Mapping Lichen Cover and Biomass in the Western Caribou Arctic Herd Home Range

Project Description: The Western Arctic Caribou Herd (WACH) population has declined precipitously over recent years. As lichens are the primary winter forage for caribou, habitat changes resulting in lower lichen abundance may play an important role. Across boreal and arctic zones, lichen cover is expected to decrease due to increased fire frequency and extent and shrub encroachment, which are both in part attributed to increasing average summer temperatures. Assessing the role of lichen abundance in caribou habitat selection is a critical first step towards understanding whether the WACH population decline is linked to forage reductions.

Quantifying lichen cover and biomass with sufficient precision to analyze caribou movements has often been limited by inadequate ground vegetation measurements to be able to model lichen cover using satellite imagery. With ARCN ground data, lichen cover can be mapped at sufficient precision across large enough spatial scales to try to connect caribou movement to lichen cover. In the past 15 years, vegetation monitoring in the Arctic Network (ARCN) of the National Park system has generated several large vegetation monitoring datasets. The PIs propose to utilize these data in conjunction with Landsat and high-resolution imagery to model and map lichen cover and biomass. These lichen maps would then be used to test the role of winter forage resources in habitat selection by caribou in the WACH.

Lead Principal Investigator: Dr. Peter Nelson, University of Maine

Partner Institution: University of Maine

Additional Partner Institution(s): Northwest Arctic Borough (NAB)

Federal Agency: National Park Service

Federal Agency Technical Contact: Peter Neitlich

Project Type: Research

Project Discipline: Natural Resources

Project Sub-Discipline(s): Biological (Ecology, Fish, Wildlife, Vegetation, T&E)

Start Year: 2015

End Year: 2019

Initial Funding Amount: $31,119.16

Federal Grant Number: P15AC01022

Amendments

  • Amendment Number: 01, Year: 2017, Amount: $0.00
  • Amendment Number: 02, Year: 2018, Amount: $0.00

State(s): Alaska

Products Associated with this Project:

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