LICHEN COVER MAPPING FOR YUKON–CHARLEY RIVERS NATIONAL PRESERVE
Macander MJ and Swingley CS. 2017. LICHEN COVER MAPPING FOR YUKON–CHARLEY RIVERS NATIONAL PRESERVE. United States Geological Survey Alaska Science Center. Anchorage, AK
The distribution and abundance of forage lichen are critical factors influencing the movements, distribution, and nutritional ecology of caribou in Alaska. Forage lichens are mainly light-colored genera, primarily Cladonia, Cladina, Cetraria, and Flavocetraria spp. They are terricolous (i.e. occurring on the ground, not in trees) macrolichens (i.e. fruticose or foliose growth forms, not crustose). The Fortymile caribou herd has been increasing since the 1970s but recent evidence suggests the herd has reached or exceeded its carrying capacity, leading to declining body condition and recruitment, as well as overgrazing of upland habitat within Yukon–Charley Rivers National Preserve (YUCH) (Boertje et al. 2012). The herd’s range is expansive, stretching from the White Mountains into Canada and covers most of YUCH. Little is known about the spatial distribution of potential overgrazing effects, due to the lack of spatially explicit habitat characteristics over the extensive range. In an effort to better understand the spatial and nutritional ecology of Fortymile caribou, maps that depict patterns of lichen abundance are required. The lichen cover products will be useful for analyzing caribou habitat selection and caribou management. They have applications in other disciplines including vegetation science and landscape change, and may be used by a variety of researchers and other land managers operating in the region.
- Type
- Geospatial Dataset
- Authors
- Macander, Matthew; Swingley, Christopher
- Date of Issue
- 2017-07-24
- Publisher
- United States Geological Survey Alaska Science Center
- Units
- AKR , YUCH
- Keywords
- abundance, Alaska, caribou, charley, forage, Fortymile caribou herd, lichen, national park service, nutrition, overgrazing, White Mountains, yukon
- Subjects
- Ecological Framework: Biological Integrity | Focal Species or Communities | Mammals