ИСТИНА

The overarching goal of the Yamal portion of the Greening of the Arctic project is to examine how the terrain and anthropogenic factors of reindeer herding and resource development combined with the climate variations on the Yamal Peninsula affect the spatial and temporal patterns of vegetation change and how these changes are in turn affecting traditional herding of the indigenous people of the region. Three expeditions to the Yamal region were made in 2007, 2008 and 2009 to conduct vegetation, soil, permafrost and remote sensing studies at locations along a transect that traverses all the major bioclimate subzones of the Yamal Peninsula. Previous data reports (Walker et al. 2008, 2009a) summarized the data collected during the 2007 and 2008 expeditions to Nadym, Laborovaya, Vaskiny Dachi, and Kharasavey. This report presents the vegetation and soils data collected in 2009 at Ostrov Belyy (bioclimate subzone B) and Kharp (Forest-Tundra transition). The studies at Ostrov Belyy followed the same basic procedures used at the locations visited in 2007 and 2008. Twostudy sites were established: one on a mesic loamy (zonal) site and the other on a drier sandy site. Most of the information was collected along 5 transects at each sample site, 5 permanent vegetation study plots(relevés), and 1 soil pit at each site. Most of the methods and data forms for the project are contained in the 2007 and 2008 data reports. The expedition also established permafrost and active-layer monitoring sites at the zonal site. The data from the permafrost studies will be presented in another report. The data from Ostrov Belyy included: (1) a general description of the location and study sites with photographs, (2) maps of the study sites, study plots, and transects at each location, (3) tabular summaries of the vegetation, site factors, and soils at each relevé, (4) summaries of the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and leaf area index (LAI) along each transect, (5) detailed soil descriptions and photos of the large soil pits at each study site, (6) contact information for each of the participants. At Kharp observations were conducted during a one-day reconnaissance visit at the end of the expedition. A short report by Gerald Frost summarizes the observations. The appendices tothe report include: Appendix A —Names and addresses of the participants in the expedition; Appendix B — Vascular-plant species list from Ostrov Belyy; Appendix C — Soil descriptions of study sites; Appendix D —List of birds at Ostrov Belyy; Appendix E —List of mammals at Ostrov Belyy; Appendix F —Transect photos; Appendix G —Relevévegetation and biomass photos; Appendix H — Relevé soil photos; Log of the 2009 Ostrov Belyy Expedition