Arctic Vegetation Archive - Canada: High Arctic Canada, Mould Bay, Prince Patrick Island Vegetation Plots.
The vegetation at Mould Bay on Prince Patrick Island, Canada was studied as part of a multi-year project focused on patterned-ground plant communities. Patterned ground includes circles, polygons, nets, hummocks, and other features caused by differential freezing processes in soils. Vegetation plot data were collected at Mould Bay, during July 18-24, 2004. The primary source document is a data report by Munger et al. (2005). An analysis and summary of all the High Arctic Canada sites (Green Cabin, Banks Island; Isachsen, Ellef Ringnes Island; and Mould Bay, Prince Patrick Island) are included in Vonlanthen et al. (2008). Funding for this project was provided to D. A. ‘Skip’ Walker through a U.S. National Science Foundation Grant from the Office of Polar Programs, OPP-0120736.
Thirty-nine plots were subjectively located across zonal vegetation and other major plant community types. Plot data were collected from the centers of patterned ground features and the areas between the features, and included: a) dry zonal habitat types in base rich soil (16 plots), b) mesic zonal habitats in base-rich soils (8 plots), c) coastal salt marshes (6 plots), and d) bryophyte and lichen vegetation on subcneutral and calcareous soils (9 plots).
Species cover was recorded following the old Braun-Banquet cover-abundance classes: [r (rare, single occurrence); + (multiple occurrences, less than 1% cover); 1 (1–5% cover); 2 (5–25% cover); 3 (26–50% cover); 4 (50-75% cover); 5 (75–100% cover)]. Plots were located in homogeneous areas of vegetation but did not have discrete boundaries. The approximate area required to achieve a complete species list for the community was recorded. GPS coordinates were obtained for all plots and plots were permanently marked with a stake with the plot number in the approximate center of the area surveyed. Percentage cover of plant growth forms, and additional environmental data were also recorded. Soil samples were obtained from the top mineral horizon for physical and chemical analysis. All aboveground vegetation in a 20 x 50 cm frame was clipped near the releve for plant biomass data. Photographs are available for all plots. Complete descriptions of the methods are in Munger et al. (2005) and Vonlanthen et al. (2008).
References and publications resulting from the study are included below.
References
Epstein, H. E., D. A. Walker, M. K. Raynolds, G. J. Jia, and A. M. Kelly. Phyotomass patterns across a temperature gradient of the North American arctic tundra. Journal of Geophysical Research. 113:G03S02. doi:10.1029/2007JG000555, 2008
Michelson, G. J., C. L. Ping, H. Epstein, J. M. Kimble, and D. A. Walker. 2008. Soils and frost boil ecosystems across the North American Arctic Transect. Journal of Geophysical Research 113:G03S11. doi10.1029/2007JG000672
Munger, C. A., M. K. Raynolds and D. A. Walker. 2005. Biocomplexity of Patterned Ground, July 2004 Mould Bay Expedition. Data Report. Alaska Geobotany Center, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, Alaska, USA. 62 pp.
Ping, C. L., G. J. Michelson, J. M. Kimble, V. E. Romanovsky, Y. L. Shur, D. K. Swanson, and D. A. Walker. 2008. Cryogenesis and soils formation along a bioclimate gradient in Arctic North America. Journal of Geophysical Research. 113:G03S12. doi:10.1029/2008JG000744, 2008
Raynolds, M. K., D. A. Walker, H. E. Epstein, J. E. Pinzon and C. J. Tucker. 2012. A new estimate of tundra-biome phytomass from trans-Arctic field data and AVHRR NDVI. Remote Sensing Letters, 3:403-411. doi:10.1080/01431161.2011.609188
Vonlanthen, C. M., D. A. Walker, M. K. Raynolds, A. Kade, P. Kuss, F. J. A. Daniëls, and N. V. Matveyeva. 2008. Patterned-Ground Plant Communities along a bioclimate gradient in the High Arctic, Canada. Phytocoenologia. 38:23-63.
Walker, D. A., H. E. Epstein, V. E. Romanovsky, C. L. Ping, G. J. Michaelson, R. P. Daanen, Y. Shur, R. A. Peterson, W. B. Krantz, M. K. Raynolds, W. A. Gould, G. Gonzalez, D. J. Nicolsky, C. M. Vonlanthen, A. N. Kade, P. Kuss, A. M. Kelley, C. A. Munger, C. T. Tarnocai, N. V. Matveyeva, and F. J. A. Daniëls. 2008. Arctic patterned-ground ecosystems: A synthesis of field studies and models along a North American Arctic Transect. Journal of Geophysical Research. 113:G03S01. doi:10.1029/2007JG000504, 2008
Walker, D. A., M. K. Raynolds, and W. A. Gould. 2008. Fred Daniëls, Subzone A, and the North American Arctic Transect. Abhandlungen aus dem Westfälischen Museum for Naturkunde 70:387-400.
Walker, D. A., P. Kuss, H. E. Epstein, A. N. Kade, C. M. Vonlanthen, M.K. Raynolds and F. J. A. Daniëls. 2011. Vegetation of zonal patterned-ground ecosystems along the North America Arctic bioclimate gradient. Applied Vegetation Science 14:440-463.
Walker, D. A., H. E. Epstein, M. K. Raynolds, P. Kuss, M. A. Kopecky, G. V. Frost, F. J. A. Daniëls, M. O. Leibman, N. G. Moskalenko, G. V. Matyshak, O. V. Khitun, A. V. Khomutov, B. C. Forbes, U. S. Bhatt, A. N. Kade, C. M. Vonlanthen, and L. Tichy. 2012. Environment, vegetation and greenness (NDVI) along the North America and Eurasia Arctic transects. Environmental Research Letters, 7:17pp. doi:10.1088/1748-9326/7/1/015504
