ABSTRACT

Changes to Arctic vegetation, caused by natural and human-caused drivers, are key indicators of alterations to many other components of Arctic systems, including landforms, soils, hydrology, permafrost, trace-gas fluxes, species diversity, wildlife habitat, and indigenous homelands. U.S. and international Arctic research during the next ten years, especially during the intense sampling period of the 5th International Polar Year (2032–2033), will require ground-based Arctic plant-community data and vegetation maps across a hierarchy of spatial scales, from plant scales to circumpolar scales. Arctic vegetation data have been collected in the form of plot data and maps over a period of nearly 80 years. These data provide a framework and historical references for classification, monitoring, and modeling of changing Arctic systems. However, there still are not consistent, cohesive, standardized, international approaches to describe, classify, and map Arctic vegetation.

A 3-day workshop held at Arctic Science Summit Week in Boulder focused on three overarching themes: (1) Creation of an Arctic Vegetation Observing Network (AVON); (2) Development of protocols for field sampling and data archives for vegetation-plot and map data; and (3) Updated Arctic vegetation species checklists, habitat-type and plant-community checklists, and map legends at a hierarchy of spatial scales. The workshop will lead to the development of a CAVSI white paper and science plan for the 2026–2035 decade to help prioritize U.S. and ICARP IV Arctic terrestrial research topics.

The workshop was organized with support from the International Arctic Science Committee (IASC) Terrestrial Working Group and the U.S. National Science Foundation (Award 2426735).