Alaska Peninsula/Becharof National Wildlife Refuge Landscape Change Study

Within the Alaska Peninsula region there exists a strong confluence of environmental change processes, important wildlife habitats, and a human population that depends on subsistence activities. Field-based environmental monitoring provides quantitative information about biological and physical ecosystem properties and their dynamics, including vegetation, soils, geomorphology, disturbance, and hydrology. In 2017, ABR developed long-term monitoring (LTM) and repeat photography (RP) networks for the Alaska Peninsula/Becharof National Wildlife Refuge (APBNWR). The LTM network consisted of intensive field plots with quantitative, repeatable measurements of vegetation, soils, geomorphology, and ecosystem state-factors. The RP network consisted of a historical photography database compiled from online archives, USFWS archives, and outreach efforts at Alaska Peninsula villages. The photographs documented ecosystem conditions dating as far back as the early 20th century. In 2021, ABR will be working with APBNWR to expand upon the work we did in 2017