TAXONOMY AND EVOLUTION OF ALASKA'S BIRCHES

摘要

The quest for new and useful chemicals from plants is a worldwide one—a search in which the differentiation between similar plant species could be vital. For practical reasons, the intermingling of Alaska's three major birch tree species for lumber,engineered wood, composite wood products, or pulp is probably not a problem. However, in the developing phytochemical industry there may be serious species implications. Currently, the pharmaceutical properties of the bark of B. kenaica and B. neoalaskana are being investigated by the University of Alaska Fairbanks School of Natural Resources and Agricultural Sciences in cooperation with the University of Minnesota Duluth Natural Resources Research Institute. This effort addresses two questions: 1) Is there a difference between the two species, and 2) How do the two Alaska species compare to Minnesota birch and Siberian birch in terms of chemicals present and their quantity per pound of raw material? This and additional information may shed light on such ecological questions as: Why do moose browse one species and caribou another? What impact does leaf litter of the species have on soil properties?