Arctic Vegetation Plots in Burned and Unburned Tundra, Alaska, 2011-2012

This dataset provides environmental and vegetation data collected in late June and July of 2011 and of 2012 from study plots located in tundra fire scars and adjacent unburned tundra areas on the Seward Peninsula and the northern foothills of the Brooks Range in Arctic Alaska. The surveys focused on upland tundra settings and provide information on vegetative differences between the burned and unburned sites. The sampling design established a chronosequence of sites that varied in time since last fire to better understand post-fire vegetation successional trajectories. Complete species lists and their cover abundance data are provided for both study areas. Environmental data include the baseline plot descriptive information for vegetation, soils, and site factors. No soil samples were collected.

This dataset includes two data files in *.csv format and one companion file containing selected vegetation plot photos.

This dataset provides environmental and vegetation data collected in late June and July of 2011 and of 2012 from study plots located in tundra fire scars and adjacent unburned tundra areas on the Seward Peninsula and the northern foothills of the Brooks Range in Arctic Alaska. The surveys focused on upland tundra settings and provide information on vegetative differences between the burned and unburned sites. The sampling design established a chronosequence of sites that varied in time since last fire to better understand post-fire vegetation successional trajectories. Complete species lists and their cover abundance data are provided for both study areas. Environmental data include the baseline plot descriptive information for vegetation, soils, and site factors. No soil samples were collected.

The Pre-ABoVE vegetation plot datasets were curated to create the Alaska Arctic Vegetation Archive (AVA-AK; Walker et al. 2016b, Walker 2013). The AVA-AK is a regional database that is part of the larger Arctic Vegetation Archive (Walker 2016a, Walker et al. 2013, Walker and Raynolds 2011).  The database contains vegetation plots from homogeneous plant communities with tables of cover or cover-abundance scores for all species and accompanying environmental site data.  Field data were collected using Braun-Blanquet, US National Vegetation Classification protocols, or comparable methods.

Project: Arctic-Boreal Vulnerability Experiment (ABoVE)

The Arctic-Boreal Vulnerability Experiment (ABoVE) iis a NASA Terrestrial Ecology Program field campaign that will take place in Alaska and western Canada between 2016 and 2021. Climate change in the Arctic and Boreal region is unfolding faster than anywhere else on Earth. ABoVE seeks a better understanding of the vulnerability and resilience of ecosystems and society to this changing environment.

Acknowledgements:

These data files were edited by Donald A. Walker, Amy L. Breen and Lisa A. Druckenmiller at the University of Alaska Fairbanks' Alaska Geobotany Center and obtained via the Arctic Geoecological Atlas (http://arcticatlas.geobotany.org/), which provides access to existing Arctic vegetation plot and map data in support of the ABoVE campaign.  

Spatial Coverage: Northern foothills of the Brooks Range and the Seward Peninsula, Alaska

Domain: Core ABoVE

State/territory: Alaska

Grid cells:  Ah0Av0, Ah1Av0, Ah0Av1, Ah1Av1

Region: Northern Alaska

Spatial Resolution: Point

Temporal Coverage:  20110714 - 20120730

Temporal Resolution: annual

Study Area:  (All latitude and longitude given in decimal degrees)

Site	Westernmost Longitude	Easternmost Longitude	Northernmost Latitude	Southernmost Latitude
North Slope and Seward Peninsula, Alaska	-164.686	-146.645	70.0887	65.361

 

Data File Information

There are two data files with this dataset in comma-separated (.csv) format. The files provide plot environmental data, vegetation species as well as the percent ground cover occupied by the species.

Missing numeric data are reported as -9999 and missing text is reported as not available (n/a).

 

Table 1. Data and Companion Files

Data File Name	Description
tundra_fire_veg_plots_environmental_data.csv	Environmental characterization data
tundra_fire_veg_plots_species_data.csv	Species cover data in comma separated (.csv) format. Both the author's determination and the current taxonomy according to the Panarctic Species List (PASL)
Companion File
Tundra_Fire_Veg_Plots_Photos.pdf	Collection of vegetation plot and transect photos.

 

Data Descriptions: The column names, their units, and descriptions for each of the .csv data files are listed below. 
 

