Abstract:
Shrub inventory for Alnus alnobetula and Salix spp. samples. Sample collection of Alnus alnobetula and Salix spp. was undertaken in the Inuvialuit Settlement region, Northwest Territories, Canada during field campaigns in 2022, 2023, and 2024. Shrub stems were sampled from both living canopy-forming shrubs, and from beaver-browsed stems. This dataset consists of inventories of shrub samples and subsamples collected for shrub ring width measurements, dendrochronological chronology formation, and crossdating.
This data was collected as part of the Beavers and Socio-ecological Resilience in Inuit Nunangat (BARIN) project. Funding was provided by the UK Research and Innovation Canada Inuit Nunangat UK Arctic research programme (CINUK) grant NE/X002578/1.
Keywords:
arctic vegetation, dendrochronology, tree rings
Hole, G., Buntgen, U., & Wheeler, H.C. (2026). Sample inventories of reference (unbrowsed) and browsed Alnus alnobetula and Salix spp. collected from the Inuvialuit Settlement region, Northwest Territories, Canada, 2022-2024 (Version 1.0) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/b0c6fdb0-2bb5-435c-93e2-e309481ceaf1
| Access Constraints: | No restrictions apply. |
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| Use Constraints: | This data is governed by the NERC data policy (http://www.nerc.ac.uk/research/sites/data/policy/) and supplied under Open Government Licence v.3 (http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/). |
| Creation Date: | 2025-12-18 |
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| Dataset Progress: | Planned |
| Dataset Language: | English |
| ISO Topic Categories: |
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| Parameters: |
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| Personnel: | |
| Name | UK Polar Data Centre |
| Role(s) | Metadata Author |
| Organisation | British Antarctic Survey |
| Name | Georgia M Hole |
| Role(s) | Investigator, Technical Contact |
| Organisation | Anglia Ruskin University |
| Name | Helen C Wheeler |
| Role(s) | Investigator |
| Organisation | Anglia Ruskin University |
| Name | Ulf Buntgen |
| Role(s) | Investigator |
| Organisation | University of Cambridge |
| Parent Dataset: | N/A |
| Reference: | Hole, G.M., Büntgen, U., Wang, Y., DeVries, B., Rees, W.G., Wheeler, H. (2025). Dendrochronology and remote sensing reveal beaver occupancy and colonization dynamics in an expanding Arctic population. Ecosphere [In review]. Hole, G.M., Büntgen, U., Buchwal, A., Rees, W.G., Wheeler, H. Blue rings in Arctic alder and willow shrubs track cooling events. [In prep]. Schweingruber et al., paper: Schweingruber, F. H., Eckstein, D., Serre-Bachet, F., & Bräker, O. U. (1990). Identification, presentation and interpretation of event years and pointer years in dendrochronology. 9-38 |
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| Quality: | There is some variation in notation and ID system used between years due to multiple sample collectors, processors, and data managers. An additional sample ID has been retrospectively added in order to allow for a standardised ID across all years and all relevant BARIN project datasets. | |
| Lineage/Methodology: | Sample collection of Alnus alnobetula and Salix spp. was undertaken in the Inuvialuit Settlement region during field campaigns in 2022, 2023, and 2024. The Inuvialuit Settlement Region is one of the four regions of Inuit Nunangat, and part of the Northwest Territories, Canada. Data collection was undertaken within the wider Beavers and Socio-ecological Resilience in Inuit Nunangat (BARIN) project collaborative environment - which adhered to CARE principles including contributing to advancing Inuit governance in research according to the National Inuit Strategy on Research priority areas. Collaboration with Indigenous experts underpinned the project including Inuit co-development and management of the project, and direct consultation with and co-investigation by the Fisheries Joint Management Committee and Joint Secretariat organisations. Relevant work permits were obtained for work on Inuvialuit private lands, as well as approval from local Hunters and Trappers Committees (HTCs) where updates were provided regularly at HTC board meetings. Via work with community researchers, knowledge was also regularly informally shared and informed the research process. Key project datasets are shared amongst all project partners and stored in ways that allow access and joint control for academic and Inuvialuit partners. Shrub stems were sampled from both living erect canopy-forming shrubs and from beaver-browsed stems along the Inuvik-Tuktoyaktuk Highway (ITH), including some sites at Trail Valley Creek (TVC). Collected shrubs were then subsampled into discs, and further split into subsamples of sufficient size for microslides. Subsamples were soaked in water for at least 24 hours prior to cutting of transverse sections with a GSL1-microtome to thickness of 10-20 micrometers. After sectioning, slides were then bleached, rinsed with milliQ water and double-stained with a 4:1 Safranin-Astrablue mixture. Sections were then rinsed sequentially with 50, 75 and 99% ethanol, before permanently fixing with Canada balsam under a cover slip, drying and stabilising in an oven at 60°C for a minimum of 12 hours. The samples are used for dendrochronological chronology formation and crossdating. |
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| Temporal Coverage: | |
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| Start Date | 2022-01-01 |
| End Date | 2024-12-31 |
| Spatial Coverage: | |
| Latitude | |
| Southernmost | 68.516 |
| Northernmost | 69.359 |
| Longitude | |
| Westernmost | -133.777 |
| Easternmost | -132.894 |
| Altitude | |
| Min Altitude | 32.507851 |
| Max Altitude | 79.541779 |
| Depth | |
| Min Depth | N/A |
| Max Depth | N/A |
| Location: | |
| Location | Canada |
| Detailed Location | Inuvialuit Settlement Region, Northwest Territories |
| Data Collection: |
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| Data Storage: | 1 x .csv .csv headings: collection year: sample collection year, 2022, 2023, 2024. locality: indicates sampling locality. (ITH = Inuvik-Tuktoyaktuk Highway transect, TVC = Trail Valley Creek). site: numbered sites, indicating whether sampling was undertaken around a dam, lodge, or dam and lodge complex. D = dam, L = lodge. DL = dam-lodge complex. LR = lodge reference (no lodge present but suitable geographic setting). U = unspecified. DLO = old, relict dam-lodge complex. genus_code: genus of sample if determined during sampling (W=Willow, A=Alder, U=unspecified). genus/species name: name of collected genus or species, if determined. Undetermined samples will be identifiable if analysed in the future based on anatomy characteristics under microscope. physical_label: sample number on the physical sample, if appropriate. sampling_number_key: Numerical ID of collected sample, unique per site. sample_ID: follows the coding locality.site.genus_code.sampling_number_key: latitude, longitude: sample collection location in WGS84, decimal degrees. elevation: sample collection elevation in metres. GPS_or_epicollect_location: Whether provided latitude and longitude are derived from GPS or epicollect app. side_branches_present (Y/N) : Whether collected browsed sample had side branches. state: whether sample living or dead when sampled. reference_sample (Y/N): Whether sample is reference (unbrowsed) or beaver-browsed. sample_subtype: additional information for some samples such as basal section sampled at root collar, or if from same individual as another sample. |
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