Plant productivity increases methane uptake in an alpine tundra ecosystem

This dataset is comprised of 100-plot measurements over a 3-day period during peak growing season in July (2025) quantifying net methane (CH₄) exchange, gross primary production, ecosystem respiration, soil nutrient rates, and environmental drivers in Northern British Columbia alpine tundra ecosystem (59° 17′ 27.5″ N, 129° 45′ 26.5″ W). Using a systematic grid approach, the sampling locations covered an area of 50 m by 100 m consisting of 100 plots spaced ~5 m apart. Methane and carbon dioxide fluxes, analyzed with a LICOR 7810, were measured once at each of the 100 plots between July 21-25, 2025 from 10:00 to 15:00 MST, using static flow-through-non-steady-state transparent chambers. Plant cover types from each plot were split into the following classes: barren (n = 21), prostrate shrub (n = 40), erect shrub (n = 4), and meadow, with a division adjustment into graminoid (n = 21), and forb (n = 14). A subset of the study plots (n = 40; Fig. 1) was selected using a random weighted distribution to proportionally represent the dominant vegetation class across the study area. Using PRS ion-exchange resin probes (Western Ag Innovations), deployed over a 3- week period from July 19 to August 8th, 2025, study plots were analyzed for NO₃⁻, NH₄⁺, Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺, K⁺, H₂PO₄⁻, Fe³⁺, Mn²⁺, Cu²⁺, Zn²⁺, B³⁺, SO₄²⁻, Pb²⁺, and Al³⁺. The scope of the study and this dataset is to compare CH₄ exchange to light and dark measurement conditions, and to improve the spatial and temporal coverage of methane exchange in alpine tundra ecosystems of Northern British Columbia.