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| Biosphere Reserve Information | ||||
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DENALI |
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| General Description |
Denali Biosphere Reserve and National Park is situated in south-central Alaska centered on the Alaska Range which separates the coastal lowland from the interior. Denali comprises Mount McKinley, the highest peak in North America towering 4,800 meters above the surrounding landscape as well as Denali fault system, the largest crustal break in North America. Warm dry south-facing slopes adjacent to rivers have white spruce (Picea glauca) with paper birch (Betula papyrifera), balsam poplar (Populus balsamifera) and quaking aspen (P. tremuloides) and a ground cover of ericaceous shrubs and mosses. North-facing permafrost-underlain slopes and lowlands have black spruce (P. mariana) with paper birch, white spruce, tamarack (Larix laricina) and ericaceous shrubs, mosses, sedges and grasses. Moist foothill tundra comprises cottongrass (Eriophorum sp.) with dwarf shrubs, green alder (Alnus crispa) and dwarf birch (Betula nana). Drier tundra has mats of mountain avens (Dryas spp.), grasses and sedges. Above the alpine tundra, rock, snow and ice dominate. Mammal species in the area include wolf (Canis lupus), grizzly bear (Ursus arctos), Canadian lynx (Lynx canadensis), Alaska moose (Alces alces), barrenground caribou (Rangifer tarandus), and beavers (Castor canadensis). There are some subsistence and sport hunting, trapping and mining activities within the biosphere reserve. Research projects in the area include the ecology of large mammals, raptor biology, vegetation mapping, human recreational impact on resources, geology and archaeology and several continuous monitoring programmes. |
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| Major ecosystem type | Temperate needle-leaf forest | |||
| Major habitats & land cover types | ||||
| Location | 63°20'N, 150°30'W | |||
| Area (hectares) | ||||
| Total | 782,000 | |||
| Core area(s) | ||||
| Buffer zone(s) | ||||
| Transition area(s) when given | ||||
| Altitude (metres above sea level) | +122 to +6,194 | |||
| Year designated | 1976 | |||
| Administrative authorities | Denali National Park and Preserve National Park Service | |||
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| Brief description |
Large mammal ecology Vegetation ecology Air and water quality Geology and soils Archaeology Subsistence use Socio-economic studies Cultural resource studies |
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| Specific variables... | ||||
| Abiotic | Air quality, geology, hydrology, soil. | |||
| Biodiversity | Ecology, mammals, vegetation studies/plant cover. | |||
| Socio-economic | Archaeology/Paleontology, cultural aspects, resource use, social/socio-economic aspects. | |||
| Integrated monitoring | n.a. | |||
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| Contact address |
Gordon Olson Denali National Park Denali Park - Box 9 99755 Alaska United States of America |
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| Telephone | (1.907) 683 2294 | |||
| Fax | (1.907) 683 9639 | |||
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gordon_olson@nps.gov |
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| Web site | www.nps.gov/dena/ | |||
| Contact address |
Stephen P. Martin Denali National Park Denali Park - Box 9 99755 Alaska United States of America |
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| Telephone | (1.907) 683 2294 | |||
| Fax | (1.907) 683 9639 | |||
| Web site | www.nps.gov/dena/ | |||
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| Last updated: 2/21/2001 |
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