Table 2. Data file tundra_fire_veg_plots_environmental_data.csv

User notes: 

• Several of the environmental data variables are all missing values. For instance, no soil samples were collected. These and other variables are included for completeness and consistency with other vegetation plot datasets and with Turboveg.
• Several fire-related variables are located near the end of the file.

Variable	Units/format	Description
RELEVE_NUMBER		Releve number
FIELD_RELEVE_NUMBER		Author's plot number or code if it differs from the reference for the species table.
LOCATION		Brief description of fire or unburned sampling area
DATE	yyyymmdd	Date plot was investigated
RELEVE_AREA_SQ_M	M2	Area of the relevé (m2). The field is left blank to indicate the plot had no boundaries or no estimate of the sampled area. -1 for irregular shape.
RELEVE_SHAPE		Shape of the relevé area. Necessary for judgements on ‘edge effects’. square (S), rectangle (R), linear/band-forming (L), circular (O), irregular (I), more subplots combined (C), unknown (not-recorded) (N).
COVERSCALE	%	Cover abundance scale. Percentage (%)
REPEAT_SAMPLED		Has the relevé been sampled more than once? (Y or N). Will change over time.
COLLECTION		Method used to collect vegetation-plot data. relevé (R), other (O).
COLLECTION_METHOD		If data were not collected using the relevé method, specify collection method and source.
SYNTAXON_CODE		Syntaxon name according to the Braun-Blanquet School. [All data are missing]
SYSTEM_FOR_PLANT_COMMUNITY_NAME		Field community name (FLD_NM)
PLANT_COMMUNITY_NAME		Original plant community name used by the author. Will specify the source of the name in the previous field.
AUTHOR_CODE		Breen, A.
REFERENCE_FOR_ SPECIES_DATA		Amy Breen
TABLE_NUMBER_FOR_SPECIES_DATA		Table number(s) in which species data occur in the reference for species data. [All data are missing]
NUMBER_OF_RELEVE_IN_TABLE		Relevé number in the species table in the reference for species data. [All data are missing]
REFERENCE_FOR_ENVIRONMENTAL_DATA		Main publication or data report from which the species data were taken. Amy Breen
TABLE_NUMBER_FOR_ENVIRONMENTAL_DATA		If environmental data are from a table, indicate table number(s) from the reference for environmental data. [All data are missing]
SUBZONE	BIOCLIMATIC_ SUBZONE	Arctic tundra bioclimate zone. Subzone A (A), Subzone B (B), Subzone C (C), Subzone D (D), Subzone E (E), Treeless Oceanic Boreal (O), Forest-Tundra Transition (FT), Boreal (BO)
COUNTRY_CODE		US
DATASET		TFIRE_AB
REGION		Region as indicated by author. For example, could be land management unit, national park, or mountain range.
PHYSIOGRAPHIC_DIVISION		Physiographic divisions.
PHYSIOGRAPHIC_REGION_SOURCE		Source used for physiographic division.
GEOREFERENCE	yes	Are the relevés georeferenced? (Y or N).
GEOREFERENCE_SOURCE	GPS	Georeference source. GPS (GPS), Google Earth (GE), map (MAP), aerial photograph (PHOTO), None (NONE).
GEOREFERENCE_ACCURACY_M		Accuracy of georeference as recorded by GPS (m). If source differs, approximate accuracy (m).
LATITUDE	Decimal degrees	Latitude of the center of the plots
LONGITUDE	Decimal degrees	Longitude of the center of the plots
ALTITUDE_M	m	Elevation of relevé (m).
SLOPE_DEGREES	degrees	Slope of relevé (degrees).
ASPECT_DEGREES	degrees	Aspect of relevé (degrees). Aspect is measured counterclockwise in degrees from 0 (due north) to 360 (again due north, coming full circle). As a convention, use 360 degrees for north.
TOPOGRAPHIC_POSITION		flat elevated plain (includes plateaus and elevated river terraces) (EL_PLN); hill crest (CRST); shoulder (SHLD); backslope (BACK); footslope (includes toeslopes) (FOOT); flat low plain (LW_PLN); riparian zone (includes active floodplains, drainage channels, water tracks) (RIPZN); lake or pond (LAKE).
SURFICIAL_GEOLOGY		Parent material.
HABITAT_TYPE		Tentative Braun-Blanquet habitat as defined by classes.
SITE_MOISTURE		Site moisture.   dry (DRY), moist (MST), wet (WET), aquatic/emergent (AQU), unknown (not recorded) (N).
