Database Report

Alaska Arctic Vegetation Archive -- AVA-AK

Amy Breen, Lisa Druckenmiller, Jozef Sibik, D. A. Walker & Martha Raynolds

GIVD Database ID: NA-US-014	Last update: 2018-11-09
Alaska Arctic Vegetation Archive	Web address: http://geobotanical.portal.gina.alaska.edu/plot-archive
Database manager(s): Amy Breen (albreen@alaska.edu); Lisa Druckenmiller (lddruckenmiller@alaska.edu); Jozef Sibik (jozef.sibik@savba.sk)
Owner: Donald A. Walker, Amy L. Breen, Jozef Sibik, Lisa Druckenmiller and Martha K. Raynolds
Scope: The Alaska Arctic Vegetation Archive (AVA-AK) is a regional database that is part of the larger Arctic Vegetation Archive. The database contains vegetation plots from homogeneous plant communities with tables of cover or cover-abundance scores for all species, and accompanying environmental site data. Data are collected using Braun-Blanquet, US National Vegetation Classification protocols, or comparable methods.
Abstract: The Alaska Arctic Vegetation Archive (AVA-AK) is a prototype database for the Arctic Vegetation Archive (AVA). The goal of the AVA is to unite and harmonize vegetation data from the Arctic tundra biome for use in developing a pan-Arctic vegetation classification. This open-access database is the first to represent an entire global biome, utilizing a unique data dictionary and species list (Panarctic Species List; PASL beta 1.2) within the Turboveg 2 database program. The AVA-AK prototype contains complete species lists and cover estimates for homogeneous plots in typical habitats of northern Alaska including the Brooks Range, Arctic Foothills, Coastal Plain and the Seward Peninsula. The database contains over 3,026 non-overlapping vegetation plots (3,156 total plots, including repeat observations of some permanent plots). In addition to plot data, the AVA-AK contains an array of ancillary data, such as original data reports, plot photographs, plant-species cover estimates, vegetation structure, key publications and, where available, soils information, site factors, geographic coordinates, aboveground phytomass, and ground-based spectral information.
Availability: free online	Online upload: yes	Online search: no
Database format(s): TURBOVEG	Export format(s): TURBOVEG, Excel, CSV file
Plot type(s): normal plots, time series	Plot-size range (m²): 0.16 to 800
Non-overlapping plots: 3026	Estimate of existing plots: 4000	Completeness: 76%	Status: emerging
Total no. of plot observations: 3156	Number of sources (biblioreferences, data collectors): 24	Valid taxa: 1569
Countries (%): US: 95; CA: 5
Formations: Forest: 5% = Terrestrial: 5% // Non Forest: 109% = Aquatic: 3% (Fresh water: 3%); Semi-aquatic: 12% (Fresh water: 12%); Terrestrial: 80% (Arctic-alpin: 80%)
Guilds: all vascular plants: 100%; bryophytes (terricolous or aquatic): 98%; lichens (terricolous or aquatic): 96%
Plot size categories (%): < 1 m2: 1%; 1-10 m2: 20%; 10-100 m2: 27%; 100-1000 m2: 32%; 1000-10000 m2: 0%; >= 10000 m2: 0%; unknowmn: 20%;
Environmental data (%): altitude: 68; slope aspect: 84; slope inclination: 84; microrelief: 15; surface cover other than plants (open soil, litter, bare rock etc.): 40; other soil attributes: 73; soil pH: 64; land use categories: 0; soil depth: 48; other attributes: Other soil attributes include descriptions, chemistry and physical characteristics
Performance measure(s): presence/absence only: 0%; cover: 100%; number of individuals: 0%; measurements like diameter or height of trees: 1%; biomass: 13%; other: 0%
Geographic localisation: GPS coordinates (precision 25 m or less): 74%; point coordinates less precise than GPS, up to 1 km: 7%; small grid (not coarser than 10 km): 0%; political units or only on a coarser scale ( above 10 km): 19%
Sampling periods: before 1920: 0%; 1920-1929: 0%; 1930-1939: 0%; 1940-1949: 0%; 1950-1959: 4%; 1960-1969: 5%; 1970-1979: 5%; 1980-1989: 30%; 1990-1999: 9%; 2000-2009: 41%; 2010-2019: 6%; unknown: 0%
Information as of 2026-06-14; further details and future updates available from http://www.givd.info/ID/NA-US-014

Amy Breen* (albreen@alaska.edu)
International Arctic Research Center, University of Alaska Fairbanks, PO Box 757340, 99709 Fairbanks, Alaska
Lisa Druckenmiller (lddruckenmiller@alaska.edu)
Institute of Arctic Biology, University of Alaska Fairbanks, PO Box 757000, 99775 Fairbanks, Alaska
Jozef Sibik (jozef.sibik@savba.sk)
Institute of Botany, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Dúbravská cesta 9, SK-845 Bratislava
D. A. Walker (dawalker@alaska.edu)
Institute of Arctic Biology, University of Alaska Fairbanks, PO Box 757000, 99775 Fairbanks, Alaska
Martha Raynolds (mkraynolds@alaska.edu)
Institute of Arctic Biology, University of Alaska Fairbanks, PO Box 757000, 99775 Fairbanks, Alaska
* corresponding author