The Toolik Lake grid map focuses on the 1.2-km2 research grid on the south side of Toolik Lake. This area is one of the principal intensive research areas at the Toolik Lake Field Station. It includes many experimental research sites where long-term observations and experiments are being conducted, including the greenhouse and snow-fence experiments. The grid was constructed in 1989 to provide geographic referencing for experimental plots and to provide a sampling scheme for periodic measurements of snow, active layer and plant communities.
Sixty-five plant communities were recognized (minimum mapping unit approximately 2.5 m2) in the field (GIS codes are in the second column of the legend) and were then grouped into the 24 units appearing on the map. The vegetation units are primarily at the plant-community level (compared to the physiognomic level for the maps of the Upper Kuparuk River Region and the Toolik Lake Area). Several of the dominant plant communities in the Toolik Lake area are shown in the photos (Fig. 10-16). Details of the methods, sources for aerial photos, orthophoto topographic map, cross-reference to the Braun-Blanquet syntaxonomic plant community names (Walker et al. 1994) and other information are on the Arctic Geobotanical Atlas website, http://www.arcticatlas.org/.
Go to Website Link :: Toolik Arctic Geobotanical Atlas below for details on legend units, photos of map units and plant species, glossary, bibliography and links to ground data.
Map Themes:
Digital Elevation, Glaical geology, Percent Water, Surficial geology, Surficial Geomorphology, Vegetation
References
Walker, D. A., Maier, H. A. 2008. Vegetation in the Vicinity of the Toolik Lake Field Station, Alaska. Biological Papers of the University of Alaska, Institute of Arctic Biology. No. 28.
