Arrigetch Peaks Arctic Vegetation Plots with Environmental Data

Arctic vegetation and environmental data from 439 study plots in the Gates of the Arctic National Park, Alaska, collected between 1978 and 1981. Plots range from 1 to 50 square meters across 13 habitat types in the glaciated Endicott Mountains. This dataset, compiled by NASA, uses the Braun-Blanquet system to describe species cover alongside plot characteristics like elevation and aspect.

Use Cases

• Analyzing plant species composition and cover across 13 distinct Arctic habitat types.
• Modeling relationships between vegetation and environmental factors like elevation, aspect, and soil cover.
• Studying long-term vegetation change in the central Brooks Range by providing a historical baseline from 1978-1981.
• Classifying Arctic alpine habitats based on standardized Braun-Blanquet survey data.

Strengths

• Contains data from 439 spatially distinct study plots, providing good sample density.
• Covers a wide variety of 13 habitat types across a glaciated landscape.
• Uses the standardized Braun-Blanquet system for species description, enabling ecological comparison.

Limitations

• Key structural details like column names, row count, and exact file size are unavailable from all sources.
• Conflicting last updated dates: NASA Earthdata lists 1981-04-30, while Data.gov lists 2026-03-13 (likely a metadata refresh).

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Collection Method

Field surveys conducted at the Arrigetch Peaks research site.

Time Range

1978 to 1981

Freshness

2026-03 13 10:30:05.223462

Geography

Arrigetch Peaks, Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve, Endicott Mountains, central Brooks Range, Alaska, USA