DISTURBANCE		natural vegetation (NAT) or anthropologically disturbed (DIS).
ORGANIC_LAYER_DEPTH_CM	cm	Depth of organic layer (cm). [All data are missing]
SOIL_TEXTURE_TOP_MINERAL_HORIZON		Field estimate of texture at the top of the mineral horizon. Broad categories: gravel (GRV), sand (SND), silt (SLT), clay (CLY), loam (LOM), organic (if no mineral soil within the active layer) (ORG). All -9999
SOIL_PH_at_10_cm		pH of the soil within the plots. [All data are missing]
MOSSES_IDENTIFIED	y	Mosses identified? (Y or N).
LIVERWORTS_IDENTIFIED	y	Liverworts identified? (Y or N).
LICHENS_IDENTIFIED	y	Lichens identified? (Y or N).
VASCULAR_PLANT_TAXONOMIC_QUALITY		Subjective assessment of floristic quality by the party that submitted the plot. highest (1), high (2), high but incomplete (3), moderate (4), moderate and incomplete (5), low (6). ? Code=2
CRYPTOGAM_TAXONOMIC_QUALITY		Subjective assessment of taxonomic quality of the cryptogam data by the party that submitted the plot. highest (1), high (2), high but incomplete (3), moderate (4), moderate and incomplete (5), low (6). ?Code=2
COVER_TREE_LAYER_PERCENT		Tree cover (%). [All data are missing]
COVER_SHRUB_LAYER_PERCENT		Total shrub cover (%). [All data are missing]
COVER_TALL_SHRUBS_PERCENT	%	Percent of plot covered with tall shrubs. [All data are missing]
COVER_LOW_SHRUBS_PERCENT	%	Percent of plot covered with low shrubs. [All data are missing]
COVER_ERECT_DWARF_SHRUBS_PERCENT	%	Erect dwarf-shrub cover (%). [All data are missing]
COVER_PROSTRATE_DWARF_SHRUBS_PERCENT		Prostrate dwarf-shrub cover (%). [All data are missing]
COVER_GRAMINOIDS_PERCENT	%	Total graminoid cover (%).
COVER_TUSSOCK_GRAMINOIDS_PERCENT	%	Tussock graminoid cover (%). [All data are missing]
COVER_FORBS_PERCENT	%	Forb cover (%). [All data are missing]
COVER_SEEDLESS_VASCULAR_PLANTS_PERCENT		Seedless vascular plant (ferns, horsetails, club mosses) cover (%). [All data are missing]
COVER_MOSSES_LIVERWORTS_PERCENT	%	Bryophyte cover (%). [All data are missing]
COVER_LICHEN_LAYER_PERCENT	%	Lichen cover (%). [All data are missing]
COVER_CRUST		Biological soil crust cover (%). [All data are missing]
COVER_ALGAE_LAYER		Algae cover (%). [All data are missing]
COVER_BARE_SOIL	%	Bare soil, or unvegetated (%).
COVER_BARE_ROCK_PERCENT		Rock cover (%). [All data are missing]
COVER_OPEN_WATER_PERCENT	%	Water cover (%).
COVER_LITTER_LAYER_PERCENT		Litter cover (%).
COVER_TOTAL_PERCENT	%	Relative cover of vegetation (%). [All data are missing]
MEAN_CANOPY_HEIGHT_CM	cm	Mean height of the canopy within the stand (cm). [All data are missing]
MEAN_TREE_LAYER_HEIGHT_M	m	Mean height of the tree layer (m). [All data are missing]
MEAN_SHRUB_LAYER_HEIGHT_CM	cm	Mean height of upper shrub layer including tall and low shrubs (cm). [All data are missing]
MEAN_HERB_LAYER_HEIGHT_CM	cm	Mean height of herb layer including graminoids, forbs and dwarf shrubs (cm). [All data are missing]
MEAN_MOSS_LAYER_HEIGHT_CM	cm	Mean thickness of the moss layer including live and dead moss (cm). [All data are missing]
TIME_SINCE_LAST_FIRE	years	Year since last file. Unburned plots set to 250 years.
TIMES_BURNED		Number of time a plot has burned. Zero for unburned.
SUBSTRATE_BURN_SEVERITY		Very low, low, moderate, or high
VEGETATION_BURN_SEVERITY		Very low, low, moderate, or high
EVIDENCE_OF_FIRE_ON_TUSSOCKS		Yes or no
LIVE_SHRUB_CANOPY_HEIGHT_CM	cm	Height of the live shrub canopy (cm).
DEAD_SHRUB_CANOPY_HEIGHT_CM	cm	Height of the dead shrub canopy (cm).
GRAMINOID_CANOPY_HEIGHT_CM	cm	Height of the graminoid canopy (cm).
NUMBER_OF_LIVE_TUSSOCKS		Number of live tussocks in plot.
NUMBER_OF_DEAD_TUSSOCKS		Number of dead tussocks in plot.
SITE_MOISTURE		Site moisture: dry (DRY), moist (MST), wet (WET), aquatic/emergent (AQU), unknown or not recorded (N).
SITE_CONTOUR		Site contour. Shape of the surrounding landscape.
COVER_DOWN_DEAD_WOOD_PERCENT	%	Down dead wood cover (%)
COVER_STANDING_DEAD_WOOD_PERCENT	%	Standing dead wood cover (%)
REMARKS		Comments, if needed.

