Boreal Woodland Peat Frozen Terraces

Description

The reference state has three associated plant communities. The plant communities are grouped by the structure and dominance of the vegetation (e.g., coniferous trees, deciduous trees, shrubs, and forbs) and their ecological function and stability. Plant communities in the reference state appear to be largely controlled by the influences of fire.

This report provides baseline vegetation inventory data for the ecological site. More data collection is needed to provide further information about existing plant communities and the disturbance regimes that would result in transitions from one community to another. The common and scientific plant names are from the USDA PLANTS database. All communities in this report are characterized using the Alaska Vegetation Classification (Viereck et al. 1992).

Submodel

Description

Thermokarst occurs due to thawing of permafrost after fire events. The collapse of adjacent vegetation into thermokarst depressions was commonly observed and many depressions are actively growing in size. While thermokarst can be readily observed, details related to thermokarst succession are poorly understood. The thermokarst state currently has one associated plant community. After an unknown timeframe, thermokarst depressions could theoretically revert back to plant communities associated with the reference state. Due to this uncertainty, a restoration pathway back to the reference state was included in the state-and-transitional model (R2a). For more information on thermokarst in boreal forests, refer to the publication by Smith et al. 2008.

Future data collection efforts and research would likely enhance information about existing plant communities within this state and allow for better understanding of the potential transitions from one community or state to another.

Submodel