Alaskan Active Layer Soil Characteristics Across Permafrost Regions

Nine locations across Alaska provide soil active layer characteristics from boreal forests, tundra, and fen sites. The dataset contains measurements of gravimetric water content, soil organic matter, pH, and bulk density from samples collected primarily in 2016. NASA compiled this data to investigate fire disturbance and span permafrost regions from continuous to sporadic.

Use Cases

• Modeling soil carbon stocks using percent soil organic matter (SOM) and bulk density columns.
• Analyzing post-fire soil recovery by comparing sites selected for fire disturbance investigation.
• Studying active layer hydrology with gravimetric water content measurements.
• Correlating soil properties like pH with vegetation types across tundra and boreal forest sites.
• Assessing spatial variability in permafrost regions using data from transects at each location.

Strengths

• Samples cover a diverse range of Alaskan vegetation types and permafrost zones.
• Soil cores were sectioned by horizon (organic and mineral) with standardized lab analysis.
• Data collection follows a structured transect method at the majority of sites.

Limitations

• Exact row count, column names, and dataset size are not provided by any source.
• Sources conflict on the last updated date: one states 2026-03-13, another states 2018-07-07.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Soil cores collected using a hand drill, kept frozen, and analyzed in lab for water content, SOM, pH, and bulk density.

Time Range

2016-2018

Freshness

2026-03-13

Geography

Nine selected sites across Alaska