Arctic and Sub-arctic Lowlands Biome
Key study sites are located at the northern (Trail Valley and Havikpak Creeks) and southern (Scotty Creek) margins of the Taiga Plains ecoregion along the Mackenzie Valley. In addition, between these end-member sites we have a network of 204 representative permanent sample plots (PSPs), each with historical and contemporary data on vegetation (ground and canopy), soil properties and active layer thickness. These existing observatories, along with Wolf Creek (Western Cordillera), are ideally suited for the study of permafrost thaw-induced changes to ecosystems and the resulting impacts on surface-atmosphere interactions and hydrology, as they cover a wide latitudinal and altitudinal range and therefore a wide range of permafrost ecosystem characteristics, from discontinuous permafrost characterised by a forest wetland mosaic to continuous permafrost overlain by forest, grading into tundra. In addition, these sites are located in areas where permafrost is very sensitive to change.
WECC Observatories