A few extralimital stands of balsam poplar are known from the Northwest Territories, but none has been studied in detail.
Ross Mackay observed and made collections of extralimital balsam poplar in the Southern Arctic Ecozone in the Northwest Territories.He discovered the species at three sites in the Melville Hills south of Darnley Bay: along the lower Brock River approximately 8 miles (ca.
Hunter8965 (CAN) Balsam poplar was not reported in the first major study of the flora of the Melville Hills region (i.e., Paulatuk, Tuktut Nogait National Park and vicinity, adjacent Nunavut), which was conducted as part of a natural resource inventory to determine the region's suitability as a national park (Zoltai et al., 1992).
NEW ARCTIC BALSAM POPLAR GROVES IN THE NORTHWEST TERRITOR IFS
data), we encountered two balsam poplar groves growing fully in Arctic ecosystems.
The second balsam poplar grove (represented by the collection Gillespie et al.
Collectively, the earlier and new Arctic balsam poplar collections from Tuktut Nogait National Park and vicinity summarized here document a considerable extension to the species' northeastern range (Fig.
Locations and size characteristics of a balsam poplar grove on a low ridge adjacent to the Hornaday River in Tuktut Nogait National Park, Northwest Territories, Canada.
Stands of balsam poplar in the Northwest Territories mainland Arctic may have originated from wind-dispersed seeds produced by more southerly populations.
Whatever their origins, extralimital populations of balsam poplar in and around Tuktut Nogait National Park occur at the edge of the geographical and ecological range of the species in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut.Future research should investigate whether the current warming trend is affecting their growth and distribution, as Bochheim et al.
Genomic diversity, population structure, and migration following rapid range expansion in the balsam poplar, Populus balsamifera.
Climate-driven local adaptation of ecophysiology and phonology in balsam poplar, Populus halsamifera L.