Vegetation occurrence and leaf traits of Salix polaris along a postglacial chronosequence at Midtre Lovenbreen

Sampling event Observation
Latest version published by The University Centre in Svalbard on Sept 15, 2025 The University Centre in Svalbard
Publication date:
15 September 2025
License:
CC-BY 4.0

Download the latest version of this resource data as a Darwin Core Archive (DwC-A) or the resource metadata as EML or RTF:

Data as a DwC-A file download 186 records in English (38 KB) - Update frequency: not planned
Metadata as an EML file download in English (6 KB)
Metadata as an RTF file download in English (7 KB)

Description

Glacier retreat in Svalbard exposes new terrain that undergoes ecological succession. Vegetation development was investigated along the postglacial chronosequence of Midtre Lovénbreen near Ny-Ålesund, building on sites first studied by Hodkinson et al. (2003) and revisited after ~25 years of accelerated warming. Vegetation cover, soil moisture, and leaf traits of Salix polaris (specific leaf area, SLA, and carbon-to-nitrogen ratio, C:N) were recorded across six forefield sites. The findings support successional dynamics described two decades earlier and emphasize the influence of ongoing climate warming on community assembly in the High Arctic.

Data Records

The data in this sampling event resource has been published as a Darwin Core Archive (DwC-A), which is a standardized format for sharing biodiversity data as a set of one or more data tables. The core data table contains 186 records.

1 extension data tables also exist. An extension record supplies extra information about a core record. The number of records in each extension data table is illustrated below.

Event (core)
186
Occurrence 
753

This IPT archives the data and thus serves as the data repository. The data and resource metadata are available for download in the downloads section. The versions table lists other versions of the resource that have been made publicly available and allows tracking changes made to the resource over time.

Versions

The table below shows only published versions of the resource that are publicly accessible.

Rights

Researchers should respect the following rights statement:

The publisher and rights holder of this work is The University Centre in Svalbard. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY 4.0) License.

GBIF Registration

This resource has been registered with GBIF, and assigned the following GBIF UUID: a7861b94-4103-4aed-82bf-3c1951032ee1.  The University Centre in Svalbard publishes this resource, and is itself registered in GBIF as a data publisher endorsed by GBIF Norway.

Keywords

EARTH SCIENCE > BIOSPHERE > VEGETATION > VEGETATION COVER; EARTH SCIENCE > BIOSPHERE > ECOLOGICAL DYNAMICS > COMMUNITY DYNAMICS > PLANT SUCCESSION; EARTH SCIENCE > TERRESTRIAL HYDROSPHERE > GLACIERS/ICE SHEETS > GLACIERS > GLACIER MELT; EARTH SCIENCE > BIOSPHERE > VEGETATION > NITROGEN; Samplingevent; Observation

Contacts

Saga Mattsson
  • Originator
The University Centre in Svalbard
Hedda Hokstad Barstein
  • Originator
The University Centre in Svalbard
Sjoerd Hoogland
  • Originator
The University Centre in Svalbard
Sofia Eng
  • Originator
The University Centre in Svalbard
Lovisa Gustafsson
  • Point Of Contact
The University Centre in Svalbard
Lovisa Gustafsson
  • Point Of Contact
The University Centre in Svalbard
Luke Marsden
  • Point Of Contact
The University Centre in Svalbard

Project Data

No Description available

Title UNIS AB-201
Identifier https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q119442230

The personnel involved in the project:

Lovisa Gustafsson
  • Principal Investigator