A HIERARCHICAL TUNDRAVEGETATION
CLASSIFICATION ESPECIALLY DESIGNED FOR MAPPING N
I
NORTHERN ALASKA
Donald A. Walker
I n s t i t u t eo fA r c t i c
and AlpineResearch
80309 USA
UniversityofColorado,Boulder,Colorado
Thispaperpresents
a t u n d r av e g e t a t i o nc l a s s i f i c a t i o n
scheme t h a t i s designed f o r
d e s c r i b i n gv e g e t a t i o na tf o u rl e v e l s :
(1) very-small-scale maps, ( 2 )
LANDSAT-derived maps, (3) p h o t o - i n t e r p r e t e d maps,
and
(4) plantcommunity
d e s c r i p t i o n s . A system o fn o m e n c l a t u r ei sd e s c r i b e dt h a tl i n k st h ef o u rl e v e l s .
INTRODUCTION
"fromtheground
Land-use p l a n n i n gi nt u n d r ar e g i o n su t i l i z e s
knowledge of v e g e t a t i o n more than any o t h e r
t e r r a i nf a c t o r .
The v e g e t a t i o ng i v e si n s i g h t o
a
many ofwhichare
host of environmentalvariables,
r e l a t e dt op e r m a f r o s t ,i n c l u d i n gs o i lp r o p e r t i e s ,
d e p t ho ft h ea c t i v el a y e r ,t e m p e r a t u r er e g i m e
and
snow regime.Therearethreeprimarymethodsof
i n t e r p r e t i n gv e g e t a t i o n :
(1) p l a nct o r n u n i t y
d e s c r i p t i o n sa tg r o u n dl e v e l ,
( 2 ) aerial
photographs, and (3) m u l t i - s p e c t r a ls a t e l l l t e
d a t a .C u r r e n t l yt h e r ei s
no c l a s s i f i c a t i o n system
t h a tr e l a t e st h e
map u n i t s from onemethod t o
t h o s eo ft h eo t h e r
two. Viereck and Dyrness
(1980) developed a h i e r a r c h i c a l method o f
v e g e t a t i o nc l a s s i f i c a t i o nf o rA l a s k a ,b u t
it i s
n o ts p e c i f i c a l l yd e s i g n e df o r
mapping and i s
particularly difficult to apply to
LANDSAT-dervived c l a s s i f i c a t i o n s . The
c l a s s i f i c a t i o n scheme presentedhere(Table
1)
meets t h r e eb a s i cc r i t e r i a :
LEVELD--PLANT
up,"
s t a r t i n gw i t hl e v e l
D.
COMMUNITY NAMES AND UNITS FOR
VERY-LARGE-SCALE MAPS
Level D u n i t sd e s c r i b es p e c l f i cv e g e t a t i o n
c l a s s e st h a tc o r r e s p o n da p p r o x i m a t e l yt ot h es t a n d
typesofMarr(1967)theassociationsof
Daubenmire(1952)
o r Braun-B1anquet(1932)
, and
theplantcommunityorcommunitytypeof
Whittacker(1967).
A t t h i sl e v e tl h e r ea r e
many
u n i t s and thesystem i s open, such t h a t anynewly
describedvegetationcornunitycan
be e a s i l y
added. The nomenclature used f o rd e s c r i b i n g
v e g e t a t i o na tt h i sl e v e la l w a y sf o l l o w sf i x e d
g u i d e l i n e s . The f o l l o w i n gd i s c u s s i o ne x p l a l n st h e
nomenclaturesystemforplantcommunities
and
noncomplex map u n i t s and t h e nf o r complex map
u n i t s . Complex map u n i t sc o n t a i n w
t o o r more
d i s t i n c tv e g e t a t i o nc o m m u n i t i e s ,
and each
Community c o v e r sa tl e a s t
30% o f t h e map u n i t .
Level D i sa p p r o p r i a t ef o rv e r y - l a r g e - s c a l e
maps
o f smallareas
(e.g.al:l,OOO-scale
map o f a5
acreecologystudysite).
* A t t h e LANDSAT l e v e l ,t h el a n dc o v e ru n i t s
arebased on t h o s e c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f t h e
v e g e t a t i o nt h a t canbe c l a s s i f i e d
c o n s i s t e n t l y from LANDSAT data.
- A t l o w e rl e v e l s ,t h ec l a s s i f i c a t i o ns y s t e m
i sc o n s i s t e n ty e tf l e x i b l e
enough t od e s c r i b e
t h eg r e a tv a r i e t yo ft u n d r ac o m m u n i t i e s .
At
t h e community l e v e l ,t h es y s t e mi s
open-ended
so t h a tu n i t st h a t
do n o ta c c u r a t e l yd e s c r i b e
t h ev e g e t a t i o no f
a givenarea need not be
used.
-Thelowerlevelunitscan
be groupedwithin
t h eh i g h e rl e v e lu n i t sw i t h
aminimum o f
o v e r l a p so t h a t t h e r e i s c l e a r c o m p a t i b i l i t y
between l e v e l s .
Noncomplex U n i t s
P l a n t community names have f o u rp a r t st h a ta r e
alwaysarranged
i nt h ef o l l o w i n g
sequence: (1) a
s i t em o i s t u r et e r m ,
( 2 ) thedominantplanttaxa,
(3) thedominantplantgrowthforms,
and (4) an
overallphysiognomicdescriptor
*
The s i t e
moisturetermcan
be ,&c
moist, wet o r a u a t i c .
