Arctic Vegetation and Soil Data from Five Alaskan National Parks

2002-2008 environmental data from five National Park Service units in northern Alaska's Arctic Network, covering 19.5 million acres. The dataset includes soil chemistry, moisture, pH, depth, and vegetation species, cover, and disturbance metrics. Data was collected by NASA along transects within major physiographic units to represent the full vegetation range.

Use Cases

• Analyzing relationships between soil chemistry (pH, moisture, organic matter) and dominant vegetation species across different physiographic units.
• Monitoring site disturbance and vegetation cover changes in pristine Arctic parklands over a multi-year period.
• Modeling ecosystem characteristics along toposequences from riverine to alpine environments.
• Comparing floristic composition and environmental conditions across replicated sampling sites within the Arctic Network.

Strengths

• Covers a large, significant geographic area of 19.5 million acres across five protected Alaskan parks.
• Sampling design targeted replication and uniformity to represent the full range of vegetation and environmental conditions.
• Includes multi-faceted measurements spanning soil chemistry, physical characteristics, moisture, organic matter, and detailed vegetation attributes.

Limitations

• Key technical details like row count, file size, and specific column names are unavailable across all sources.
• Conflicting last updated dates: DataGov lists 2026-03-13 (likely a metadata refresh), while NASA Earthdata lists 2008-08-10 (likely the actual data collection end).

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Collection Method

Field data collected at selected locations on transects along toposequences within major physiographic units.

Time Range

2002 to 2008

Freshness

Last updated dates conflict: DataGov shows 2026-03-13; NASA Earthdata shows 2008-08-10.

Geography

Five National Park Service units in northern Alaska: Bering Land Bridge National Preserve, Cape Krusenstern National Monument, Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve, Kobuk Valley National Park, Noatak National Preserve.