Vegetation shifts observed in arctic tundra 17 years after fire

Author Posting. © The Author(s), 2012. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of Taylor & Francis for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Remote Sensing Letters 3 (2012): 729-736, doi: 10.1080/2150704X.2012.676741....

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors Barrett, Kirsten, Rocha, Adrian V, van de Weg, Martine Janet, Shaver, Gaius R
Format Publication
LanguageEnglish
Published 27.01.2012
Subjects
Fire
GIMMS
Grass
NDVI
North Slope
Succession
Tundra
Vegetation shift
Online AccessGet more information

Cover

More Information
Summary:Author Posting. © The Author(s), 2012. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of Taylor & Francis for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Remote Sensing Letters 3 (2012): 729-736, doi: 10.1080/2150704X.2012.676741. With anticipated climate change, tundra fires are expected to occur more frequently in the future, but data on the longer term effects of fire on tundra vegetation composition are scarce. This study therefore addresses changes in vegetation structure that have persisted for 17 years after a tundra fire on the North Slope of Alaska. Fire-related shifts in vegetation composition were assessed from remote sensing imagery and ground observations of the burn scar and an adjacent control site. Early-season remotely sensed imagery from the burn scar exhibits a low vegetation index compared to the control site, while the late-season signal is slightly higher. The range and maximum vegetation index is greater in the burn scar, although the mean annual values do not differ among the sites. Ground observations revealed a greater abundance of graminoid species and an absence of Betula nana in the post-fire tundra sites, which is a likely explanation for the spectral differences observed in the remotely sensed imagery. Additional differences in vegetation composition in the burn scar include less moss cover and a greater cover of herbaceous species. The partial replacement of tundra by graminoid-dominated ecosystems has been predicted by the ALFRESCO model of disturbance, climate, and vegetation succession.