These a r e s u b j e c t i v et e r m s x d
F t so1
h e
m o i s t u r ea t h e
end ofthegrowing
season. The
s i t em o i s t u r et e r mi sf o l l o w e db yt h e
names o f t h e
dominantplanttaxa,
one o r more from each o f t h e
representatjveshrub,herb,
and cryptogamlayers
o ft h e canopy. The numberof
t a x ai sk e p tt ot h e
minimum r e q u i r e d t o a d e q u a t e l y d i s t i n g u i s h t h e
community from o t h e r s on t h e map; t h e t o t a l
normal 1y does n o t exceed s i x .
The dominantgrowthformsfollownext
and can
beany
o ft h ef o l l o w i n g :
(1) t a l l shrub (>1.5m),
( 2 ) lowshrub(0.2
t o 1.5 m), ( 3 ) dwarfshrub
((0.2 m), ( 4 ) sedge, ( 5 ) rass, (6) rush,(7)
tussock sedge, (8) forb, 9 9 ) moss, (10) c r u s t o s e
l l c h e n , and ( 1 1 f) r u t i c o s el i c h e n .
The term
g r a m i n o i d i s used when two o r m r e o f t h e
dominant
+
The h i g h e s tc l a s s l f i c a t i o nl e v e l ,L e v e l
A, i s
verygeneral and u s e f u lf o rv e r y - s m a l l - s c a l e
v e g e t a t i o n maps ofAlaska.Level
B c o n s i s t so f
LANDSAT-level l a n dc o v e ru n i t st h a t
can be
i n t e r p r e t e du s i n gd i g i t a lm u l t i - s p e c t r a ls a t e l l i t e
data.Level
C c o n s i s t so fv e g e t a t i o ns u b u n i t s
t h a t canbe
i n t e r p r e t e d from aerialphotographs
if
supplementedwithadequategroundtruth.Level
D
c o n s i s t s of i n d i v i d u a lp l a n tc o m m u n i t i e s ,
determinedbygroundsurveys.
The f o l l o w i n g
d i s c u s s i o np r e s e n t st h ec l a s s i f i c a t i o ns y s t e m
1332
1333
TABLE 1 H i e r a r c h i c a lC l a s s i f i c a t i o n
and F o o t h i l l s o f NorthernAlaska.
LevelA
"
~
VERY SMALL
SCALE UNITS
A. WateF
"
-
B . Wet Tundra
Scheme f o r Tundra on t h eA r c t i cC o a s t a lP l a i n
Level 0
Level C
~.
Level B
"
LANDSAT
LAND COVER UNITS
(suggested map c o l o r s )
"_
I . Water ( l i g h tb l u e )
PHOTO-INTERPRETED MP UNITS
TYPICAL PLANT
COMMUNITIES
l a . Water
NO v e g e t a t i o n
la.ShallowWater(pondmargins)
No v e q e t b t i o n
$complextsubunits:
Aqua i c GraminoldTundra
U q u a t l cA r c t o p h i l af u l v a
GrassTundra
Aquatic Cerex aquatiTii-SedgeTundra
"
"
"
I I . Very Met Tundra
( d d r kb l u e )
.
.
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".____"""""""""""~"
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""""
IC.Aouatic
Forb
Tundra
:omman c o m p l e xs u b u n i t s :
I d , Water1
Tundra
Complex:
(pondcomplex)
I l l . Wet Tundra
(darkgreen1
loncomplexsubunits:
l a . wet Sedge Tundra
Aquatic Hlppuris vu1 aris, C a l t h aa l u s t r i r
t r i f o l i a t * u n m q E r +
areas I
Men dntheS
I l a . I I I a , I I l b . and
T y p i c acl o m m u n i t i e sl i s t e du n d e lra .
Va
u a t i l i s , Scor i d i u m scor i o i d e s SedgeTundra
T e h i e s + l k a l i : e
tundra)
Wet Carexa
wet
Carei c h o v d o r r h l z a ,E r l oh o r u ms c h e u c h z e r i ,P o t e n t i l l a
!;;k;ri
- -s - - ,
Sedge
Tu+
a c i d i ct u n d r a
Wet E r i o horum an u s t l f o l l u m . Ou O n t i 4f i s h e r i ,
+ u m u n b m t u d +
c o a s t aal r e a s )
Ib.
Wet GraminoidTundra(wetsaline
Tundra)
-
inland
Cam
1iUm
Wet Carex Subs a t h a c ePa u C C i n e l l i nhar
anodes, S t e l l a r i a
T m k i a r i a o f f i c i n a l % n d r
~~"
:omon Cam l e xS u b u n i t $ :
r l e t !edge Tundra1Water
Complex(pondcomplex)
Id.
C. M o i s t Tundr
t
IV. M o i s t 1 wetTundra
Complex ( l i g h tg r e e n )
Wet z e d g eMl o i s t
Sedge,
DwarfShrubTundraComplex
(wetpatterned-groundcomplcx)
:omman Complex Subunits:
edge,DwarfShrub1
Mii;tG~arninoid
Tundra
Complex
( m o i s tp a t t e r n e d - g r o u n d
complex)
T y p i c aC
l o m m u n i t i e sl i s t e du n d e rI a I, l a
T y p i c a lc o m n u n l t l e sl i s t e du n d e rI I I a
and I l l a
and Va
Va and I l l a
T y p l c a lc o m u n i t i e sl i s t e du n d e r
"'
@oncomplex Subunits:
Va. M i s t Sedge,
Dwarf
Shrub
Tundra
MoistCarex
~
horum an u S t l f O l l u m ssp
b ie l o w i iE r i o
trlste.
