Mission of the Arctic Geobotany Center
- Explore and understand Arctic geoecological relationships and dynamics at local to global scales;
- Promote interdisciplinary Arctic science research and collaboration;
- Investigate Arctic land-use and conservation issues through geoecological research;
- Educate and train students in Arctic vegetation science field skills and analysis; and
- Disseminate information about our research to educators, students, scientists and the general public.
Recent AGC Publications
AGC 24-02 Data Report: Ground-based biomass, LAI, and NDVI measurements, Deadhorse, Alaska. Walker, D. A., Breen, A. L., Bültmann, H., Epstein, H. E., Hobgood, O., Kent, K., and Watson-Cook, E. (doi pending). Read the report
AGC 24-01 Data Report: Thermokarst-pond plant community characteristics and effects on ice-wedge degradation in the Prudhoe Bay region, Alaska.
M.S. Thesis. Watson-Cook, E. (doi:10.18739/A26Q1SJ9P). Read the thesis
AGC 23-02 Data Report: Natural Ice-Rich Permafrost Observatory, Prudhoe Bay Alaska: 2022 Field Activities. Walker, D.A., Bergstedt, H., Breen, A.L., Daanen, R.P., Hobgood, O., Jones, B.M., Kade, A., Kanevskiy, M. ... Witharana, C. (doi:10.18739/A2MG7FX73). Read the report
AGC 23-01 Permafrost & remote-sensing studies: 2022 Field Report for Point Lay Alaska. Connor, B.G, Jones, B.M., Kanevskiy, M., Nicolsky, D.J., Peirce, J.L., Romanovsky, V.E., & Shur, Y.L. (doi:10.18739/A2W08WJ5M). Read the report
New Observatory Supports Broader Understanding of Climate-Change and Infrastructure Impacts to Ice-Rich Permafrost Systems. Walker, D.A.
ARCUS Witness Community Highlights, 30 Jan 2023
2020-2021 NNA-IRPS Data Report: Observations in ice-rich permafrost systems, Prudhoe Bay Alaska, 2020-21. Walker, D.A., Kanevskiy, M., Breen, A.L., Kade, A., Daanen, R.P., Jones, B.M., Nicolsky, D.J., Bergstedt, H., Watson-Cook, E. & Peirce, J.L. (doi:10.18739/A27S7HV29.) Read the report
Point Lay Permafrost: Infrastructure and Permafrost Degradation in Point Lay, Alaska. Jones, B.M., Peirce, J.L., Connor, B., Kanevskiy, M., Shur, Y., Curry, T., Bolz, P. & Tracey, B.
ARCUS Witness Community Highlights, 27 Sep 2022
Cumulative impacts of a gravel road and climate change in an ice-wedge polygon landscape, Prudhoe Bay, AK. Walker, D.A., Raynolds, M.K., Kanevskiy, M.Z., Shur, Y.S., Romanovsky, V.E., Jones, B.M., Buchhorn, M., Jorgenson, M.T., ... Peirce, J.L. Actic Science, 2022 (open access)
Raster Circumpolar Arctic Vegetation Map. Raynolds, M.K., Walker, D.A., Balser, A., Bay, C., Campbell, M., Cherosov, M.M., Daniels, F.J.A., Bronken Eidsen, P., ... Troeva, E. Remote Sensing of Environment, 2019 (open access) | Data and map download
AGC-sponsored Workshops
Recent Workshops
Circumpolar Arctic Vegetation Science Initiative (CAVSI) Workshop, ASSW 2025 Boulder, Colo., USA
21-23 March 2025 (9:00-17:00 Mtn Time, GMT-6)
Rapid Transitions due to Climate and Infrastructure (RATIC) Workshop, ASSW 2025 Boulder CO
24 March 2025 (8:30-12:00 Mtn Time, GMT-6) Draft Agenda
Past Workshops
Rapid Transitions due to Climate and Infrastructure (RATIC) Workshops, 2014-2023
Arctic Vegetation Archive & Arctic Vegetation Classification Workshops, 2013-2023
Land-cover Land-use Change Workshops, 2008-2014
More Publications by AGC Researchers & Colleagues
Formation of low-centered ice-wedge polygons and their orthogonal systems: A review
Preprints.org, 2025
doi:10.20944/preprints202504.2013.v1
Shur, Y., Jones, B.M., Jorgenson, M.T., Kanevskiy, M.Z., Liljedahl, A., Walker, D.A., Jones, M.K.W., Fortier, D., & Vasiliev, A.