 

Table 3. Variables in the file tundra_fire_veg_plots_species_data.csv

User notes:

• The source of these data is personal communication from the author, although the North Slope plot data were published in a table in an online supplement to Jones et al. (2013). Species cover data are by percentage. Both the author's determination and the current taxonomy according to the Panarctic Species List (PASL) are listed. Taxa are listed in alphabetical order according to the accepted PASL name.
• The plot numbers are the author’s field plot numbers. The field plot numbers indicate the region sampled (NS=North Slope, SP=Seward Peninsula), fire scar sampled (abbreviated), and the number of the plot within the region sampled. Also provided are the Turboveg database accession number.

Column Numbers	Column Name	Description
1	PASL_TAXON_SCIENTIFIC_NAME_NO_AUTHORS	Current Taxonomy according to the Panarctic Species List (PASL)
2	PASL_TAXON_SCIENTIFIC_NAME_WITH_AUTHOR(S)	Current Taxonomy according to the Panarctic Species List (PASL) includng authors names
3	DATASET_TAXON	Dataset taxonomy
4 to 68	Column headings are vegetation plots. See Vegetation plot name to location lookup -- Table 4.	Species cover data are given as percentage.

Derived regional maps of these data will be used in regional models of fluxes of trace gases, water, and energy from tundra surfaces.

No specific quality assessment information provided. 

Study Areas

The vegetation associated with tundra fire scars and adjacent unburned areas on the Seward Peninsula and northern foothills of the Brooks Range in Arctic Alaska was surveyed in the field during late June and July 2011 and 2012.

The surveys focused on upland tundra settings and provide information on vegetative differences between burned and unburned sites. Unburned sites were selected that were moist tussock tundra dominated by tussock cottongrass, Eriophorum vaginatum, which is the most commonly burned vegetation community in Arctic Alaska. The burned sites were selected in areas of similar elevation and topography that were inferred to be moist tussock tundra pre-fire based on the presence and abundance of live or dead E. vaginatum tussocks. The tussocks, especially in the younger fire scars, showed evidence of charring at their base.

The sampling design established a chronosequence of sites that vary in time since last fire to better understand post-fire vegetation successional trajectories. While we cannot be certain plant communities followed the same post-fire successional pathway in this space-for-time substitution, we use the chronosequence approach as an exploratory method given there are few direct repeat post-fire observations in Arctic Alaska. Assessment of vegetation succession along the century-scale chronosequence of tundra are disturbances demonstrated for the first time on the North Slope of Alaska that tundra fires can facilitate the invasion of tundra by shrubs.

Figure 2. Locations of vegetation plots across the North Slope - Brooks Range and the Seward Peninsula.

