Wetland Soils and Vegetation, Arctic Foothills, Alaska

Wetland Soils and Vegetation, Arctic Foothills, Alaska PDF

Author: Marilyn Walker

Publisher:

Published: 1989

Total Pages: 89

ISBN-13:

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Analyses of relationships between hydric soils and wetland plant species were made at a site in the northern foothills of the Brooks Range, Alaska, as part of a cooperative effort between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Soil Conservation Service to develop methods for field identification of wetlands and hydric soils. The site is considered to be representative of broad regions of acidic tussock tundra in the foothills. Seven soil types (subgroups) were identified at the site. All except two are considered hydric.

Soils of the Howard Pass Area, Northern Alaska

Soils of the Howard Pass Area, Northern Alaska PDF

Author: E. E. MacNamara

Publisher:

Published: 1964

Total Pages: 274

ISBN-13:

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The study is an attempt to arrange a mappable presentation of the distribution of soils and soil conditions in a region of the Arctic in which little previous pedologic information was available. This was accomplished by field investigations during the 1961, 1962, and 1963 summer seasons, and by partial characterization of soil individuals through use of chemical, physical, and mineralogical techniques in the laboratory. The findings of this report are presented in chapter form. Chapter One includes a brief description of the area of primary study, the Howard Pass Quadrangle. As they are known, the bedrock geology, surficial geology, physiography, climate, an vegetation are presented. Chapter Two is composed of literature reviews and discussions of soil mapping attempts in the Alaskan Arctic, frost phenomena, the soil-vegetation relationships, aerial photographic interpretation for soil mapping purposes, and the recognized genetic soil groupings. Definitions and descriptions of the individual mapping units and the primary legend are also included in Chapter Two. Chapter Three includes maps of soil distribution and discussions of the maps. Chapter Four is morphological, chemical, and physical data accumulated in the study and its interpretation. Chapter Five presents supplementary studies from areas other than the Howard Pass Quadrangle. (Author).

Soil Surface Organic Layers in the Arctic Foothills

Soil Surface Organic Layers in the Arctic Foothills PDF

Author: Carson A. Baughman

Publisher:

Published: 2013

Total Pages: 94

ISBN-13:

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Accumulated organic matter at the ground surface plays an important role in Arctic ecosystems. These soil surface organic layers (SSOLs) influence temperature, moisture, and chemistry in the underlying mineral soil and, on a global basis, comprise enormous stores of labile carbon. Understanding the dynamics of SSOLs is a prerequisite for modeling the responses of arctic ecosystems to climate changes. Here we ask three questions regarding SSOLs in the Arctic Foothills of northern Alaska: 1) What environmental factors control their spatial distribution? 2) How long do they take to form? 3) What is the relationship between SSOL thickness and mineral soil temperature during the growing season? Results show that the best predictors of SSOL thickness and distribution are duration of direct sunlight during the growing-season, upslope-drainage-area, slope gradient, and elevation. SSOLs begin to form within decades but require 500-700 years to reach steady-state thicknesses. SSOL formation has a positive feedback on itself by causing rapid soil cooling. Once formed, mature SSOLs lower the growing-season temperature and mean annual temperature of underlying mineral soils by 8° and 3° C, respectively, which reduces growing degree days by 78%. How climate change in northern Alaska will affect the region's SSOLs is an open and potentially crucial question.

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