X
&
b m e
~ + kamno~ l a~su6uTFformis
~ I ~ Sedge:
. + r
T n F a " ' ( m o i s ta l k a l l n et u n d r a 1
MoistCarexa
u a t i l i sE r i o
zeMh;&*t;;e;;F*
n
t
~
horum an u s t i f o l i u m ssp. t r i s t e
M i s t Carex b ie l o w i i
Or as i n t er i f o l i a Lu i n u sa r c t i c u s
mxb:p%h&;&t&s"
E t T o m
Sedoe. h ~ uri s t e" t u F
m o r ~ *nitens
a r~m
v eoniasstc non t-'
a l k a l i nteu n d r a )
'
Vb. m i s t Tussock Sedge, DwarfShrub
Tundra
H o i sE
t r i o p h o r u m v a lnbtum O r as i n t er l f o l i u m .S a l i x
an
p
o ah;h&k*a
mcomium
s 1 1 e r Z ,P t i l i d i u m l l a r eC e t r a r i a
wu;+
h e d g e , b a r 7 x r m h d r a t r a l t o
s l i g h t l ya c i d i ct u s s o c kt u n d r a )
Inte r i f o l i b
Dry
Carex
TU
estrls
Ox t ri os
; Iecanora
g + S a i l x er pe I=
t i c yl
k i r & & x i c a u lDwarf
e.
Forb. C r uShrub.
stose
un r d nrydS r v e rt e r r a c e s )
~
a1 i n u s Ox t r o i s
kiuii&kceum
G o =
h a r f Shrub,Forb,
CrustoETKTI7k
-Dryas
P l v e vt e r r a c e s )
.....................~~~~~.~~~.~"~~~.
Dry O
Vd. D r yh v a r fS h r u b ,F r u t i c o s eL i c h e r
r as o c t oe t a l a ,A r c t o s t ah
10s a l p i , Em etrum
T u n d r a( D r ya c i d i ct u n d r a )
i n tr el f o l iAas t raal u s
Dry
bo+rT&
%
- $r?$%%a%uc~o%
i %CkI
e
undra on kames ana w r a l n e q
foothills)
i nf d r y
Dry Salix r o t u n d l f 0 1 l a .P e d i c u l a r i sL a n e ] .L u z u l aa r c t i c a .
7
1 tr chum sp Ae c t o r a n -5
T X G r l a
di&thar;
5 t h . i r u h i h - 4
(dry
a c i d i ct u n d r an e a rc o a s t )
Lichen
1334
TABLE 1
(Continued)
LevelB
LevelA
VERY SMALL
SCALE UNITS
Level C
~
LANOSAT
LAN0 COVER UNITS
(suggested map c o l o r s )
Level0
TYPICAL PLANT
COMMUNITIES
PHOTO-INTERPRETED IMP UNITS
ommon Com l e xS u b u n i t :
~ < . ~ ~ l s t P G r m i n o l Dwarf
d.
Shrub
Tundra1Barren Complex ( f r o s t s c a r complex)
T y p i c a lc o m m u n l t l e sl i s t e du n d e r
Va and Vb p l u se i t h e r
c o m p l e t e l yb a r r e n .f r o s t - s c a r so rc o ! m u n i t l e s5 u c h
45:
D rSy a x i f r a g a
o ositilolia O
r as l n t e g r i f o l i a ,
Chrsanthemum i n t e % % i i u d T l u m i s
m i h ; o mh i a r r e n
a k ai n er o s st c a r s 7
~
..."
,-
V
I
. Moist Tussock Sedge.
Low ShrubTundra
(brown)
-- . .,
. -,".I,-"
I . k i s t Shrub-rich
Tundra(darkbrown)
oncomplexSubunit:
V l a . Moist Tussock Sedge. lowShrub
Tundra(acidictuqsocktundra)
1
"
"
T y p i c a lc o m m u n i t i e sl i s t e du n d e r
spacedAlmscriva
VIc.MoistTussock
Sedge, Low Shrub/
Wet
Low
ShrubTundraComplex
(water
track
complex)
Note:
Thiscomplex may appear as subu n i to f V
I or VI1depending on
t h ed e n s i t yo fw a t e rt r a c k s .
T y p i c a lc o m n u n i t i e 5I l s t e du n d e rV i a
"_. -
Vb and V I ap l u sw i d e l y
and V I I l a
oncomlexSubunits:
I l a . V o i s t Low %rub.Tu5sock
Sedge
Tundra(shrubbytussocktundra)
;plex
5ubu;it:
c. M o i sutr s o c k
Sedge. Low Shrub/
Wet
Low
Shrub Tundra Comolex
(watertrackcomplex
- - see
n o t eu n d e rv l c . )
' I l l . Shrubland or Shrub
T u n d r a( r e d )
__
o y p l e x 5ubu;Its:
V b. k i s t uSSock Sedge. LOW Shrub
Tundra/TallShrub
Complex
I l b . M i s t DwarfShrub,
Moss Tundra
( 5 ha num r i c h dwarfshrub
t*
0. Shrubland
M o i L tE r l o p h o r u mv ai n a t u m ,S a l l xp l a n l f o l l a
ssp, pulchra,
O e t u l a nana !sp. e x i l I s , e d u m
palustre ssp.
d e c u m b e ~ " J a c c i n ~ p . 7 7 i num
a
spp
Cladonla
spp.
