Revegetation of disturbed arctic sites: constraints and applications

A large number of studies have involved the revegetation of arctic sites di sturbed by anthropogenic processes, especially in Iceland, Alaska, Canada a nd Russia. Often the immediate aim has been the establishment of plant cove r to provide insulation and to stop erosional processes. The restoration of the former plant assemblages is a long-term goal, but will generally depen d on natural processes. Surrogate non-native species, particularly graminoi ds, have been introduced to hasten the establishment of plant cover. At som e sites these species have persisted and spread with little likelihood that the original plant assemblages will re-establish in the immediate future. In contrast to gravel, sandy and saline soils, rates of revegetation in wet lands have been comparatively high reflecting, in part, the use of clonal p ropagation techniques in addition to seed applications. Overall there has b een considerable success at revegetating sites disturbed by human influence s in a region where seed production is often unpredictable, and seedling es tablishment infrequent, but whether former plant assemblages ultimately wil l re-establish remains uncertain. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.