Federal land managers, non-governmental organizations, and industry have been developing ecological land classifications at regional and landscape-level for Alaska to aid in ecosystem management. An ecoregion map that covers the entire state was produced by Nowacki et al. (2002). At the landscape level, ecological subsection mapping has been done for all National Park Service (NPS) and Forest Service lands in Alaska. In northern Alaska, a portion of the North Slope has been mapped at the ecological subsection level by industry (Jorgenson et al. 2003). In the Brooks Range, similar mapping has been done for National Parks and Preserves at Cape Krusenstern (Swanson 2001), Noatak (Jorgenson et al. 2002), and Gates of the Arctic (Boggs 2001), and for the US Fish and Wildlife Service at the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (Jorgenson 2004).
These maps were integrated into a comprehensive map by the Nature Conservancy (Jorgenson and Heiner 2004). The final product of this effort was a large poster that provided a map with associated legend describing the ecotype units. The spatial registration of the delineations was only sufficient for general regional qualitative evaluations at a scale of 1:1,000,000, and was not appropriate for more detailed analysis and modeling. In addition a large portion of the National Petroleum Reserve Alaska (NPRA) was not completed.
This project was intended to address these deficiencies by: (1) compilation and georectification of existing surficial geology maps of northern Alaska to provide better base information for updating the map delineations; (2) complete ecological mapping within NPRA; (3) improve ecological boundary delineations, unit classification, and reference documentation across the entire North Slope (4) integrate ecological mapping products with available photography in a web based tool for improved interpretation and understanding; and (5) provide results in format appropriate for regional GIS analysis at an approximate scale of 1:300,000 (±150m).
In developing this project, GINA sought to move the presentation of results beyond a descriptive report/poster presentation and provide GIS and web-based products that would encourage integration of this work with ongoing research. The ecological landscape delineations were produced as shapefiles and are also available through an OGC 1.3.0 compatible WMS. In addition, the database of field site photography was combined with orthoimagery and the ecological landscape delineations through a web mapping visualization interface. This integration of information products through web mapping tools is intended to facilitate use of these products and as well as promote a better understanding of the site ecological condition.