Tus&k"GF:-Low
S i r i h k G a
''
I l a . Wet towShrubTundra
M i 5 t Rubus chamaemorus Ledum p a l u s t r e sup.
decumbens,
e e t u l a nana. spp: T i s
acc
nlum
5pp..
llhagnum
spp.XG7-s
Tundr:
spp.m
T y p i c a cl o m n u n i t i e sl i s t e du n d e rV I 4
and V I I a
Wet S a l i xp l a n i f o l i au l c h r a .B e t u l a
hub-a-t
nana
ssp.
exilis
wi1 lowtundra)
-m
Wet B e t u l an a n as s p .e x i l i s ,
Sphpgnum spp, lowShrubTundra
Y t F c h
t u n - w
"""_"""""_"............"""""""""__""..........
~"""""""""~".
.....
I l b .M o i s t
Low ShrubTundra
M o i sBt e t u l a
nana s s p e. x i l i sV a c c i n i u m
u l i Inosum
TXiitm f r u t i x : h ee r
a c-Salix
rpp.. F e s t u c aa l t a i c a &Tundra(souih"
facingTtG37CTn foothills)
.
I I c . M i s t Shrubland
( c l o s e dr i p a r i a ns h r u b l a n d )
M o i s tS a l i xa l a x e n s i s .S a l i xs p p .T a l S
l h r u b l a n d( w i l l o w
T T l a n s h r u h l a r
MISt B e t u l a nana ssp. e x i l i sB e t u l aI a n d u l o s a
xlx(birch-/a*bf""
Low
_
I
E. P a r t l a l l y
Vegetated
andBarren
IX. P a r t i a l l yV e g e t a t e d
(violet)
i a r i a na r e a s :
h r m e n l LOW ShrubComplex
(open r l p a n a ns h r u b l a n d )
"""__""..........
"""".".
.....
I X bD
. r yB a r r e nhl a F f
GrassComplex
bars)
ShrubForb
( f o r b - r i c ;r i v e r
---------------"--""~~~~"""""
I X c .D r yB a r r e n l
ForbComplex
---""---"-~""---""-"~"~"""
IXd.DryBarren/
Low ShrubForb
Complex(open
r i p a r i a ns h r u b l a n
Sand Dunes:
M e .D r yB a r r e d
GrassComplex
(sand dune g r a s s l a n d )
Typicalcommunities
Xa.
andgroundcover
l i s t e d under V l l l c and
............................................
T y p i c a lc o r n u n i t i e sl i s t e du n d e r
Yc,
Xd,
also m i x e df o r b
g r a s s anddwarfshrubcommunitiessuchas:
um e l l i a nFuess t urcuabArsaat rl au s
a1 lnu5
Dry
AndrEsaFe c h a m a e ! a ~ l ~ ; l & ! , & :
h a r f S h r u ~ u & o r ~ r i v e r
bars)
Dry Dr
as
i n t er i f o l i a ,A r t e m i s i ab o r e a l l s
A. lomerata.
+ l r o h a ,
Androsacechamae.ke k a m u b ,
-Tundra
( D r y a sr l v e r hars n e a r J a r c t i cc o a s t )
Dry
E
i l o b i u ml a t i f o l i u m ,A r t e m i s i aa r c t i c a ,W i l h e l m s i a
+es
Forb Barreriverhams"""""""""""""""""""""""""""".""
DryElflusarenariusGrassTundra(sand
dune g r a s s l a n d )
..........."...
".......~."~"""~~
IXf. OryBarren/DwarfShrub,Grass
Complex (sand dune steppe)
""""""""""""""""""IXg.DryBarren/
Low ShrubComplex
(sand dune s c r u b )
D r yS a l i xa l a x e n s i s ,
5. I a u c aE, l
us arenarlus,
T t u s a a
r a? i h f o d k w Shrub,
d i a k h n +
_Carex
1335
TABLE 1 (Continued)
r"
level B
VERY W A L L
SCALE UNITS
LANDSATLAN0 COVER UNITS
(suggested map C o l o r s )
l e v e lC
l e v e l0
TYPICAL PLANTCOMMUNITIES
PHOTO-INTERPRETEO HRP UNITS
3eaches
r i v e rd e l t a s ,
and e s t u a r i e s :
Barren1 wet Sedge Tundra
Complex ( b a r r e n /s a l i n e
tundracomplex)
IXi. DryBarren/Forb.Graminoid
Complex ( c o a s t a hl a m e n s )
T y p l c a lg r o u n dc o v e rl i s t e du n d e rl l l b
D r yC o c h l e a r i ao f f i c i n b l i s .S t e l l a r l a
humifuSd. P u c c l n e l l i a
a n d e r s o n l l ,S a l i xo v a l i f o l l a ,
o t e n taul T c n e l l a
Forb. Grsmlnold T u n d r (ac o a s t a l
s a l i n e b a r r e n s Pi
Muntainousareas:
- f ~ J ~ r hvarf
~ Shrub,
a ~ e ~
GraminoidTundra Complex (dry
a l p i n et u n d r a )
T v D i c a lw o u n dc o v e rl i s t e du n d e r
Xd. Vc. or t h ef o l l o w l n s .
