{"title":"Caribou Creek NEON - United States of America","id":{"prefix":"https:\/\/deims.org\/","suffix":"2907ca49-90e7-433c-b4e4-8ec2f5a19483"},"type":"site","created":"2020-05-25T09:36:50+02:00","changed":"2025-09-19T09:34:44+02:00","attributes":{"affiliation":{"networks":[{"network":{"name":"GERI","id":{"prefix":"https:\/\/deims.org\/networks\/","suffix":"c3abdc60-49f1-49db-81fe-863b7dbb21d3"}},"siteCode":null,"verified":true},{"network":{"name":"NEON","id":{"prefix":"https:\/\/deims.org\/networks\/","suffix":"fd9fbc88-0baa-4d02-b824-dc29f721782c"}},"siteCode":"CARI","verified":true}],"projects":null},"contact":{"siteManager":[{"type":"person","name":"Chris Baird","email":"cbaird@battelleecology.org","orcid":null}],"operatingOrganisation":null,"metadataProvider":[{"type":"person","name":"Melissa Marquez","email":"marquez@battelleecology.org","orcid":null}],"fundingAgency":null,"siteUrl":[{"title":null,"value":"https:\/\/www.neonscience.org\/field-sites\/cari"}]},"general":{"abstract":"CARI is an aquatic NEON field site located at the Caribou-Poker Creeks Research Watershed (CPCRW) in central Alaska, northeast of Fairbanks, AK. CARI is a 2nd order wadeable stream contained within the Bonanza Creek Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) research area and CPCRW, encompassing 104 km2 (25,700 acres). The land at the Bonanza Creek LTER site is managed by the University of Alaska and has been set aside for scientific study. Parts of the NEON site also overlap land managed by the Alaska Department of Natural Resources. CPCRW spans an elevation of 200 - 773 m (650 - 2500 ft.), with valleys and steep mountains within the watershed. CARI is one of four NEON sites (three terrestrial and one aquatic) in the Alaskan Taiga Domain (D19), which comprises Alaska\u2019s interior and the Alaska Peninsula. It is colocated with the terrestrial site BONA.","citation":null,"relatedIdentifiers":null,"status":{"label":"Operational","uri":"http:\/\/vocabs.lter-europe.net\/elter_cl\/10772"},"yearEstablished":2016,"yearClosed":null,"relatedSites":[{"typeOfRelationship":{"label":"groups with","uri":"null"},"listOfSites":[{"type":"site","title":"Caribou-Poker Creeks Research Watershed NEON - United States of America","id":{"prefix":"https:\/\/deims.org\/","suffix":"312fac70-04a7-4cab-8d03-68b1fe3192f4"},"changed":"2025-09-19T09:36:46+0200"}]}],"siteName":"Caribou Creek NEON","shortName":"CARI","siteType":"Platform","protectionLevel":null,"landUse":null,"images":[{"url":"https:\/\/deims.org\/sites\/default\/files\/2020-06\/48754133283_3c3db13f2c_z.jpg","alt":"CARI"}]},"environmentalCharacteristics":{"airTemperature":{"yearlyAverage":-3,"monthlyAverage":null,"unit":"\u00b0C","referencePeriod":null},"precipitation":{"yearlyAverage":262,"monthlyAverage":null,"unit":"mm","referencePeriod":null},"biogeographicalRegion":null,"biome":"freshwater_rivers","ecosystemType":[{"label":"Evergreen Forest","uri":null},{"label":"Fresh Water Rivers","uri":null},{"label":"Rivers","uri":null},{"label":"Taiga","uri":null}],"eunisHabitat":null,"landforms":null,"geoBonBiome":["Fresh water rivers"],"geology":"Birch Creek Schist is the dominant bedrock type at CARI. Quartzite is also found here, and aeolian silts derived from the Tanana Flats overlay the area.","hydrology":"The Caribou-Poker Creeks Research Watershed is characterized as a typical upland headwater stream basin in subarctic Alaska. Snowmelt is crucial to the flow of Caribou Creek, with winter freezing stopping flow through the system and peak flow during the spring. Caribou Creek\u2019s channel is 1 - 5 m (3 - 16 ft.) wide. During peak melt times, the discharge in Caribou Creek can reach upwards of 1000 liters per second. Key hydro-biological research topics conducted in CPCRW include how permafrost thaws and how wildfires affect fresh water stream ecology.","soils":"Soils within CARI are typically silty alluvium and colluvium materials, with layers of permafrost on the surface. Gilmore silt loam, Typic Cryochrepts, and Histic Pergelic Cryaquepts are some of the major soil types within the site. The soils within CARI are affected by the cycle of ice thawing and freezing, resulting in cryoturbation (mixing of materials from various soil horizons down to the bedrock).","vegetation":"The CARI area contains areas of permafrost, hardwood forest, wetlands, and shrublands. Moss covers patches of permafrost throughout the Caribou-Poker Creeks Research Watershed area. The hydrology and drainage of the area influences dominant vegetation types, with areas of poor drainage dominated by moss, sedge, and shrub species. Evergreen forest constitutes the majority of land area within the site. Black spruce (Picea mariana), lingonberry (Vaccinium vitis-idaea), and bog Labrador tea (Ledum groenlandicum) are some dominant species. Alder, willow, and dwarf birch around 2 - 3 m (6 - 10 ft.) tall grow directly along the banks of the Caribou Creek channel. Moss, lichen, blueberry, willow, and shrubs grow along the channel as well, and some black spruce trees can be found in the area."},"geographic":{"boundaries":null,"coordinates":"POINT (-147.50246 65.15306)","country":["United States of America"],"elevation":{"avg":225,"min":null,"max":null,"unit":"msl"},"size":{"value":3070,"unit":"ha"},"relatedLocations":null},"focusDesignScale":{"experiments":{"design":"mainly experimentation","scale":"catchment scale"},"observations":{"design":"mainly observation","scale":"entire catchment"},"observedProperties":[{"label":"DNA sequence","uri":"http:\/\/vocabs.lter-europe.net\/EnvThes\/21400"},{"label":"genetic parameter","uri":"http:\/\/vocabs.lter-europe.net\/EnvThes\/20942"},{"label":"land cover","uri":"http:\/\/vocabs.lter-europe.net\/EnvThes\/22142"},{"label":"landscape parameter","uri":"http:\/\/vocabs.lter-europe.net\/EnvThes\/20943"},{"label":"water parameter","uri":"http:\/\/vocabs.lter-europe.net\/EnvThes\/20945"},{"label":"water quality","uri":"http:\/\/vocabs.lter-europe.net\/EnvThes\/22312"}]},"infrastructure":{"accessibleAllYear":true,"accessType":null,"allPartsAccessible":null,"maintenanceInterval":null,"permanentPowerSupply":true,"operation":{"permanent":true,"notes":null,"siteVisitInterval":null},"notes":null,"collection":null,"data":{"policy":{"url":null,"rights":null,"notes":null}}},"relatedResources":null,"projectRelated":{"lter":{"lterSiteClassification":null}}}}