Arctic Tundra Vegetation and Soil Plot Data from Barrow, Alaska
Updated 3mo ago
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Available on 2 platforms
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Description
NASA's International Biological Program Tundra Biome dataset provides vegetation cover and environmental plot data from Barrow, Alaska. It includes percent land cover by species and plot-level data on moisture, topography, and soil properties for 43 plots established in 1972. Thirty-three of these plots were resampled in 1999, 2008, and 2010, creating a multi-decadal record for assessing ecosystem change.
Use Cases
Analyzing long-term changes in tundra plant species composition and percent cover across four sampling decades.
Modeling relationships between vegetation cover and environmental variables like soil moisture, pH, texture, and topographic position.
Assessing the impact of microtopographic features (e.g., polygons) on coastal tundra ecosystem structure.
Calibrating or validating remote sensing land cover classifications for Arctic regions using detailed ground-truth plot data.
Strengths
Provides a rare long-term ecological record with resampling of the same 33 plots across four time points (1972, 1999, 2008, 2010).
Cross-platform presence on Data.gov and NASA EarthData signals its importance and curation by a major institution.
Limitations
Specific column names and the total row count are not provided by any source, limiting precise structural understanding.
Sources conflict on the last updated date: Data.gov lists 2026-03-13 (likely a placeholder), while NASA EarthData lists 2010-08-01.
The license is specified only as 'other-license-specified' on Data.gov, requiring further investigation for reuse terms.
Provenance
Source
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), International Biological Program (IBP) U.S. Tundra Biome Program.
Collection Method
Field plot assessments for estimated percent land cover by species and measurement of environmental variables.
Time Range
1972-2010
Freshness
2010-08-01 23:59:59.999000
Geography
Barrow, Alaska, North Slope, coastal tundra characterized by polygons, ponds, and lakes.
License details are unclear ('other-license-specified'); users must verify terms before redistribution. The 2026 update date on Data.gov is anomalous and likely incorrect.