among many o t h e r s :
Dry u
s o c t oe t a l b 5a11x h l e b oh 110Carex
mic-omam r a a
b r o n c h i a l i s . W G h E F f a rTc t i co a , h h d M i n u a r t i a a r c t i c a h a r f Shrub,Graminold
ry alpine tunm
-
~~
I X k . M i s t Barren/ Moss. Forb. b a r f
ShrubTundra(moistalpine
tundra)
X. L i g h t - c o l o r e dB a r r e n s
(Note:
Most
areas
c l a s s e d as b a r r e n s
a r el i k e l yt oh a v e
some v e g e t a l i o n
Is
butgroundcover
l e s st h a n 30%
(black)
or w i t ht y p i c a lc o r n u n i t i e sl l s t e du n d e r
Xa. R i v e rg r a v e l s
C o m p l e t e l yb a r r e n
IXb,IXc,IXd
Xb. Sanddunes
T y p i c a cl o m u n l t i e sl i s t e du n d e r
IXe, IXf, IXg
Xc. Barren g r a v e ol u t c r o p s
T y p i c a lc o r n u n i t i e sl i s t e du n d e r
man" n t h p r r :
Yd Or t h ef o l l o w i n g ,
Xd. Talusslopes
spp.
Lecidea
spp. L h b i l i c a r i a spp..
Dry R h l eyt ar ar rpa y s p p . ' C m L i c h G nB a r r e n( b l o c k f i e l d s
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and b l o c k f i e l d s
"""""
among
and
faTusT
."............"_~""""""""""""~~
~""""""""
Xe. Gravelroads
andpads
C o m p l e t e l yb a r r e n
XIa. Wet
mud
C o m p l e t e l yb a r r e n
XIb. Wet or d a r k - c o l o r e dg r a v e l s
C o m p l e t e l yb a r r e n
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or
w l t h c o m m u n i t i e sl i s t e du n d e rI I l b
"~""""""""-"-"""-~~"""~~~~
"_~.................
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by stormsurges
A s t l yb a r r e na r e a sa l o n gt h ec o a s tc a u s e d
or man-made disturbances.COmnunltleSllctedunder
IIIb
""~~""-~~~"~~~""~-------------Same as X8
XId.Talusslopes
and b l o c kf i e l d s
Xlc. BarePeat
XI]. I c e( w h l t r ;
X
I
I
. Ice
g r a s s - l i k ep l a n t sa r ei nd i f f e r e n ft a m i l i e s O
. nly
30% o ft h e
t h eg r o w t hf o r m sc o n t r i b u t i n ga tl e a s t
r e a d i l yv i s i b l eg r o u n dc o v e ra r ei n c l u d e di nt h e
c o m u n it y n me.
The l a s tp o r t i o no ft h ec o m m u n i t y
name i s t h e
physiognomicdescriptor,which
i s at e r mt h a t
appljestotheappearance
of t h e generalvegetation
landscape'. The t e r mt u n d r ai s
used f o r most a r c t i c
and a l p i n e n o n f o r e s t e m s w i t h g e n e r a l l y
continuousgroundcover.
The t e r mb a r r e ni s
used
i n areas where t h e r ei sl e s st h a n
3 m u n d
cover. The termshrub1 and a p p l i e so n l yt o
s h r u b - c o v e r e da r e a st h a ta r et r a d i t i o n a l l yn o t
consideredtundra,such
as dense r i p a r i a ns h r u b s
a l o n gl a r g er i v e r s .
Shrubdominatedvegetationin
watertracksthatare
common i n t h e f o o t h i l l s a r e
generallyconslderedshrubtundra,
as are'
shrub-dominatedunits
on mountainslopes and on
open f l a t t e r r a i n .
Examples o f community names can
be found i n t h e r i g h t
hand column ofTable 1.
Complex U n i t s
Complexes o f v e g e t a t i o na r ep a r t i c u l a r l y
common i n t h e A r c t i c ,
where p a t t e r n e dg r o u n di s
p r e v a l e n t . Areas
where
complexes
are mapped
includeice-wedgepolygons,sortedblockfields,
strangmoor,watertracks,frost-scar
areas.,and
C o m p l e t e l yb a r r e n
s o l i f l u c t i o ns t r i p e s
and lobes.Often
one
comnunlty i s c o n s i s t e n t l y a s s o c i a t e d w i t h a
p a r t i c u l a r element o ft h es u r f a c ef o r m ,
such as
polygonrims,whileanothercomnunityis
c o n s i s t e n t l yf o u n d on anotherelement,such
as t h e
polygonbaslns
and troughs. A c o n s i s t e n t method of
d e s c r i b i n g complexes u t i l i z e st h eb a s i cc o m m u n i t y
nomenclaturedescribed
above. For example, t h e
f o l l o w i n gd e s c r i p t i o ni sf o ra
map u n i t i n a
f o o t h i l l areawithwatertracks.
Water-trackcomplex:
a) I n t e r f l u v e s and upland
areas:Moist
E r i p h o r u mv ai n a t u m ,S a l i xp l a n i f o l i a
u l c h b p a l u s t r e ssp.
~ ~ ~ ~ m ~ p h T i i i
p d
arbuscula &edge,
m u b
Tundra.
b ) Water t r a c k s : Wet S a l i xp l a n i f o l i a ssp.
pulchra,Betula
nanassp.
e x i l i s , Carex
mis-SphagFsp.
L o w b
m a .
Note thatthecommunity
names f o l l o w
d e s c r i p t i o n so ft h em i c r o s i t e s
on whichthey
occur, and t h e complex i s named a c c o r d i n gt ot h e
dominantpatterned-groundfeatureorlandform.
