Vegetation Succession and Environmental Relations at the Illisarvik Drained Lake Experiment, Western Arctic Coast, Canada

Illisarvik is a lake basin on Richards Island, NWT, that was experimentally drained in 1978. Surveys were conducted in 2016 at 110 sites within and surrounding the basin to study vegetation succession. These surveys extended previous records provided by L. Ovenden for 1985, 1993, and 2001. The vegetation at Illisarvik indicated a gradual shift towards undisturbed tundra species but was still compositionally distinct in 2016. Early colonizing species were rarely observed in 2016. Grasses and sedges have steadily increased in cover since drainage. Erect willows have become well-established since 1993, and the increased vegetation height has resulted in deeper snow packs. Surveys of other environmental characteristics in the basin indicated that volumetric water content and vegetation height were the primary factors controlling active-layer thickness and ground temperatures at Illisarvik. The vegetation height likely acts as a proxy for the insulating influence of the snow.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Science (M.Sc.)

Level thesis:degree_level

Master's

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Geography

Grantor dc:publisher

Carleton University

Year dc:date.issued

2018

Author dc:creator

• Wilson, Mary Alice

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright © 2018 the author(s). Theses may be used for non-commercial research, educational, or related academic purposes only. Such uses include personal study, research, scholarship, and teaching. Theses may only be shared by linking to Carleton University Institutional Repository and no part may be used without proper attribution to the author. No part may be used for commercial purposes directly or indirectly via a for-profit platform; no adaptation or derivative works are permitted without consent from the copyright owner.

Language dc:language.iso

en

DOI

10.22215/etd/2018-12951

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:carleton.scholaris.ca:20.500.14718/40127