Carbon Dynamics Along a Permafrost Gradient at Caribou-Poker Creeks Research Watershed (CPCRW) in Interior Alaska: Active Layer Depth (ALD) in a 75x75m spatial domain along a permafrost and vegetation gradient.

This dataset includes active layer depth (ALD) data across a 75x75m spatial domain in the Caribou-Poker Creeks Research Watershed. Project summary: Specific leaf area (SLA, leaf area per unit dry mass) is a key canopy structural characteristic, a measure of photosynthetic capacity, and an important input into many terrestrial process models. Although many studies have examined SLA variation, relatively few data exist from high latitude, climate-sensitive permafrost regions. We measured SLA and soil and topographic properties across a boreal forest permafrost transition, in which forest composition changed as permafrost deepened from 54 to >150 cm over 75 m hillslope transects in Caribou-Poker Creeks Research Watershed, Alaska. This is an exploratory study to begin understanding SLA variation and controls thereof in a non-contiguous permafrost system.