The u n i t d e s c r i p t i o n i n c l u d e s o n l y t h o s e p l a n t
c o r n u n i t i e st h a ta r ea s s o c i a t e dw i t hd i s t i n c t i v e
i
n
a
1336
. .
patterned-groundelements
(e.9.
watertracks,polygontroughsetc.)
morethan 30% o f a map u n i t .
LEVELC--PHOTO-INTERPRETED
polygonrims,
and t h a tc o v e r
MAP UNITS
f o rp h o t o - i n t e r p r e t e d maps
Level C canbeused
1:6,000 t o 1:63,360.
Ch a e r i a l
atscalesfrom
photographstherearetwomaincharactersthatare
u s e f uflo ird e n t i f y i n gt u n d r av e g e t a t i o n .
The
firstiscolor
or a graytone.
The darknessof
t o n ei so f t e ni n d i c a t i v eo ft h em o i s t u r es t a t u so f
thesite.Darkerareasarenormally
wet, and
l i g h t e r areastendto
be m o i s to rd r y
due t o an
abundance o fe r e c t dead graminoidvegetation
and/orcrustoselichens.Thereare,ofcourse,
w
i
l also
e x c e p t i o n st ot h i s .
Sometimes dryareas
be dark due t o barrenoeat or an abundance o f
d a r k - c o l o r e df r u t i c o s e 'l i c h e n s ,s u c h
as A l e c t o r i a
n ir i c a n s and C o r n i c u l a r i a diver=,
or wet areas
k q h t - t o n e d due t o m K o n pond bottoms.
On-color-infraredphotographs,color
is
important.For
example, r e dt o n e sa r ei n d i c a t i v e
ofdeciduousshrubs
and areimportant
in
i n t e r p r e t i n g c a t e g o r i e s of tussocktundra
v e g e t a t i o nw i t hv a r y i n g
amounts ofshrubcover.
The second u s e f u cl h a r a c t e ri st e x t u r e .
Many
t e x t u r e sa r ei n d - i c a t i v eo fs u r f a c ef o r m s
and t h u s
a r eu s e f u lf o rr e c o g n i z i n gv e g e t a t i o nc o m p l e x e s .
The presence of ice-wedgepolygons,frostboils,
s o l i f l u c t i o nl o b e s ,S t r a n g m o o r ,b l o c k f i e l d s ,
t a l u s , and ruggedrockyterraincanberecognized
on t h eb a s i so ft e x t u r e .
On v e r y - l a r g e - s c a l e
photographs,texturecanalso
be h e l p f u l i n
i d e n t i f y i n gs h r u bv e g e t a t i o n
and c o t t o n g r a s s
tussocks.
P h o t oi n t e r p r e t a t i o n o f t u n d r av e g e t a t i o ni s
d i f f i c u l t because n e a r l ya l lt h ec o m m u n i t i e sa r e
lowgrowing and t h ec l u e s for d i s t i n g u i s h i n g u n i t s
a r ef r e q u e n t l yq u i t es u b t l e .
It shouldbe
s t r e s s e dt h a tt h ec r i t i c a le l e m e n tf o ra c c u r a t e
v e g e t a t i o n maps i se x t e n s i v eg r o u n dr e f e r e n c e
data. With adequategroundexperience,
site
moistureregime and dominantplantgrowthforms
cannormally be i n t e r p r e t e d .
-
Noncomplex U n i t s
The speciescomposition o f t u n d r av e g e t a t i o n
can v e r y r a r e l y be r e l i a b l y i n t e r p r e t e d f r o m
aerialphotographs,
Thus atLevel' C, t h e
nomenclaturedropstheplanttaxa
names and
c o n s i s t e n t l y uses t h e r e m a i n i n g p a r t s o f t h e
n o m e n c l a t u r eo u t l i n e df o rL e v e l
0, i.e.,
t h es i t e
moistureterm,thedominantplantgrowth
forms,
and thephysiognomicdescriptor.
An exampleof
a
Level C u n i t i s M o i s t
Tussock Sedge, Low Shrub
Tundra.,Otherexanples
may be found i n Table 1.
Complex U n i t s
Complex u n i t sa r et r e a t e di n
a s i m i l a rf a s h i o n
w i t ht h et e r m
complexattached t o t h e end o f t h e
u n i t naneand t h e p o n e n t s o f t h e complex
separatedby a s l a s h ( / ) . An example f o r a
low-centeredice-wedgepolygoncomplex
i s Wet
Sedge/Moist Sedge, h a r f Shrub Tundra Complex.
The physiognomictermtundra
i si n c l u d e do n l yf o r
t h el a s tp o r t i o n
o f thecomplex.
The physiognomic
t e r mf o rt h ef i r s tp o r t i o n
of t h e complex i s
i n c l u d e do n l y i f i t i s d l f f e r e n t f r o m t h e l a s t .
The f i r s t p a r t o f t h e
complex name i s t h e dominant
p o r t i o n . The Level C e q u i v a l e n t of thewater
t r a c k complexmentioned i nt h ep r e v i o u ss e c t i o n
is
M o i s t Tussock Sedge, Low Shrub/Wet Low Shrub
Tundra Complex. The termwatertrackcomplex
c o u l d be used as a s h o r t e r s y n o n m generdl
discussion.Fortheformal
map u n i tt i t l e s ,
however, everyattemptshould
be made t o use t h e
amount of
complete names s i n c et h i si n c r e a s e st h e
i n f o r m a t i o na v a i l a b l e on t h e map and makes a l l t h e
unitscomparable.
