Sample sites were selected from four regions within the Dempster Highway (N = 22) and CANOL Project (N = 58) corridors. Physical characteristics of the study areas varied considerably: they span 4? of latitude (63? 18' to 67? 15') and 1285 m of elevation (425 to 1710 m a.s.l.); occupy various types of substrates within the Selwyn, Mackenzie, Ogilvie, and Richardson Mountains (glaciated and unglaciated, acidic to basic, coarse to clastic); and were found within various tundra plant communities (tall shrub to epilithic lichen). Surface disturbances of various ages (5-6, 13, 22, and 35 growing seasons) had a number of colonizing plant species in common despite substantial site differences. Of the 433 taxa recorded from the 80 borrow pits surveyed, 18 had naturally colonized pits of all four major geographic regions and age groups. These were Arctagrostis latifolia, Betula glandulosa, Empetrum nigrum, Epilobium angustifolium, E. latifolium, Equisetum arvense, Hedysarum alpinum, Poa arctica, P. glauca, Populus balsamifera, Salix alaxensis, S. glauca, S. planifolia, Vaccinium uliginosum, Cetraria cucullata, Polytrichum commune, P. juniperinum, and P. piliferum. Although most of these broadly successful colonizing species were herbaceous, several woody plant species especially of the genus Salix were most successful in terms of both mean cover and percentage of sites colonized. There were 50 plant taxa that were locally successful colonizing species found in either the CANOL or Dempster corridors with greater than 2%o cover or on at least 20%o of the sites sampled. These species included 15 forbs, 14 graminoids, 5 decumbent shrubs, 2 erect shrubs, 11 lichens, and 3 bryophytes. Salix alaxensis, present in approximately 75?%o of the 80 pits was one of the most successful woody plants with mean cover values of 2.7, 24.5, 0.8, and 2.0% on 5-, 13-, 22-, and 35-yr-old disturbances. Salix alaxensis had colonized within 0.4, 0.6, 0.3, 1.1, 4.9, and 8 growing seasons on 5-, 6-, 8-, 13-, 22-, and 37-yr-old disturbances, respectively.
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