Plant succession on glacial moraines in the Arctic Brooks Range along a >125,000-year glacial chronosequence/toposequence
Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research, 2023 (open access)
doi:10.1080/15230430.2023.2178151
Kasanke, S.A., Walker, D.A., Chapin, F.S., III, & Mann, D.H.
Thermokarst-Pond Plant Community Characteristics and Effects on Ice-Wedge Degradation in the Prudhoe Bay Region, Alaska
Watson-Cook, E., M.S. Thesis, University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2022. ProQuest (open access)
The spatial and temporal influence of infrastructure and road dust on seasonal snowmelt, vegetation productivity, and early season surface water cover in the Prudhoe Bay Oilfield
Arctic Science, 2022 (open access)
doi:10.1139/as-2022-0013
Bergstedt, H., Jones, B.M., Walker, D.A., Peirce, J.L., Bartsch, A., Pointner, G., Kanevskiy, M., Raynolds, M.K. &
Buchhorn, M.
Rapid transformation of tundra ecosystems from ice-wedge degradation
Global and Planetary Change, 216, 2022
doi:10.1016/j.gloplacha.2022.103921
Jorgenson, M.T., Kanevskiy, M.Z., Jorgenson, J.C., Liljedahl, A., Shur, Y., Epstein, H., Kent, K., Griffin, C.G., ... Jones, B.M.
The shifting mosaic of ice-wedge degradation and stabilization in response to infrastructure and climate change, Prudhoe Bay Oilfield, Alaska
Arctic Science, 2022 (open access)
doi:10.1139/AS-2021-0024
Kanevskiy, M., Shur, Y., Walker, D.A. (Skip), Jorgenson, T., Raynolds, M.K., Peirce, J.L., Jones, B.M., Buchhorn, M., ... Watson-Cook, E.
The Yedoma Permafrost Genesis: Over 150 Years of Mystery and Controversy
Frontiers in Earth Science, 2022 (open access)
doi:10.3389/feart.2021.757891
Shur, Y., Fortier, F., Jorgenson, M.T., Kanevskiy, M., Schirrmeister, L., Strauss, J., Vasiliev, A. & Jones, M.W.
Lake and drained lake basin systems in lowland permafrost regions
Nature Reviews Earth & Environment, 2022
doi:10.1038/s43017-021-00238-9
Jones, B.M., Grosse, G., Pascale, R-L., Veremeeva, A., Kanevskiy, M.Z. & Gaglioti, B.V.
Seasonal and Long-Term Changes to Active-Layer Temperatures after Tall Shrubland Expansion and Succession in Arctic Tundra
Ecosystems, 2018 (open access)
doi:10.1007/s10021-017-0165-5
Frost, G.V., Epstein, H.E., Walker, D.A., Matyshak, G. & Ermokhina, K.
Vegetation on mesic loamy and sandy soils along a 1700-km maritime Euarasia Arctic Transect
Applied Vegetation Science, 2018
doi:10.1111/avsc.12401 (open access)
Walker, D.A., Epstein, H.E., Sibik, J., Bhatt, U., Romanovsky, V.E., Breen, A.L., Chasnikova, S., Daanen, R., ... Timling, I.
Circumpolar Arctic Vegetation Classification
Phytocoenologia 48:181-20, 2017
doi:10.1127/phyto/2017/0192 (open access)
Walker, D.A., Daniëls, F.J.A., Matveyeva, N.V., Šibík, J., Walker, M.D., Breen, A.L., Druckenmiller, L.A., Raynolds, M.K., ... Wirth, L.M.
Degradation and stabilization of ice wedges: Implications for assessing risk of thermokarst in northern Alaska
Geomorphology 297:20-42, 2017 (open access)
doi:10.1016/j.geomorph.2017.09.001
Kanevskiy, M., Shur, Y., Jorgensen, T., Brown, D.R.N., Moskalenko, N., Brown, J., Walker, D.A., Raynolds, M.K. & Buchhorn, M.
The Alaska Arctic Vegetation Archive (AVA-AK). Phytocoenologia 46:221-229, 2016 (open access)
doi:10.1127/phyto/2016/0128
Walker, D.A., Breen, A.L., Druckenmiller, L.A., Wirth, L., Fisher, W, Raynolds, M.K, Sibík, J., Walker, M.D., Hennekens, S., ... Zona, D.