Lorino

Created: 2014-01-24 14:10:20
Modified: 2014-01-27 18:32:22

SITE DESCRIPTION

Area is situated at the rear stitch of the coastal plain (about 40 m marine terrace) at the south ridge of Uelen Rise of Anadyr’-Seward (or Eskimo, or Chukchi) massif. Marine terrace of the second middle Pleistocene transgression (II3) is dissected with the springs flowing from Genkanyi (Tenianyi) Ridge (up to 907 m high). The site is situated on the Eastern watershed of Loren River Valley. The closest permanent weather station is at the settlement of Uelen (66°10' N, 169°50' W). Long-term observations at Uelen yield a mean annual air temperature of –7.8°C, and mean monthly temperatures of +5.3°C and –20.3°C for the warmest (July) and coldest (February) months, respectively At the peak of vegetative growth the projective cover on the CALM grid of Vaccinium myrtillis averaged 8%, Betula exilis 6%, other dwarf-shrub species 7%, sedges and other grasses 26%, Sphagnum mosses 26%, other mosses 11% and lichens 16%.

SAMPLING DESIGN AND METHOD:

1-ha grid consists of a square array of surveyed permanent stakes separated by 10 m, yielding an 11 × 11 array of sampling nodes on each grid. Thaw depth sampling was conducted by manual probing in four replications at each stake. The four values for each sampling point are averaged, yielding a maximum of 121 data points per grid per probing date. Annual heaving/subsidence is measured in 10-15 nodes of the site. Measurements of water content are made annually at each grid point. The description of vegetation at 40x40 cm sample plots is performed at each stake.