| NSF Org: |
OPP Office of Polar Programs (OPP) |
| Recipient: |
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| Initial Amendment Date: | July 13, 2016 |
| Latest Amendment Date: | July 13, 2016 |
| Award Number: | 1603473 |
| Award Instrument: | Standard Grant |
| Program Manager: |
Marc Stieglitz
mstiegli@nsf.gov (703)292-4354 OPP Office of Polar Programs (OPP) GEO Directorate for Geosciences |
| Start Date: | September 1, 2016 |
| End Date: | August 31, 2020 (Estimated) |
| Total Intended Award Amount: | $372,000.00 |
| Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $372,000.00 |
| Funds Obligated to Date: |
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| History of Investigator: |
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| Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
615 W 131ST ST NEW YORK NY US 10027-7922 (212)854-6851 |
| Sponsor Congressional District: |
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| Primary Place of Performance: |
61 Route 9W Palisades NY US 10964-1707 |
| Primary Place of
Performance Congressional District: |
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| Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): |
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| Parent UEI: |
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| NSF Program(s): | ANS-Arctic Natural Sciences |
| Primary Program Source: |
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| Program Reference Code(s): |
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| Program Element Code(s): |
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| Award Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Fund Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Assistance Listing Number(s): | 47.078 |
ABSTRACT
The importance of Boreal and Arctic landscapes is recognized by the scientific community as an important area of research. The overarching theory to be tested in this proposal is that the current controls over vegetation growth are not operating as they have been in the past. The investigators have at hand a detailed network of ground measurements of tree-ring data collected across a range of Boreal and Arctic forests and shrublands sites in Alaska and adjacent Canada. This data will be compared with satellite based remote sensing proxies of vegetation productivity. The work is by and large an analysis and comparison of two independent methods for assessing vegetation growth variability in Arctic ecosystems.
This project will contribute to the education of the general public (e.g. annual open house exhibits, websites, blogs from the field), and will partially fund a post-doctoral researcher who will have the opportunity to expand their scientific experience and knowledge of this topic.
This work will focus on Boreal and Arctic forests and shrublands across Alaska and adjacent Canada, regions that are experiencing some of the most rapid warming on the globe today. Satellite observations have revealed significant vegetation productivity trends (both greening and browning) of vegetation at high northern latitudes, with distinct differences between North America and northern Eurasia biomes and between tundra and boreal regions. At the same time, some observations show that the strong correlation between northern tree growth and temperature appears to be weakening in recent decades. The overarching theory to be tested in this proposal is that the current controls over vegetation growth are not operating as they have been in the past. The investigators have at hand a detailed network of in situ ground measurements of tree-ring data collected from across this region. This data will be compared with remote sensing proxies of vegetation productivity (from satellite NDVI), across a range of Boreal and Arctic forests and shrublands sites in Alaska and adjacent Canada. The work will include one year of field data in regions of high priority where the investigators will extract up to date tree ring cores for comparison with recent air temperature and remote sensing records.
PUBLICATIONS PRODUCED AS A RESULT OF THIS RESEARCH
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PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT
Disclaimer
This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.
The main goal of this project was to produce, develop and validate remote sensing time series of boreal and tundra vegetation growth for northern North America. Over the period of this project we compared these remote sensing records of vegetation from satellites with ground observations and data of forests and tundra vegetation across northwestern Canada and Alaska. Integrating remote sensing and tree-ring studies of vegetation for this project has helped yield a comprehensive assessment of the impact of climatic and environmental change on tree and shrub growth across the taiga and tundra ecosystems of northwestern North America, providing insight into their vulnerability and resilience, and allowing inferences to be made on how they are likely to be altered in the future.
Key published findings of this research include a study that identified a specific time window in June for sensitivity of shrub ring widths in northern Alaska, which is in agreement with patterns of satellite observations of vegetation growth. Another study assessed changes in greenness in recent decades in circumpolar Arctic vegetation which was observed at a significant number of the sites studied, a result which is in agreement with tree-ring data and field observations. Another paper relates patterns of tundra wildfires to shrub tree rings, remote sensing observations and large-scale warming trends. Together these and other studies resulting from this project provide valuable information on covalidation of ground observations and satellite indices of vegetation, and how the boreal forests and tundra shrub vegetation are responding to the recent and rapid warming of the Arctic.
Last Modified: 12/02/2020
Modified by: Rosanne D D'arrigo
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