Imnavait Creek Permanent Vegetation Plots

Walker DA, Lederer ND, and Walker MD. 1987. Permanent vegetation plots: Site factors, soil physical and chemical properties and plant species cover. Department of Energy R4D Program, Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO.

Home // Vegetation communities and microsites // Summary of areas sampled // Environmental variables // Environmental information // Soil descriptions // Soil physical characteristics // Soil chemical characteristics // Species composition //
Appendices: Plot and soil photos // Equivalent vegetation units // Plot location map

Table 3. Legend for the environmental variables used in the R4D vegetation studies.

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Landforms 1 Hill crest 2 Sideslope 3 Footslope 4 Active floodplain 5 Stabilized floodplain 6 Alluvial fan 7 Glaciofluvial outwash 8 Stream bluff 9 Small streams and water tracks 10 Lake basin 11 Colluvial basin 12 Water 13 Disturbed	Estimated snow duration 1.0 Snow free all year 2.0 Snow free most of the winter; some snow cover persists after storm but is blown free soon afterward 3.0 Snow free prior to melt out but with snow most of winter 4.0 Snow free immediately after melt out 5.0 Snow bank persists 1-2 weeks after melt out 6.0 Snow bank persists 3-4 weeks after melt out 7.0 Snow bank persists 4-8 weeks after melt out 8.0 Snow bank persists 8-12 weeks after melt out 9.0 Very short snow free period 10.0 Deep snow all year
Terrain Unit 1 Bedrock 2 Till 3 Glaciofluvial outwash 4 Meander floodplain 5 Non-meander floodplain 6 Alluvial fan 7 Basin colluvium 8 Hillslope deposits (undifferentiated retransported deposits) 9 Emergent lake bottom 10 Pond or lake 11 Stream or river 12 Disturbed	Stability 1.0 Stable 2.0 Subject to occasional disturbance 3.0 Subject to prolonged but slow disturbance such as solifluction 4.0 Annually disturbed 5.0 Disturbed more than once annually
Exposure Scale 1.0 Protected from winds 2.0 Moderate exposure to winds 3.0 Exposed to winds 4.0 Very exposed to winds	Soil Type blank No soil 1 Pergelic Cryaquoll 2 Pergelic Cryohemist 3 Pergelic Cryofibrist 4 Pergelic Cryorthent 5 Pergelic Cryumbrept 6 Pergelic Cryaquept 7 Histic Pergelic Cryaquept 8 Ruptic Pergelic Cryaquept 9 Hemic Pergelic Sphagnofibrist 0 Ranker soil (Pergelic Cryorthent)
Surface Form 1 Blockfields and sorted stone stripes 2 Non-sorted stone stripes with frost scars 3 Hummocky terrain including turf hummocks 4 Gelifluction or solifluction features 5 High-centered polygons 6 Palsa 7 Frost scars 8 Strangmoor or aligned hummocks in bogs 9 Thermokarst pits 10 Weakly defined hillslope watertracks (<1.0m relief) 11 Well defined hillslope watertracks (>1.0m relief) 12 Incised stream drainage 13 Active floodplain alluvium 14 Irregular relief associated with stress drainages 15 Rocky terrain (undifferentiated till and bedrock) 16 Featureless ground 17 Pond complex 18 Water 19 Disturbed	Soil Moisture (modified from Komárková 1983) 1.0 Very dry - very little moisture; soil does not stick together 2.0 Dry - little moisture; soil somewhat sticks together 3.0 Damp - noticeable moisture; soil sticks together but crumbles 4.0 Damp to moist - very noticeable moisture; soil clumps 5.0 Moist - moderate moisture; soil binds but can be broken apart 6.0 Moist to wet - considerable moisture; soil binds and sticks to fingers 7.0 Wet - very considerable moisture; drops of water can be squeezed out of soil 8.0 Very wet - much moisture can be squeezed out of soil 9.0 Saturated - very much moisture; water drips out of soil 10.0 Very saturated - extreme moisture; soil is more liquid than solid
Microsite 1 Hummock 2 Inter-hummock 3 Frost scar 4 Inter-frost scar 5 In water track 6 Shrubby edge of water track 7 Top of solifluction lobe 8 Inter-solifluction lobe	Animal and Human Disturbance 0.0 No sign present 1.0 Some sign present; no disturbance 2.0 Minor disturbance or extensive sign 3.0 Moderate disturbance; small dens or light grazing 4.0 Major disturbance; multiple dens or noticeable trampling 5.0 Very major disturbance; very extensive tunneling or large pit
Site Moisture (modified from Komárková 1983) 1.0 Extremely xeric - almost no moisture; no plant growth 2.0 Very xeric - very little moisture; dry sand dunes 3.0 Xeric - little moisture; stabilized sand dunes, dry ridge tops 4.0 Subxeric - noticeable moisture; well-drained slopes, ridges 5.0 Subxeric to mesic - very noticeable moisture; flat to gently sloping 6.0 Mesic - moderate moisture; flat or shallow depressions 7.0 Mesic to subhygric - considerable moisture; depressions 8.0 Subhygric - very considerable moisture; saturated but with < 5 % standing water < 10 cm deep 9.0 Hygric - much moisture; up to 100% of surface under water 10 to 50 cm deep; lake margins, shallow ponds, streams 10.0 Hydric - very much moisture; 100% of surface under water 50 to 150 cm deep; lakes, streams

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