Vegetation and a Landsat-derived land cover map of the Beechey Point quadrangle, Arctic coastal plain, Alaska

Abstract

ABSTRACT (Continue on reverse if necessary and identify by block number)This report presents a Landsat-derived land cover classification of the Beechey Point, Alaska, 1:250,000-scale quadrangle with descriptions of the major vegetation units.Eight Landsat-level units deri eds from multispectral scanner data, eleven photo-interpreted units, and eight common vegetation complexes are described and illustrated.Procedures of Landsat analysis, field methods, and cartographic methods are described.The region is divided into four landscape units: flat thaw-lake plains, gently rolling thaw-lake plains, hills, and flood plains.Area analysis of the quadrangle was done according to townships and nine small study areas.The map uses a modified version of the hierarchical tundra mapping classification of Walker (1983).Area-measurement data from geobotanical maps at eight study sites are compared with similar data from Landsat maps of the same sites.The results indicate that Landsat maps yield area measurements corresponding to broad geobotanical categories.