The Circumpolar Arctic Vegetation Map Project

The Circumpolar Arctic Vegetation Map (CAVM) project is an international effort to map the vegetation and associated characteristics of the circumpolar region, using the same base map: a composite AVHRR false color infrared image of the maximum reflectance of each 1km2 pixel of 1993 and 1995 data (Fig. 1).

Mapping efforts in Canada, Norway, Greeland, Russia, Iceland and the United States are using uniform methods to integrate information on bioclimatic zones, bedrock, surficial geology, acidity of parent mateiral, soils, hydrology, remotely-sensed vegetation classification, Normalized Difference of Vegetation Index (NDVI), previous vegetation studies, and regional expertise of the mapping scientists. Examples of this type of biophysical information for the Candian Arctic are shown in Figures 2 and 3, below.

Maps of vegetation complexes and plant biomass are examples of the derived products that can be created from the CAVM database linking biophysical attributes with the dominant vegetation type. Lookup tables created in ARCINFO link the biophysial attributes and allow the mapping and determinatin of the areal extent of each attribute category. Products such as maps of vegetation complexes and plant biomass can be created (Fig. 4, 5) and summarized (Table 1).