Arctic Willow Shrub Vegetation and Soil Plot Data, 1997

ORNL_CLOUD provides environmental, soil, and vegetation data from 85 study plots in willow shrub communities on Alaska's North Slope. The data was collected during July and August 1997 along a north-south transect from the Brooks Range to Prudhoe Bay. It serves as baseline plot information for classification, mapping, and analysis of geobotanical factors in the region.

Use Cases

• Classifying willow shrub communities using dominant vegetation species and cover data.
• Analyzing relationships between soil chemistry, organic matter, and vegetation biomass pools.
• Mapping geobotanical factors across three broad habitat types on a glaciated landscape.
• Establishing baseline conditions for vegetation indices and site factors in Arctic Alaska.

Strengths

• Contains detailed plot-level measurements from 85 subjectively located study sites.
• Integrates multiple data domains: vegetation species/cover/biomass and soil chemistry/physical characteristics/moisture.
• Covers a defined geographic transect from the Brooks Range to Prudhoe Bay, Alaska.

Limitations

• Column names and exact row counts are not specified in any source.
• Conflicting last updated dates: one source reports 1997-08-17, others report 2026-03 13 (likely a metadata refresh).
• Specific data collection and annotation methods are not detailed.

Provenance

Source

ORNL_CLOUD

Collection Method

Field data collection from subjectively located study plots.

Time Range

1997-07 to 1997-08

Freshness

2026-03-13 10:24:39.767821

Geography

North Slope of Alaska, along a north-south transect from the Brooks Range to Prudhoe Bay.