--------------------------------------------------------------------- Happy Valley Alaska Vegetation Plot Data Alaska, USA, July, 1994 Data authors: Donald A. Walker, University of Alaska, Fairbanks Funding from: NASA's ABoVE campaign Version: 2017-03-14 Prepared by: Alison Boyer, ORNL DAAC -------------------------------------------------------------------- CONTENTS 1. Data overview 2. Use of data 3. Temporal and spatial characteristics 4. File information 5. References -------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. DATA OVERVIEW This data set provides environmental, soil, and vegetation data collected in July 1994 from 56 study plots at the Happy Valley research site, located along the Sagavanirktok River in a glaciated valley of the northern Arctic Foothills of the Brooks Range. Data includes the baseline plot information for vegetation, soils, and site factors for the study plots subjectively located in 17 plant communities that occur in 5 broad habitat types across the glaciated landscape. Specific attributes include: dominant vegetation species, cover, indices, and biomass pools; soil chemistry, physical characteristics, moisture, and organic matter. Data Uncertainty: No specific quality assessment information is provided. -------------------------------------------------------------------- 2. USE OF DATA These data are made freely available to the public and the scientific community in the belief that their wide dissemination will lead to greater understanding and new scientific insights. Please include the following citation in any publication that uses this data: Walker, D.A. 2016. Pre-ABoVE: Arctic Vegetation Plots at Happy Valley, Alaska, 1994. ORNL DAAC, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, USA. http://dx.doi.org/10.3334/ORNLDAAC/1354 -------------------------------------------------------------------- 3. TEMPORAL AND SPATIAL CHARACTERISTICS Start Date: 19940718 End Date: 19940731 Temporal resolution / sampling frequency: Each plot was sampled once Geographic location / Site boundaries: Westernmost Longitude -148.8685 Easternmost Longitude -148.8205 Northernmost Latitude 69.1689 Southernmost Latitude 69.122 Site description: The fifty-six study plots at the Happy Valley research site located along the Sagavanirktok River in northern Alaska (shown in Figure 2) were subjectively located in 17 plant communities and 5 broad habitat types including: dry tundra (including river terraces and frost scars) (10 plots), snowbeds (2 plots), moist tundra (including acidic tussock tundra and nonacidic tundra) (14 plots), shrublands (including riparian alders, riparian willow communities, and dwarf-birch shrub tundra) (16 plots), and wet tundra (including fens, poor fens, and aquatic marshes) (14 plots). Spatial resolution: point samples -------------------------------------------------------------------- 4. FILE INFORMATION File format: comma-separated text (.csv) File-naming convention: Happy_Valley_Environmental_Data.csv Column headings and descriptions: Column Name Units Description FIELD_PLOT_NUMBER Field plot number PRINCIPAL_HABITAT Principal habitat in the plot PRELIMINARY_COMMUNITY_NAME Preliminary vegetation type within the plots based on habitat and dominant species PLANT_COMMUNITY Primary vegetation types MICROSITE Detailed description of microsite within the plots DATE_SAMPLED YYYYMMDD Sampling date LATITUDE DD Latitude of the center of the plots LONGITUDE DD Longitude of the center of the plots LANDFORM Landform of the plots LANDFORM_DESC Description of landforms of the plots SURFICIAL_GEOLOGY Surficial geology of the plots SURFICIAL_GEOLOGY_DESC Description of surficial geology of the plots SURFICIAL_GEOMORPHOLOGY Surficial geomorphology of the plots SURFICIAL_GEOMORPHOLOGY_DESC Description of surficial geomorphology of the plots MICROSITE_CODE Microsite of the plots MICROSITE_DESC Description of microsite of the plots GLACIAL_GEOLOGY Glacial geology of the plots GLACIAL_GEOLOGY_DESC Description of glacial geology of the plots TOPOGRAPHIC_POSITION Topographic position of the plots TOPOGRAPHIC_POSITION Description of the topographic position of the plots SOIL_UNITS Soil units in the plot SOIL_UNITS_DESC Description of the soil units within the plot SLOPE Degrees Slope of the plots ASPECT Degrees Aspect of the plots -------------------------------------------------------------------- 5. REFERENCES This data supports the following publication: Walker, D. A., Auerbach, N.A., Nettleton, T.K., Gallant, A., Murphy, S.M. 1997. Happy Valley permanent Veletation plots: site factors,physical and chemical soil properties, plant species cover, photographs, soil descriptions and ordination. Data Report for DOE R4D Program, Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, University of Boulder, CO.