Ring-Based Survey of Ground Vegetation Cover in Alaskan Boreal Forests in summer 2023

Vegetation surveys were carried out in Alaska. The study area is within the boreal forest biome and is partially underlain by permafrost soils . The aim was to record the projective ground vegetation in different boreal forest types studied during the AK-Land_2023_Alaska_forests field campaign in June and July 2023. Ground vegetation projective cover was surveyed in 4 rings of 50 cm width around the center of the circular forest plot. Vegetation cover was assessed using a modified Braun–Blanquet approach. The categories r and + were converted to 0.05% and 0.1% cover, respectively, whereas cover values of 0.5–100% were recorded directly as estimated percentages rather than as categorical Braun–Blanquet score. In total 24 forest plots were investigated. All data were collected by scientists from the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI) Germany, and the University of Potsdam Germany.