Comparison of habitats and range overlap of Alnus crispa and Alnus rugosa.

The purpose of this paper was to compare Alnus rugosa (A. incana) and Alnus crispa (A. viridis). These Alnus species are similar in successional pattern and they overlap in habitat range. Both species can inhabit newly drained wetlands and moist mixed boreal forest. They differ in several habitats types as well. Alnus crispa does not inhabit southern Michigan at all, but has been sighted in the uper peninsula of Michigan. It is well distributed in Canada in the boreal forest, moist mixed forests and bog-like areas. It is very characteristic of the edges of the northern Lake Superior shore as well. In contrast, Alnus rugosa is not very prominent along this shore. It inhabits the entire southern peninsula of Michigan and is present north into Canada. It is characteristic of wetlands and extremely moist soils of mixed woods, boreal forest, and along creeks, rivers or areas of flowing waters. I attempted to compare and contrast these plants by mainly observation. I visited numerous locations where Alnus rugosa and Alnus crispa existed and described the sites in which they inhabited by analyzing the soil, topography, climate and other species in these areas. Next, I attempted to make subjective conclusions with the observations I made using brief analyzation of literature.