| Principal Investigator: | McLennan, Donald S (2) |
| Licence Number: | 16566 |
| Organization: | Polar Knowledge Canada |
| Licensed Year(s): |
2019
|
| Issued: | Jun 18, 2019 |
| Project Team: | Johann Wagner, Serguei Ponomarenko, Daniel Kramer, Blair Kennedy |
Objective(s): To describe, sample and characterize various terrestrial ecosystems.
Project Description: The objectives of this project are to: 1. investigate, characterize and sample the vascular plant, moss, lichen, fungal and algal flora and biodiversity; 2. describe, sample and characterize various terrestrial ecosystems of Northwest Territories; 3. identify in the landscape as many as possible of the characterized terrestrial ecosystems, and document their occurrence by geo-referenced digital photographs and videos, GPS waypoints and tracks, as well as Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs); and, 4. enter the terrestrial ecosystem occurrence data into GIS software and overlay on satellite imagery. The research team will sample and characterize terrestrial ecosystems in the field. For this purpose, the team will identify and record all vascular plant, moss, lichen, fungal and algal species growing on selected plots of 100 m2, as well as environmental and soil characteristics of the plots. Vascular plant, moss, lichen, fungus and algal species that cannot be identified in field will be collected and identified later in the laboratory. Selected vascular plant, moss and lichen specimens will be dried, pressed and preserved on herbarium sheets, in order to establish a reference collection of the representative vascular flora of the region. For determining the soil characteristics of the analysed plots, a soil pit of 40 x 40 x 60 cm will be dug, in order to identify all the soil horizons. Volumetric samples of soil, by soil horizon, will be taken to conduct chemical analyses (exchangeable cations, plant available nitrogen and phosphorus, organic and inorganic carbon, mercury, and pH) in a laboratory. All vegetation, environmental and soil characteristics will be recorded on standardized data cards or entered in hand-held computers. The terrestrial ecosystem sampling will be done by float plane and by foot. A total number of 300 samples will be collected. By matching pixel values of satellite images, as well as elevation and slope exposition data of the landscape, with different ecosystem types in the field, the Random Forest software model will be trained with the aim of predicting and delineating terrestrial ecosystems over large arctic areas. Tundra Ecosystem Research Station (TERN) at Daring Lake performs regular community consultations about the research taking place at the station. A detailed report of the results of the project will be provided to the communities after the field season. Local community members will be consulted about the occurrence and characteristics of the main terrestrial ecosystem types. During this project, at least one local community member will assist as a field assistant. The research team will submit reports on the research results to the nearby communities at the end of the field season, as well as a comprehensive report at the end of the project. The team will communicate the research results also to organizations of the NWT government, as well as to the scientific communities at conferences. The fieldwork for this study will be conducted from July 1, 2019 to July 15, 2019.
