Bioimages home      (click on an image to enlarge)
view this page in its intended navigation context

Northern Pacific coastal forests (WWF ecoregion NA0520)

Prince William Sound near Valdez, Alaska
Prince William Sound near Valdez, Alaska
(c) 2005 Scott and Ruth Bassett

Northern Pacific coastal forests map
Source of bioregions data: Olson, D. M. and E. Dinerstein. The Global 200: Priority ecoregions for global conservation. (PDF file) Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden 89:125-126.

Distinctiveness (1=highest,4=lowest): 1 (globally outstanding)
This ecoregion contains a quarter of the world's temperate rainforests.  It is also one of the most productive in North America.  Many species that are threatened further south are still relatively common here.*

Conservation Status (1=most endangered, 5=most intact): 4 (relatively stable)
Over 90% of old growth forest remains.  However, much of the high volume old growth forest has either been logged or is scheduled to be harvested in the near future.*

Characteristic species*
 
Picea sitchensis  (Sitka spruce)
Tsuga heterophylla  (western hemlock)
Tsuga mertensiana  (mountain hemlock)

Alnus spp.

Populus trichocarpa (cottonwood)

Betula papyrifera (paper birch)

Pinus contorta  (lodgepole pine)
Thuja plicata  (western red cedar)
Chamaecyparis nootkatensis  (Alaska cedar)

Associated habitats

coastal forest, Prince William Sound, near Valdez, Alaska

coast, Prince William Sound, near Valdez, Alaska coast, Prince William Sound, near Valdez, Alaska glacier entering Prince William Sound, near Valdez, Alaska
(c) 2005 Scott and Ruth Bassett  hires  hires  hires

riparian area, near Valdez, Alaska

riparian area near Valdez, Alaska salmon near Valdez, Alaska
The clean and undammed rivers (left) of this ecoregion support some of North America's healthiest salmon populations (right). (c) 2005 Scott and Ruth Bassett  hires  hires

* Ricketts, T.H., E. Dinerstein, D.M. Olson, C.J. Loucks, et al.  (1999) Terrestrial Ecoregions of North America: A Conservation Assessment.  World Wildlife Fund - United States and Canada.  Island Press, Washington, D.C. pp. 199-203.

Except as noted, images copyright 2002-2005 Steve Baskauf - Terms of use