RELATIONSHIPS AMONG DEPTH TO FROZEN SOIL, SOIL WETNESS, AND VEGETATION TYPE AND BIOMASS IN TUNDRA NEAR BETHEL, ALASKA, USA

Vegetation was sampled in upland, wet meadow, and lake habitats. Live and dead aboveground biomass increased, and dead belowground biomass decreased, as habitat wetness and depth to frozen soil increased. The proportion of live aerial biomass that was graminoid increased as habitat wetness and depth to frozen soil increased, whereas the proportion that was woody shrub biomass decreased with increased in habitat wetness and depth to frozen soil. Vegetation and frozen soil depth could be monitored remotely for large areas using tools such as satellite images and radar. Since the cycling of carbon is related to carbon storage (biomass) and depth of the biological active (thawed) layer, it should be possible to study carbon cycles in tundra remotely. -from Authors