Wei, Linfeng; Kruse, Stefan: Circular Survey of Forest and Shrub Layer Vegetation Cover in Alaskan Boreal Forests in Summer 2023 [dataset]. PANGAEA, https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.996781 (dataset in review)
Abstract:
Vegetation surveys were carried out in Alaska. The study area is within the boreal forest biome and is partially underlain by permafrost soils . The aim was to record the projective ground vegetation in different boreal forest types studied during the AK-Land_2023_Alaska_forests field campaign in June and July 2023. Projective cover of tall shrubs and trees was estimated on 15-m radius circular plots directly, with "tall" referring to plants which are mainly >40 cm in height and do not belong to the group of typical ground-cover plants like grasses or dwarf shrubs. Vegetation cover was assessed using a modified Braun–Blanquet approach. The categories r and + were converted to 0.05% and 0.1% cover, respectively, whereas cover values of 0.5–100% were recorded directly as estimated percentages rather than as categorical Braun–Blanquet score. In total 24 forest plots were investigated. All data were collected by scientists from the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI) Germany, and the University of Potsdam Germany.
Related to:
Lehmann, Linnea; Andreev, Andrei A; Herzschuh, Ulrike; Kruse, Stefan (2026): Relationship of modern terrestrial pollen to climate and vegetation in north-western America. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, 354, 105682, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.revpalbo.2026.105682
Project(s):
Coverage:
Median Latitude: 64.439404 * Median Longitude: -148.212382 * South-bound Latitude: 60.945766 * West-bound Longitude: -150.432367 * North-bound Latitude: 67.557225 * East-bound Longitude: -144.952864
Date/Time Start: 2023-06-22T00:00:00 * Date/Time End: 2023-07-15T00:00:00
Minimum Elevation: 117.0 m * Maximum Elevation: 962.0 m
Event(s):
EN23601 * Latitude: 61.136366 * Longitude: -149.703038 * Date/Time: 2023-06-22T00:00:00 * Elevation: 418.0 m * Location: Southcentral Alaska, USA * Campaign: AK-Land_2023_Alaska_Forests (Forest Change Northwest America Leg I) * Basis: AWI Arctic Land Expedition * Method/Device: Vegetation survey (VEGSUR) * Comment: Plot for full vegetation survey; Open mountain forest + shrubs + dense ground vegetation; Chugach State Park (Alaska)
EN23602 * Latitude: 60.945766 * Longitude: -149.365874 * Date/Time: 2023-06-23T00:00:00 * Elevation: 173.0 m * Location: Southcentral Alaska, USA * Campaign: AK-Land_2023_Alaska_Forests (Forest Change Northwest America Leg I) * Basis: AWI Arctic Land Expedition * Method/Device: Vegetation survey (VEGSUR) * Comment: Plot for full vegetation survey; Disturbed forest + southwest slope + mixed forest; Chugach State Park (Alaska)
EN23604 * Latitude: 62.226281 * Longitude: -150.239867 * Date/Time: 2023-06-25T00:00:00 * Elevation: 117.0 m * Location: Southcentral Alaska, USA * Campaign: AK-Land_2023_Alaska_Forests (Forest Change Northwest America Leg I) * Basis: AWI Arctic Land Expedition * Method/Device: Vegetation survey (VEGSUR) * Comment: Plot for full vegetation survey; Near highway + slightly disturbed + black spruce dominated area + no slope + very wet; Talkeetna (Alaska)
Comment:
Taxonomic classification according to WFO Plantlist https://wfoplantlist.org/
Parameter(s):
| # | Name | Short Name | Unit | Principal Investigator | Method/Device | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Event label | Event | Wei, Linfeng | |||
| 2 | Abies lasiocarpa, cover | A. lasiocarpa cov | % | Wei, Linfeng | Plant species coverage: visual estimation | tree |
| 3 | Betula neoalaskana, cover | B. neoalaskana cov | % | Wei, Linfeng | Plant species coverage: visual estimation | tree |
| 4 | Betula papyrifera, cover | B. papyrifera cov | % | Wei, Linfeng | Plant species coverage: visual estimation | tree |
| 5 | Larix laricina, cover | L. laricina cov | % | Wei, Linfeng | Plant species coverage: visual estimation | tree |
| 6 | Picea abies, cover | P. abies cov | % | Wei, Linfeng | Plant species coverage: visual estimation | tree |
| 7 | Picea glauca, cover | P. glauca cov | % | Wei, Linfeng | Plant species coverage: visual estimation | tree |
| 8 | Picea mariana, cover | P. mariana cov | % | Wei, Linfeng | Plant species coverage: visual estimation | tree |
