Taiga Domain

The Taiga Domain offers research opportunities for NEON in the lower two-thirds of Alaska. The candidate core site will be located at the Caribou-Poker Creeks Research Watershed in the taiga, a zone of subarctic, evergreen forest (dominated by fir and spruce) located south of the Alaskan tunda. The area’s vegetation and watershed are representative of interior Alaska; its fragmented forests have a strong influence on ecosystems and water patterns in the region. The taiga site will focus on land use, with an emphasis on permafrost and the interconnections of ecosystems and water.

Domain: Taiga (Domain #19)

Science Focus: Climate change.

Candidate Core Site Name: Caribou-Poker Creeks Research Watershed

Representativeness: The Caribou-Poker Creeks Research Watershed (CPCRW) is representative of upland headwater basins in subarctic Alaska. The vegetation structure within the watershed is typical of interior Alaska, including coniferous and deciduous forest, closed tall shrub, and shrub and tussock tundra.

Location: Latitude: 65.154; Longitude: -147.503.

Existing Infrastructure: The CPCRW is a nearly pristine basin reserved for meteorological, hydrologic, and ecologic research, with no current human influence (other than scientific research). Almost all work performed at the watershed is carried out from the University of Alaska Fairbanks campus.

Unique Feature: The CPCRW is the only research watershed in the United States located in a region of discontinuous permafrost.