Permafrost-Affected Soils and Ecological Sites in the Copper River Basin, Alaska.

In permafrost regions, process-based connections between landforms, soils, and vegetation are tightly linked and can be highly sensitive to environmental change. Three ecological sites in the North Copper River survey area near Gakona, Alaska, were investigated to better understand the co-evolution of soils, vegetation and landforms on the lacustrine uplands of the Copper River basin. These three ecological sites - a poorly drained, mature black spruce (Picea mariana) site, a fire scar with mixed black and white spruce (Picea mariana, Picea glauca), and a "lithalsa" dominated by white spruce (Picea glauca) and aspen (Populus tremuloides) occur along an ecological gradient which has important implications for understanding the variability of carbon stocks, organic layer thickness, and soil properties across this landscape. Processes of soil formation on this highly sensitive, permafrost-affected landscape are important to better predicting the response of this landscape to future change.