| 9 | Picea sitchensis, cover | P. sitchensis cov | % | Wei, Linfeng | Plant species coverage: visual estimation | tree |
| 10 | Picea sp., cover | Picea sp. cov | % | Wei, Linfeng | Plant species coverage: visual estimation | tree |
| 11 | Pinus contorta, cover | P. contorta cov | % | Wei, Linfeng | Plant species coverage: visual estimation | tree |
| 12 | Pinus sp., cover | Pinus sp. cov | % | Wei, Linfeng | Plant species coverage: visual estimation | tree |
| 13 | Populus balsamifera, cover | P. balsamifera cov | % | Wei, Linfeng | Plant species coverage: visual estimation | tree |
| 14 | Populus tremuloides, cover | P. tremuloides cov | % | Wei, Linfeng | Plant species coverage: visual estimation | tree |
| 15 | Tsuga mertensiana, cover | T. mertensiana cov | % | Wei, Linfeng | Plant species coverage: visual estimation | tree |
| 16 | Betula papyrifera, standing deadwood, cover | B. papyrifera stand d cov | % | Wei, Linfeng | Plant species coverage: visual estimation | tree |
| 17 | Picea glauca, standing deadwood, cover | P. glauca stand d cov | % | Wei, Linfeng | Plant species coverage: visual estimation | tree |
| 18 | Picea mariana, standing deadwood, cover | P. mariana stand d cov | % | Wei, Linfeng | Plant species coverage: visual estimation | tree |
| 19 | Picea sp., standing deadwood, cover | Picea sp. stand d cov | % | Wei, Linfeng | Plant species coverage: visual estimation | tree |
| 20 | Pinus sp., standing deadwood, cover | Pinus sp. stand d cov | % | Wei, Linfeng | Plant species coverage: visual estimation | tree |
| 21 | Picea mariana, downed deadwood, cover | P. mariana downed d cov | % | Wei, Linfeng | Plant species coverage: visual estimation | tree |
| 22 | Pinus sp., downed deadwood, cover | Pinus sp. downed d cov | % | Wei, Linfeng | Plant species coverage: visual estimation | tree |
| 23 | Trees, standing deadwood, cover | Trees stand d cov | % | Wei, Linfeng | Plant species coverage: visual estimation | tree |
| 24 | Shrubs, standing deadwood, cover | Shrubs stan d cov | % | Wei, Linfeng | Plant species coverage: visual estimation | shrub, mainly Alnus and Salix |
| 25 | Water, cover | Water cov | % | Wei, Linfeng | Plant species coverage: visual estimation | other |
| 26 | Alnus alnobetula, cover | A. alnobetula cov | % | Wei, Linfeng | Plant species coverage: visual estimation | shrub |
| 27 | Alnus alnobetula ssp. crispa, cover | A. alnobetula ssp. crispa cov | % | Wei, Linfeng | Plant species coverage: visual estimation | shrub |
| 28 | Alnus alnobetula ssp. sinuata, cover | A. alnobetula ssp. sinuata cov | % | Wei, Linfeng | Plant species coverage: visual estimation | shrub |
| 29 | Aruncus dioicus, cover | A. dioicus cov | % | Wei, Linfeng | Plant species coverage: visual estimation | shrub |
| 30 | Betula glandulosa, cover | B. glandulosa cov | % | Wei, Linfeng | Plant species coverage: visual estimation | shrub |
| 31 | Oplopanax horridus, cover | O. horridus cov | % | Wei, Linfeng | Plant species coverage: visual estimation | shrub |
| 32 | Dasiphora fruticosa, cover | D. fruticosa cov | % | Wei, Linfeng | Plant species coverage: visual estimation | shrub |
| 33 | Rosa acicularis, cover | R. acicularis cov | % | Wei, Linfeng | Plant species coverage: visual estimation | shrub |
| 34 | Rubus idaeus, cover | R. idaeus cov | % | Wei, Linfeng | Plant species coverage: visual estimation | shrub |
| 35 | Rubus spectabilis, cover | R. spectabilis cov | % | Wei, Linfeng | Plant species coverage: visual estimation | shrub |
| 36 | Salix sp., cover | Salix sp. cov | % | Wei, Linfeng | Plant species coverage: visual estimation | shrub |
| 37 | Sambucus racemosa, cover | S. racemosa cov | % | Wei, Linfeng | Plant species coverage: visual estimation | shrub |
| 38 | Shepherdia canadensis, cover | S. canadensis cov | % | Wei, Linfeng | Plant species coverage: visual estimation | shrub |
| 39 | Sorbus aucuparia, cover | S. aucuparia cov | % | Wei, Linfeng | Plant species coverage: visual estimation | shrub |
| 40 | Spiraea cf. stevenii, cover | S. cf. stevenii cov | % | Wei, Linfeng | Plant species coverage: visual estimation | shrub |
| 41 | Viburnum edule, cover | V. edule cov | % | Wei, Linfeng | Plant species coverage: visual estimation | shrub |
License:
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC-BY-4.0) (License comes into effect after moratorium ends)
Status:
Curation Level: Enhanced curation (CurationLevelC)
Size:
800 data points