Publisher's Synopsis
Excerpt from Growth of Historical Sitka Spruce Plantations at Unalaska Bay, Alaska
The Aleutian Islands extend miles (1770 km) in a southwest arc from the Alaska Peninsula to the Commander Islands of East Asia and separate the Bering Sea from the North Pacific Ocean. The most striking feature of the Aleutian Islands is the treeless landscape. Absence of forests was an obstacle to colonization of the region during the 18th and 19ln centuries. The nearest forests were more than 500 nautical miles (926 km) northeast of the Aleutian Islands and wood was needed for firewood, construction of houses and other buildings, and repair of ships. Driftwood was substituted for timber in building construction and other uses. Early 19th century Russian settlers transplanted Sitka spruce (picea sitchensis (bong) Carr.) from south east Alaska or Kodiak Island to Unalaska and neighboring islands (fig. Success of the plantationsz attracted the attention of visiting botanists, and many additional attempts were made to establish trees in the Aleutian Islands during the 19th and 2oth centuries. Thousands of seedlings from Kodiak, southeast Alaska, and the con tiguous 48 States were transplanted during World War II to reduce the monotony of the landscape, beautify dwellings, and control erosion of disturbed soils (bruce and Court Sitka spruce was the most successful species, and many seedlings transplanted during the 19th century and World War II survived on sheltered sites in Unalaska Bay. Trees transplanted during the early 19th century produced natural regeneration on disturbed sites after World War II. A dense 19th century grove on Expedition Island and several small World War II plantations on Amaknak Island provided an opportunity to measure tree size and growth. The measurements were used to estimate the growth and yield of fully stocked plantations on productive sites in Unalaska Bay.
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