 

Table 4. Vegetation plot name to location lookup table.  The FIELD_RELEVE_NUMBER is composed of these 3 elements:  Region_fire-abbreviation_Plot  (e.g., NS-MEA-15 and NS-UNB-21)

Region of Alaska	Fire abbreviation or UNB (unburned)	Plot(s)	REGION	LOCATION	Latitude (approx.)	Longitude (approx.)
NS	UNB	4-5	Arctic Foothills of the Brooks Range	Unburned tundra adjacent to Anaktuvuk River Fire	69.229	-151.166
NS	UNB	20-21	Arctic Foothills of the Brooks Range	Unburned tundra adjacent to DCKN Fire	69.967	-159.25
NS	AR	1-3	Arctic Foothills of the Brooks Range	Anaktuvuk River Fire	69.277	-150.716
NS	DCKN	17-19	Arctic Foothills of the Brooks Range	DCKN Fire	69.978	-159.083
NS	KOK	11-13	Arctic Foothills of the Brooks Range	Kokolik River fire	69.536	-161.869
NS	KET	8-10	Arctic Foothills of the Brooks Range	Ketik River Fire	70.089	-159.572
NS	MEA	14-16	Arctic Foothills of the Brooks Range	Meade River Fire	70.083	-157.156
NS	CHA	6-7	Arctic Foothills of the Brooks Range	Chandler River Fire	69.409	-151.499
SP	DEL	1-10	Seward Peninsula	Delome-71 Fire	65.46	-164.67
SP	MP2	11-15	Seward Peninsula	Milepost 85 Fire, Kougarok Road	65.43	-164.63
SP	MP3	16-20	Seward Peninsula	Milepost 85 Fire, Kougarok Road	65.43	-164.63
SP	FC	29-38	Seward Peninsula	Fish Creek Fire	65.85	-160.4
SP	FCU	39-43	Seward Peninsula	Fish Creek Unknown Fire	65.855	-160.41

 

Vegetation Plots

On the Seward Peninsula, 43 plots were established in tundra fire and unburned areas. Plots were 1 x 1 m in areas of homogenous vegetation. Complete species lists and their cover abundance were recorded along with baseline plot descriptive information for vegetation, soils, and site factors.

On the North Slope, 21 plots were surveyed for vegetation and baseline plot descriptive information for vegetation, soils, and site factors. Plant species and height were recorded every 1 m along 30 m transects. All taxa that touched the sampling pin were recorded as “hits”. Species adjacent to the transect, but not encountered, were also recorded. Percent cover was calculated by dividing the number of hits for each taxa by the total number of points along each transect. The taxa that were not encountered along the transect were given a rare cover abundance so that these plots also have complete species lists.

All but two plots occur in the habitat type, “Moist to wet acidic tussock and nontussock (Eriophorum vaginatum-Carex bigelowii-Sphagnum-Hylocomium) tundra”.  The other two plots most closely resemble the “Moist nonacidic tundra (Sedge-Dryas-Tomentypnum communities)” habitat type, although there is evidence (dead tussocks) these plots were dominated by tussock tundra pre-fire.

Figure 3. Vegetation plot (SP-FC-37) at Fish Creek Fire site, eastern Seward Peninsula.

Survey Results

Original data from the northern foothills of the Brooks Range were published as part of a study of vegetation and permafrost-terrain characteristics that identified two large previously unrecognized tundra fires (Jones et al. 2013). Breen (2015) summarized her results from the Seward Peninsula and presented them at the American Geophysical Union’s annual fall meeting.

This dataset was edited and processed by Dr. Amy Breen and Lisa Druckenmiller and provided by the GINA repository at  http://agc.portal.gina.alaska.edu/plot-archive/plot-datasets/34-tundra-fires

 

Breen, A. L., T. Hollingsworth, M. Mack, B. Jones. Succession Stages of Tundra Plant Communities Following Wildfire Disturbance in Arctic Alaska. Abstract # B31C-0567. 2015 Fall Meeting, American Geophysical Union. San Francisco, California. December 2015.

Jones, B. M., A. L. Breen, B. V. Gaglioti, D. H. Mann, A. V. Rocha, G. Grosse, C. D. Arp & D. A. Walker. 2013. Identification of unrecognized tundra fire events on the North Slope of Alaska. Journal of Geophysical Research 118: doi:10.1002/jgrg.20113