Effects of Contemporary Winter Seismic Exploration on Low Arctic Plant Communities and Permafrost

Figures & data

Table 1 Mean (or median†) paired difference (seismic–reference) for vegetation, soil, and permafrost properties. Except where indicated, treatment effects were tested via mixed linear models, with a null hypothesis of no difference between seismic and reference values.

Figure 1 Results of Non-metric Multidimensional Scaling ordination showing the locations of quadrats in species space for (a) and (b) Medium Shrub–Heath/Low Shrub–Heath type communities, (c) and (d) Tall Shrub–Herb type communities, and (e) and (f) Wet Graminoid type communities. Closed triangles represent quadrats from seismic lines, open squares represent quadrats from reference tundra.

Table 2 Results of Indicator Species Analysis for quadrats on seismic lines (seismic) and in reference tundra for the Medium Shrub Heath/Low Shrub Heath (MSH/LSH), Tall Shrub Herb (TSH), and the Wet Graminoid (WG) vegetation types. Cover =  average % cover (when present), Freq  =  quadrat frequency, IV  =  Indicator value, P  =  significance of IV.

APPENDIX Complete list of species found in the study along with the mean paired difference (seismic line minus reference) and the mean cover value on seismic lines and in reference tundra for each of the four vegetation types studied.