LEVELB--LANDSAT-INTERPRETED
MAP UNITS
LANOSAT methodshave
c e r t a i n advantagesover
p h o t oi n t e r p r e t a t i o n .
These i n c l u d et h ed i g i t a l
formatofthedata,
and t h e speed withwhich maps
o fl a r g e areascan
be made.
The
minimum LANDSAT
mappingarea i s one p i x e l or p i c t u r e element t h a t
c o r r e s p o n d st o a groundarea o f 0.44 ha (1.1
acre).This
i s c o n s i d e r a b l ys m a l l e rt h a n
minimum
map u n i t s i z e a t
a1 1 b u t t h e v e r y l a r g e s t
p h o t o - i n t e r p r e t e d map scales.
The bigdisadvantage o f LANDSAT metftods i s
t h a tt h ef f n a l
map u n i t sa r e based s o l e l y on
s u r f a c er e f l e c t a n c e P
. romising
methods t h a t may
a i di ni n t e r p r e t a t i o no ft u n d r av e g e t a t i o nf r o m
LANDSAT d a t aI n c l u d e :
1) u s i n gm u l t i p l e LANDSAT
scenes from s e v e r a l seasons, and 2 ) use o f
d i g i t i z e d l a n d f o r m and t e r r a i nd a t af r o mg e o g r a p h i c
i n f o r m a t i o n systems. The c o m b i n a t i o no sf p e c t r a l
r e f l e c t a n c e and t e r r a i n i n f o r m a t i o n c a n b e
used t o
producecomputermodelsthatarecapableof
i n t e r p r e t i n g more v e g e t a t i o nu n i t st h a nc a nb e
mapped withspectraldataalone.Therehavebeen
some a t t e m p t st o use d i g i t a l e l e v a t i o n d a t a f r o m
topographic maps t o h e l p modelproblemcategories
o nt h eb a s i so fs l o p ea s p e c t
and e l e v a t i o n ( f o r
example, J u s t i c ee at l .
1981). These methodshave
n o t , however,beenused
e x t e n s i v e l y on t h e A r c t i c
Slope due l a r g e l y t o t h e v e r y f l a t l a n d s c a p e
where
i n t e r p o l a t i o no fe l e v a t i o nv a l u e sf r o mw i d e l y
spacedtopographrccontourscanproduceinaccurate
interpretations.
A c l a s s i f i c a t i o n f o r LANDSAT-derived maps
s h o u l dr e c o g n i z et h el i m i t a t i o n so ft h ed a t a .
Thereare t m p r i m a r y c h a r a c t e r s o f t h e n o r t h e r n
A l a s k a nv e g e t a t i o nt h a ta f f e c ti t ss p e c t r a l
r e f l e c t a n c e and are most i m p o r t a n tw i t hr e g a r d st o
LANDSAT-derived v e g e t a t - i o nc l a s s i f i c a t i o n s .
These
a r et h e amount ofwater on t h es u r f a c e and t h e
percentageofdeciduousshrubs
i nt h ev e g e t a t i o n
canopy. Numerous o t h e rf a c t o r s ,
such as t h et o t a l
percentageofplantcover,the
amount of e r e c t dead
g r a m i n o i dv e g e t a t i o n ,t h ec o l o ro ft h es u b s t r a t e ,
t h em o u n to fl i c h e nc o v e r ,
and t h e n u t r i e n t s t a t u s
o ft h es j t e ,a l s oa f f e c t h er e f l e c t a n c e .F i g u r e
1
i s a c l u s t e rd i a g r a mf o r
a t y p i c a l LANDSAT scene
from n o r t h e r nA l a s k ai l l u s t r a t i n gt h es p e c t r a l
s i g n a t u r e si n w
t o bands f o r themajorLevel
8
classes. The 12 Level B u n i t sa r e
based p r i m a r i l y
on m o i s t u r es t a t u s ,t h e
amount o fs h r u b si nt h e
canopy, and, i n t h e case o f t h e p a r t i a l l y v e g e t a t e d
and b a r r e nu n i t s ,t h et o t a lp e r c e n t a g eo fp l a n t
cover. A f u l ld i s c u s s i o n o f t h eu n i t sc a n
befound
i n Walker e ta l .( i np r e s s ) .
I
1337
LEVELA--VERY-SMALL-SCALE
ACKNMJLEDMENTS
MAP UNITS
Level A c o n s i s t s of o n l y s i x u n i t s t h a t a r e
u s e f u lf o rv e r yg e n e r a lv e g e t a t i o n
maps o f
Alaska. The u n i t sa r e
Water, Wet Tundra,Moist
Tundra,Shrubland,
P a r t i a l l y Vegetated and Barren,
and I c e . These u n i t sa r ec o m p a r a b l et ot h e
classesusedforthemajorecosystem
map o f A l a s k a
( J o i n t F e d e r a l - S t a t e Land Use P1 anning Commission
1973) and t h e USGS l a n dc o v e rc l a s s i f i c a t i o n
U.S. Army Cold
This work was sponsoredbythe
ReqionsResearch and EngineeringLaboratory
(CRREL).
The
c l a s s i f i c a t i o n system was developed
d u r i n gc o n t r a c t sw i t h
CRREL, theSohioAlaska
Petroleum Co., and ARC0 Alaska,Inc.
The U.S.
F i s h and W i l d l i f eS e r v i c e (USFWS), t h e U.S.
