Arctic Vegetation Plot Data from Barrow, Alaska 2012

Vegetation cover and environmental data from 48 one-square-meter plots on the Barrow Environmental Observatory in Alaska. The dataset was collected in 2012 by the U.S. Department of Energy's NGEE-Arctic Project to study ecosystem responses to climate change. Plots are categorized by their location within ice wedge polygon features: center, edge, or trough.

Use Cases

• Analyzing vegetation community composition across distinct ice wedge polygon micro-topographies (center, edge, trough).
• Modeling relationships between plant cover and geomorphic features in a polygonal tundra landscape.
• Providing baseline ecological data for studies on Arctic ecosystem response to environmental change.
• Correlating species-specific vegetation data with environmental plot measurements.

Strengths

• Data collection follows a structured design with 48 homogenous plots established along two perpendicular transects.
• Plots are explicitly geolocated within distinct ice wedge polygon features (center, edge, trough), enabling micro-habitat analysis.
• Dataset is part of the larger, well-documented U.S. DOE NGEE-Arctic Project.

Limitations

• Column names and specific environmental variables are not listed in any provided source description.
• Sources conflict on the last updated date, with one listing 2012-07-21 and others listing 2026-03 13.
• Exact row count and file size are unknown.

Provenance

Source

U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Next-Generation Ecosystem Experiment (NGEE) Arctic Project.

Collection Method

Field data collected from 48 established 1m x 1m plots in homogenous plant communities.

Time Range

2012

Freshness

2026-03-13 10:28:14.796108

Geography

Barrow Environmental Observatory (BEO), Barrow, Alaska.