A Hierarchic GIS for Studies of Process, Pattern and Scale in Arctic Ecosystems

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This component of the Arctic System Science (ARCSS) Land/Atmosphere/Ice Interactions (LAII) Flux Study research will (1) develop Geographic Information System (GIS) databases at five scales (1:10, 1:500, 1:5000, 1:25,000, and 1:250,000) and at five sites; (2) develop an understanding of the relationship between vegetation signals and key terrain parameters; and (3) develop a method to use remotely-sensed images and GIS variables to distinguish key vegetation parameters for spatial models of trace-gas fluxes. One task will be the development of methane and CO2 flux maps at multiple scales of the Toolik Lake-Imnavait Creek region, using; (1) an empirical approach based on field measurements of trace-gas fluxes in a hierarchy of vegetation types, and (2) a modeled approach using a variety of remotely sensed satellite data. Measurements of vegetation, biomass, soil, site, and spectral reflectance characteristics will be made at permanent study plots representing the majority of landscape variation. Trace-gas measurements by other investigators at the same sites and GIS databases will be used to extrapolate this information to landscape and regional scales. Permanently marked 1 x 1 km grids at the five study areas will be used as a sampling framework for much of this research (e.g. monitoring trends in species composition and canopy structure in relation to landscape variables and climate change) and other research within the project. Data from GIS databases will also be used by other investigators in hydrology models, terrain models of trace-gas fluxes, and algorithms to scale plot-level measurements to regional scales.