Small-Scale Decadal Change in Land Cover Near Barrow, Alaska
Josh Picotte, Craig E. Tweedie, Robert D. Hollister and Patrick J. WebberSummary Of Findings:
- Dramatic changes in land cover have occurred at the resampled grid. Polygon troughs and low-centers show the most change whereas rims show relatively little change.
- Patterns of change are consistent with the grid becoming drier.
- Cumulative impacts from human activities have most likely directly (via drainage of nearby lakes) or indirectly (via climate change) caused these changes in land cover.
- Research in localities not influenced by direct human disturbance are needed to isolate the amount of change directly attributable to lake drainage and climate change.
- This study reinforces the merit of long term monitoring and validity of revisiting marked scientific plots to assess land cover change in tundra regions.