GeologicalSurvey
(USGS), and theNorthSlope
Boroughhave
p r o v i d e de x t e n s i v el o g i s t i c a ls u p p o r t
and funds. The USGS GeographyBranchatMoffet
Field,Calif.,
and Reston, Va.,
was
responsible
f o rt h et e c h n i c a le x p e r t i s er e q u i r e df o rt h e
LANDSAT c l a s s i f i c a t i o n s P
. atrick
J. Webber,
D i r e c t o r o f INSTAAR and o t h e r st o o numerous t o
mentionherehavehelped
me i n d e v e l o p i n g t h i s
classification.
REFERENCES
Andarson, J. R., Hardy, E.,E.
Roach, R. E. and
Witmer, R. E., 1976, A landcover
c l a s s i f i c a t i o n system f o r use withremote
sensordata:
USGS P r o f e s s i o n a l Paper 969, 28
PP
Braun-Blanquet, J., 1932, PlantSociology:the
s t u d yo fp l a n tc o m n u n i t i e s( E n g l i s h
translation)M
: cGraw-Hill,
New York, 435 p.
Daubenmire, R., 1951, F o r e s tv e g e t a t i o no f
northernIdaho and adjacentWashington
and i t s
b e a r i n g on c o n c e p t so fv e g e t a t i o n
c l a s s i f i c a t i o nE: c o l o g i c a l
Monographs
V O ~ . 22, p. 301-330.
J o i n tF e d e r a l - S t a t e
Land Use Commission f o r
Alaska, 1973, Majorecosystems
ofAlaska.Foldo u t map. (Scale 1:2,500,000).
and Holdben,
Justice, C. O., Wharton, S. W.,
B. N., 1981, A p p l i c a t i o no fd i g i t a lt e r r a i n
datatoquantify
and reducethetopographic
e f f e cot Lf a n d s adt a t aI:n t e r n a t i o n aJl o u r n a l
o f Remote Sensing, v o l . 2, p . 213-230.
Marr, J. W.,
1967, Ecosystems o ft h ee a s ts l o p eo f
t h eF r o n t
Range i n C o l o r a d oU: n i v e r s i t yo f
ColoradoStudies,SeriesinBiology,
8, 134
P.
Viereck, L. A. and Dyrness, C. T., 1980, A
p r e l i m i n a r y c l a s s i f i c a t i o n system f o r
v e g e t a t i o no fA l a s k a .
U.S. Department o f
Agriculture,ForestService,PacificNorthwest
Rangeand
ExperimentalStation,General
TechnicalReport
PW 206. 38 p .
Walker, 0. A,, Acevedo, W.,
E v e r e t t , K. R.,
Gaydos, L. , Brown, J. andWebber,
P. J.,
1982, Landsat-assistedenvironmentalmappingin
t h eA r c t i cN a t i o n a lW i l d l i f e
Refuge, Alaska:
U.S. Army ColdRegionsResearch
and Engineering
Laboratory, Hanover, N.H. 03755, CRREL Report
82-37, 59 p.
Walker, 0. A., Acevedo, W., E v e r e t t , K. R. ,
Gaydos, L., and
Webber,
P. J., ( i n prep.),
Landsat-derivedvegetation map o f t h e Beechey
PointQuadrangle,ArcticCoastalPlain,
Alaska.
Whittacker, R. H., 1967, G r a d i e n ta n a l y s i so f
42, p.
v e g e t a t i o n : B i o l o g i c a rl e v i e w ,v o l .
207-264.
.
MOIST SHRUB-RICH
MOIST
TUSSOCK
VEHY'WET TUNDRA
DorX Blue
TUNDRA
SEDGE
dOlST/WCT TUNDRA COhlPLEX
Lqht G r a m
25
R€FL€CTANC€-
50
NEAR INFRARED
75
IO0
BAND ( BAND 6 )
FIGURE 1 C1 u s t e rd i a g r a mf o r
a LANDSAT scene o f
t h e Prudhoe Bay region,Alaska(scene
no.
21635-21044),bands
5 and 6. The landcover
d e s i g n a t i o n s and map c o l o r s i n d i c a t e how t h e
c l u s t e r e d were grouped i n t h e f i n a l
c l a s s i f i c a t i o n . Each e l l i p s ee n c l o s e s 80% o f t h e
p i x e l sa s s i g n e dt ot h er e s p e c t i v ec l u s t e r .
The
clusteringalgorithispartofthe
EDITOR
LANDSAT
analyslssoftwaresystem
usedon t h e TENEX-DEC
System POP 10 computeravailable from B o l t Beranex
and Newnan Inc,,Boston,
Mass. (Courtesyof
USGS
GeographyBranch,
M o f f e tF i e l d ,C a l i f o r n i a . )
system f o r remotesensordata(Anderson
1976).
e ta l .
CONCLUSION
The h i e r a r c h i c a l c l a s s i f i c a t i o n scheme
p r e s e n t e dh e r eo f f e r s
a f i r s ta p p r o x i m a t i o na t
a
t o methods o f v e g e t a t i o n mapping
l i n k between w
t h a ta r eb e i n gw i d e l y
used i nn o r t h e r nA l a s k a - - o n e
based on LANDSAT technology and t h eo t h e r based on
p h o t oi n t e r p r e t a t i o n .
It t i e sb o t h of these
methods t o a comprehensive means o f d e s c r i b i n g
t u n d r av e g e t a t i o n on t h e ground.
It i sp r e s e n t l y
a f l e x i b l e systemthat will undoubtedlycontinue
t oe v o l v e as more experience i s gained i n mapping
t u n d r av e g e t a t i o n .
No.