Distributional Studies on Bryophytes of Alberta

Abstract

The distributional ranges of 17 taxa are discussed. Eleven taxa of bryophytes are reported as new to Alberta and one species new to the Northwest Territories. These include reports of significant range extensions for Frullania inflata and Myurella siberica. Twenty-one taxa of Sphagnum occur in Alberta based on herbarium confirmations and three taxa of Sphagnum are reported as new to the province. The North American distribution of Ulota curvifolia is mapped and its distributional pattern is considered as low-arctic. The bryoflora of the southern one-half of Alberta is becoming fairly well known. Papers on specific areas have been published by Moss and Turner (1961) for the Edmonton area; Bird (1962a) for the prairie region; Bird (1962b) for the Cypress Hills (in the southeastern corner of the province); Bird (1969) for the Aspen parkland zone; and Bird and Hong (1969) for the hepaticae of southwestern Alberta. In addition, Bird (1962d) has compiled a list of all bryophytes reported in the literature. Other recent reports of mosses include Bird (1962c); Bird and Ogilvie (1964); and Bird (1968). However, the northern half of Alberta (from 54?N latitude) has up to now not been bryologically explored to any extent; the main basis for knowledge of the bryophyte flora of northern Alberta is the work of Macoun (1902) and Macoun and Kindberg (1892). The Canadian Rocky Mountains, north of 53?N latitude, also have not been studied bryologically and contain a rich bryoflora. Both of these areas are of phytogeographic importance and include species with arctic as well as alpine distributions. Taxa with predominantly eastern North American distributions range westward into northern Alberta, while many Pacific Coast species have their easternmost localities in the Canadian Rockies of Jasper National Park. In northern Alberta, mountainous outliers of the Rocky Mountains contain many species disjunct from the western Cordillera. These areas, several of which may not have been glaciated, include the Swan Hills, Whitecourt Mt., Buffalo Head Hills, Clear Hills, and Cameron Mt. The Swan Hills reach 1,350 m and are topped with a mature stand of Picea engelmannii and Abies balsamea, which is similar to subalpine stands in the Canadian Rockies. As a result of floristic and phytogeographic studies being carried out in the Canadian Rockies and in northern Alberta, significant range extensions have been noted for several bryophyte species. Included in these reports are 11 taxa new to the province of Alberta and one species new to the Northwest Territories. At present, 437 species of mosses and 120 species of hepatics are known from Alberta. Of these, only 109 species of mosses and 19 species of hepatics have been 1This research was supported by grant NRCC-A6390 from the National Research Council of Canada to the author. 2 Department of Botany, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. This content downloaded from 207.46.13.75 on Fri, 08 Jul 2016 04:21:01 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms 506 THE BRYOLOGIST [Volume 76 reported from north of 540 latitude. In comparison, Schofield (1968a) reported 620 taxa of mosses and (1968b) 221 species of Hepaticae and Anthocerotae from British Columbia. Alberta, particularly the northern portion, has a great deal of terrain which is accessible only with great difficulty and possesses a rich diversity of habitats; thus the moss flora of the province will probably exceed 500 species when fully known. The majority of these species are of circum-boreal or circum-arctic distribution.