catkins, leaves, and buds are eaten by
numerous small mammals and birds [6].
Willows are a staple year-round food for moose. Moose browse on twigs
in winter and consume leaves and new shoots in summer [6].
PALATABILITY :
NO-ENTRY
NUTRITIONAL VALUE :
NO-ENTRY
COVER VALUE :
NO-ENTRY
VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES :
Willow stem cuttings are commonly planted for restoration of wildlife
habitat, streambank protection, and the reclamation of sites disturbed
by mining and construction [10,13]. Alaska bog willow is apparently
well adapted for these purposes [11,14].
OTHER USES AND VALUES :
All willows produce salacin, which is closely related to aspirin.
Native Americans used various preparations of willows to treat
toothaches, bee stings, stomach aches, and diarrhea; they used the stems
for making baskets, bows, arrows, and fish and muskrat traps [8,12].
MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS :
NO-ENTRY
BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
SPECIES: Salix fuscescens | Alaska Bog Willow
GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS :
Alaska bog willow is a native, low-growing, much-branched, trailing
deciduous shrub 4 to 12 inches (10-30 cm) tall [18]. Male and female
flowers occur on separate plants in 0.75 to 1.5 inch (1.9-3.8 cm) long
catkins. The fruit is a two-valved capsule [2,13,18].
RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM :
Phanerophyte
REGENERATION PROCESSES :
Like all willows, Alaska bog willow's primary mode of reproduction is
sexual. It produces an abundance of small, lightweight seed. It
probably begins seed production at an early age (between 2 to 10 years).
At maturity the capsular fruits split open to release the minute downy
seeds that are dispersed by either wind or water [6,13].
Vegetative reproduction: Willows are prolific sprouters. Alaska bog
willow sprouts from from the root crown if aboveground stems are broken
or destroyed by cutting or fire [6].
SITE CHARACTERISTICS :
Alaska bog willow commonly occurs in wet tundra, small bogs, swamps,
riverbanks, and in open black spruce (Picea mariana) muskegs throughout
most of the Alaskan boreal forest [2,18]. Frequent associates include
alder (Alder spp.), bog birch (Betula glandulosa), balsam popular
(Populus balsamifera), and numerous willows (Salix spp.) [3,7,13].
SUCCESSIONAL STATUS :
Obligate Initial Community Species
Alaska bog willow is an early seral species. Like other willows it
probably becomes abundant after disturbances that open the canopy and
expose the mineral soil. It occurs in the early seral stages following
fire in black spruce stands [18].
SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT :
Alaska bog willow flowers in June; the fruits ripen in July [18].
FIRE ECOLOGY
SPECIES: Salix fuscescens | Alaska Bog Willow
FIRE ECOLOGY OR ADAPTATIONS :
Information on Alaska bog willows's ability to sprout following fire is
lacking. It probably sprouts prolifically immediately after fire. Like
most willows, Alaska bog willow's wind-dispersed seed are probably
important in colonizing recently burned sites [6].
POSTFIRE REGENERATION STRATEGY :
Small shrub, adventitious-bud root crown
Initial-offsite colonizer (off-site, initial community)
FIRE EFFECTS
SPECIES: Salix fuscescens | Alaska Bog Willow
IMMEDIATE FIRE EFFECT ON PLANT :
Low- to moderate-severity fires generally top-kill willows. Severe fire
can kill willows by completely removing soil organic layers and charring
the roots [19].
DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF FIRE EFFECT :
NO-ENTRY
PLANT RESPONSE TO FIRE :
Like most willows, Alaska bog willow probably sprouts vigorously after
fire [2,6]. Information regarding postfire establishment for Alaska bog
willow is lacking.
DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF PLANT RESPONSE :
NO-ENTRY
FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS :
NO-ENTRY
REFERENCES
SPECIES: Salix fuscescens | Alaska Bog Willow
REFERENCES :
1. Allen, Arthur W. 1983. Habitat suitability index models: beaver.
FWS/OBS-82/10.30 (Revised). Washingtion, DC: U.S. Department of the
Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service. 20 p. [11716]
2. Argus, George W. 1973. The genus Salix in Alaska and the Yukon.
Publications in Botany, No. 2. Ottowa, ON: National Museums of Canada,
National Museum of Natural Sciences. 279 p. [6167]
3. Calmes, Mary A. 1976. Vegetation pattern of bottomland bogs in the
Fairbanks area, Alaska. Fairbanks, AK: University of Alaska. 104 p.
Thesis. [14785]
4. Everitt, James H.; Pettit, Russ D.; Alaniz, Mario A. 1987. Remote
sensing of broom snakeweed (Gutierrezia sarothrae) and spiny aster
(Aster spinosus). Weed Science. 35: 295-302. [903]
5. Garrison, George A.; Bjugstad, Ardell J.; Duncan, Don A.; [and others].
1977. Vegetation and environmental features of forest and range
ecosystems. Agric. Handb. 475. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of
Agriculture, Forest Service. 68 p. [998]
6. Haeussler, S.; Coates, D.; Mather, J. 1990. Autecology of common plants
in British Columbia: A literature review. Economic and Regional
Development Agreement FRDA Rep. 158. Victoria, BC: Forestry Canada,
Pacific Forestry Centre; British Columbia Ministry of Forests, Research
Branch. 272 p. [18033]
7. Hanson, Herbert C. 1953. Vegetation types in northwestern Alaska and
comparisons with communities in other arctic regions. Ecology. 34(1):
111-140. [9781]
8. Holloway, Patricia S.; Alexander, Ginny. 1990. Ethnobotany of the Fort
Yukon region, Alaska. Economic Botany. 44(2): 214-225. [13625]
9. Hulten, Eric. 1968. Flora of Alaska and neighboring territories.
Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press. 1008 p. [13403]
10. Kuchler, A. W. 1964. Manual to accompany the map of potential vegetation
of the conterminous United States. Special Publication No. 36. New York:
American Geographical Society. 77 p. [1384]
11. McKendrick, Jay D. 1987. Plant succession on disturbed sites, North
Slope, Alaska, U.S.A. Arctic and Alpine Research. 19(4): 554-565.
[6077]
12. Mozingo, Hugh N. 1987. Shrubs of the Great Basin: A natural history.
Reno, NV: University of Nevada Press. 342 p. [1702]
13. Senft, Dennis. 1983. Fire freshens rangeland. Agricultural Research.
32(3): 10-11. [2106]
14. Platts, William S.; Armour, Carl; Booth, Gordon D.; [and others]. 1987.
Methods for evaluating riparian habitats with applications to
management. Gen. Tech. Rep. INT-221. Ogden, UT: U.S. Department of
Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Research Station. 177 p.
[6171]
15. Raunkiaer, C. 1934. The life forms of plants and statistical plant
geography. Oxford: Clarendon Press. 632 p. [2843]
16. Stickney, Peter F. 1989. Seral origin of species originating in northern
Rocky Mountain forests. Unpublished draft on file at: U.S. Department of
Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Research Station, Fire
Sciences Laboratory, Missoula, MT; RWU 4403 files. 7 p. [20090]
17. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service. 1982.
National list of scientific plant names. Vol. 1. List of plant names.
SCS-TP-159. Washington, DC. 416 p. [11573]
18. Viereck, Leslie A.; Little, Elbert L., Jr. 1972. Alaska trees and
shrubs. Agric. Handb. 410. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of
Agriculture, Forest Service. 265 p. [6884]
19. Zasada, J. 1986. Natural regeneration of trees and tall shrubs on forest
sites in interior Alaska. In: Van Cleve, K.; Chapin, F. S., III;
Flanagan, P. W.; [and others], eds. Forest ecosystems in the Alaska
taiga: A synthesis of structure and function. New York: Springer-Verlag:
44-73. [2291]
Index
Related categories for Species: Salix fuscescens
| Alaska Bog Willow
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