Jago Alaska Topography, Vegetation, Soils, and Site-Environmental Data 2009-2018

This data set contains topography, permafrost soils, vegetation, soil temperatures, and site environmental data collected near the Jago River, northwest Alaska for monitoring thermokarst. For field monitoring of topography, water depths, and thaw depths over time (8/14/2009, 8/31/2011, 7/27/2016, 8/1/2018), we sampled every meter along a 250-meter (m) transect oriented to cross replicate patches with differing degradation stages (Fig. SI2). For monitoring hydrology, soil, and vegetation over time, we used stratified, targeted sampling to establish three replicate permanent plots in each degradation stage (total 18), with the replicates broadly distributed along or near the transect. Plots for the undegraded stage, however, were not established until 2018. A subset of monitoring plots had dataloggers for sampling soil temperatures. In addition, soil and/or vegetation were sampled in 57 temporary plots established within representative patches away from the transect to increase sample sizes for each stage.