What type of biome is denali national park

The landscape is predominantly forested at elevations less than 2, feet m , with scrub vegetation and spruce woodland in the subalpine zone 2, to 3, feet, to m and low tundra in the alpine zone above 3, feet, m.

Temperatures can reach up to 90 degrees Fahrenheit at the height of summer July but can fluctuate, even falling below freezing at night. The highest recorded temperature in the national park is 91 degrees. Overall, in the north and south part of Denali, the average temperatures fluctuate between 50 and According to the enviornmental assesment by the United States, there are currently no endangered or threatened species in Denali National Park. Denali National Park is home to nearly 12, lakes.

Glaciers cover around one-sixth of the park, which covers roughly one million acres. More History. A biome is a section of land that is similar in climate, wildlife, vegetation, soil, and chains of survival--more commonly referred to as an ecosystem.

There are many biomes, which you will see below. The characteristics of a taiga and of the taiga biome in Denali National Park are as follows:. They are known as the boreal forest or the "Northwoods". They have very low precipitation, including snow; however, in Denali, there is light precipitation in the summer months.

Taiga are mostly covered in evergreen types of trees, with Denali's taiga being dominated by the hardy black and white spruce.

The winters in taigas are long and cold, making it rather unideal for creatures unadapted to the climate. The landscape is predominantly forested at elevations less than 2, feet m , with scrub vegetation and spruce woodland in the subalpine zone 2, to 3, feet, to m and low tundra in the alpine zone above 3, feet, m.

Limits of local treeline and the subalpine and alpine zones depend on topography, site history, and local variations in climate. Currently, there are 39 species of mammals and species of birds documented in Denali, along with one amphibian the wood frog , and 15 species of fish.

More than species of vascular plants grace the landscape, along with approximately an equal number of nonvascular plant species mosses, lichens and liverworts MacCluskie and Oakley , Roland Many birds that breed in Denali migrate long distances to reach the park, some from as far away as South America, Asia, and Africa.

Great numbers of sandhill cranes and trumpeter swans create a stirring sight as they migrate in skeins above Denali. Forests have become established in the last 6, years, after the last glacial retreat, but probably also existed during earlier inter-glacial periods. Recently disturbed and warmer south-facing slopes support stands of trembling aspen and balsam poplar.

River bars support early successional herbs scattered among groves of balsam poplar, aspen, and spruce. Shrubs that grow slowly in the cold soils of black spruce forests include alder, dwarf birch, Labrador tea, shrub cinquefoil, several species of willow, and blueberry.

Black spruce stands burn periodically, so trees seldom reach ages beyond years. Common shrubs in the more nutrient-rich spruce-birch forests are dwarf birch, rose, willows, and high-bush cranberry. Interspersed in the forested areas are dry, open sites, wetlands and kettle-hole ponds.

Dry sites often include a tangle of kinnikinnik, rose, and soapberry. The warmest, driest sites on the north side of the Alaska Range are dry meadows of grasses, sagebrush, juniper shrubs, and herbaceous perennials. Equivalent slopes on the south side can be lush meadows of grasses, lupine, geranium, and cow parsnip because even the dry slopes have more moisture.

The wetland and riparian areas support sedges, rushes, grasses, forbs, and mosses. An assortment of resident and migratory birds lives in the lowland forests including northern goshawk, great-horned owl, boreal owl, woodpeckers, black-capped and boreal chickadees, ruby-crowned kinglet, yellow-rumped warbler, and white-winged crossbill. Wetlands are nesting grounds for sandhill cranes, trumpeter swans, common loons, many species of waterfowl, arctic tern, northern water-thrush, and rusty blackbirds.

But many other species with more secretive lifestyles, including voles, lemmings, shrews, snowshoe hares, and flying squirrels, are also common in the taiga forest. These small mammals provide the food base for a variety of medium-sized predators, including lynx, marten, and red foxes. Several species of large mammals live at low densities throughout the lowland areas but are more common in higher ele-vation areas.

These include moose, wolves, caribou, and grizzly bears. The black bear is the only large mammal species that is more common in the lowland areas of the park than in the higher elevations. In the subalpine zone, there is a mosaic of scrub vegetation dwarf birch, alder, and willow , open spruce woodland, and meadow see photo page 6. Near treeline, the land cover shifts from open woodland to tundra shrubs willow, blueberry, dwarf birch, rhododendron , dwarf shrubs bearberry, mountain avens, crowberry, and netted willow , grasses, and annual plants.

Where snowmelt is late, as on north-facing slopes, the alpine zone also includes spring beauty, mountain heather, mountain sorrel, and buttercups.

In sunny but moist areas, the vegetation is a mixture of dwarf shrubs and sedges. On windswept ridges, lichens add to the relatively sparse cover of mountain avens and grasses. Dry sites can be variable from scattered grasses to complete plant cover depending on the growing conditions, but harbor some of the rarer plants, including many species with evolutionary roots in the Beringian tundra and ultimately in Asia.

A diverse community of open-landscape birds lives in the alpine region including golden eagle, gyrfalcon, white-tailed ptarmigan, American golden-plover, surfbird, long-tailed jaeger, horned lark, northern wheatear, and gray-crowned rosy finch.

Dall sheep are among the most obvious and spectacular residents of the alpine habitats. Other large mammals, including wolves, caribou, and grizzly bears, spend much of their time in the alpine zone. Nearly one-third of the park is made up of high, glaciated mountains and bare rock outcrops Figure 9. The upper limit of plant growth is about 7, feet m.

Above 8, feet m , alpine areas are generally covered by glacial ice. Only scattered traces of vegetation occur there, mostly lichens on isolated patches of bare rock. No birds or mammals make their homes in these barren reaches, but wolverines, wolves, and caribou occasionally negotiate high mountain passes, ravens and redpolls are seen at very high elevations, and many species of birds migrate over the mountains.

More than 1, humans annually attempt to climb Denali during the spring and early summer climbing season, but for most of the year and for most of the area, the mountains and icefields are nearly devoid of life.

Despite being a wilderness park, Denali faces threats from human activity on many scales, including increased tourism and development, introduction of exotic species, increased hunting pressures, and accumulation of trace amounts of global airborne contaminants. The retreat of glaciers and changes in vegetation due to climate change are easily seen in photographs taken only decades apart. These influences and their effects are difficult to measure, but they may dramatically alter the distribution and visibility of wildlife.

Park management faces an increasing challenge to protect resources in the face of climate change and other human effects. Brown, W. Denali: Symbol of the Alaskan wild. The Donning Company. Virginia Beach, VA. Clark, M. Co-magmatic ties between the Cantwell volcanics and McKinley sequence plutons: Constraint on the early Tertiary offset history of the McKinley fault, central Alaska Range.