Circumpolar Arctic Vegetation Map (CAVM)

About the CAVM

Circumpolar Arctic Vegetation Map, side 1

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Circumpolar Arctic Vegetation Map, side 2

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Visit the Alaska Geobotany Center for more information on purchasing the map.

The CAVM, published at 1:7,500,000 scale, is the first vegetation map and GIS of an entire global biome at a comparable resolution. The map provides a broad view of the vegetation of the whole Arctic through legend descriptions, photographs, lists of major syntaxonomic groups, and supplementary maps. The consistent treatment of the vegetation across the circumpolar Arctic, and abundant ancillary material, make the maps and database appropriate for numerous land-use management, educational, and modeling applications. It has already helped vegetation scientists in Eurasia and North America to recognize and resolve major vegetation terminology conflicts between various regions. The digital data will make updating the map relatively easy. The final map was published at 1:7,500,000 scale map by the USFWS as CAFF Map No. 1 (CAVM Team 2003). For a full area analysis of the CAVM by bioclimate subzone and country refer to Walker et al. (2005, pdf).

Suggested citation: CAVM Team. 2003. Circumpolar Arctic Vegetation Map. (1:7,500,000 scale), Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF) Map No. 1. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Anchorage, Alaska.

Maps

The CAVM circumpolar maps are all at the scale of 1:7,500,000. Themes include dominant vegetation, bioclimate subzones, floristic provinces, NDVI, above-ground biomass, landscapes, substrate chemistry, lake cover, elevation, and a false-color satellite image of the Arctic.

Detailed explanations of the map units for each geobotanical theme include text descriptions of the units, with photos, and links to key literature.